Science & Society

The Open Science Summit Is Almost Here! (And I Need Your Help!)

“The sweetest and most inoffensive path of life leads through the avenues of science and learning; and whoever can either remove any obstruction in this way, or open up any new prospect, ought, so far, to be esteemed a benefactor to mankind” —David Hume I ...

Article - Andrea Kuszewski - Oct 5 2011 - 12:20pm

Superluminal Knee Jerk A Symptom But Transparent Science Maybe Cure

The observations of faster than light neutrinos have stirred up much debate, but the most important is not pointed out. Seen in a wider context, the affair sheds yet again light on the rapid decay of the academic science machinery, a social construct where ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Oct 20 2011 - 1:59am

Democracy And The Wisdom Of Crowds

“ The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations ”, published in 2004, is a book by James Surowiecki. It discusses, often using anecdotes, that under certain conditio ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Oct 13 2011 - 10:35am

Happy National Failure Day, Finns!

Due to difficult economics and an aging population that needs social services, Finland is finding itself desperate for workers, but jobs cannot simply be created by giant corporations anymore and the only way to sustain the welfare state seems to be throu ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 16 2011 - 10:49am

Spaying: Depression in Dogs and Cats?

In today's world where far too many people already defer spaying/neutering of pets, we have an article that provides another rationalization for those people.  Apparently, we should be concerned about our pets experiencing increased anxiety levels and ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Oct 13 2011 - 1:41pm

Dethinking The Unpossible

Dethinking The Unpossible A closed mind is totally incapable of being shown real world facts.  Lead a person with a closed mind step by step through a very logical process; show them a simple experiment in actual progress; show them what every kid learns ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Oct 14 2011 - 12:55pm

Citizen Scientist 2.0

What does the future of science look like?   About a year ago, I was asked this same question. My response was: Transdisciplinary collaboration. Researchers from a variety of domains—biology, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, economics, law—all coming ...

Article - Andrea Kuszewski - Oct 17 2011 - 3:10pm

Chimps in advertising

Recently a news item from Duke University appeared: "Cute" Chimps in Ads May Harm Species' Survival "We were testing the argument that the entertainment industry has made that exposure to chimpanzees in human settings makes people more ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Oct 25 2011 - 9:33am

What If Apple Ran U.S. Health Care?

Quick, which British cell phone do you use?   No?  Okay, which French microprocessor is in your PC?  No again? America leads the world in innovation, the legacy of historical laissez-faire approaches to fixing big problems using the private sector.  Obviou ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Oct 18 2011 - 3:57pm

Freedom To Cheat?

Freedom To Cheat? Do the laws and constitutional safeguards which guarantee freedom of speech grant a freedom to cheat?  According to a basic principle of common law, freedom of speech ends where cheating begins. Xavier Alvarez of Pomona, California has f ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Oct 19 2011 - 2:36pm