Science & Society

An Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object

Private military firms and the Department of Defense bare the brunt of the United States military complex. The "shark" (US DoD) embraces its "supremacy" (technological superiority).  Yet we, our complex, have become so embedded in this ...

Blog Post - Eric Bock Hyde - Sep 25 2009 - 8:04pm

British Libel Laws- Good for Pseudoscience

Scientist and science writer Olivia Judson about the UK's charitable stance towards pseudoscience: The libel laws of England and Wales are notorious. Libel cases cost little to bring — you can make a no-win-no-fee arrangement with your lawyer — but a ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Sep 16 2009 - 9:09am

If Wealth is an Indicator of Hard Work and Intelligence, then I'm a Failure

The idea that if you're rich then you're smarter/more hard working/more righteous than everyone else has a long history in America that begins well before Horatio Alger. From Cotton Mather, to Ben Franklin, to Joseph Smith (who wrote a book about ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Sep 16 2009 - 9:45am

Teen Pregnancy and Religion

A LiveScience article titled " Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States ", seems to be stretching the bounds of causality and creating linkages where none may exist. In particular, without seeing the details of the study, it seems that ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Sep 16 2009 - 7:52pm

America's Distrust of Evolution Make for a Great PR Stunt

A few days ago there was worry that a British movie about Darwin was too religiously radioactive to find a US distributor. That seemed a little odd- the US has no shortage of movies that offend fundamentalist Christian sensibilities. Now this week, via Th ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Sep 17 2009 - 9:05am

Robots And Ethics

An article entitled " Can Robots Make Ethical Decisions " was recently published wherein the authors claim that they have successfully modeled difficult moral problems in computer logic, further asserting that morality is no longer solely within ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Sep 17 2009 - 11:48am

Wendt and the World State

Some believe a world state is inevitable, others don't. Some believe advancement in communication technologies benefit irregulars more than regulars in War 2.0, others believe the opposite. P. W. Singer and others believe utilities in war technology m ...

Blog Post - Eric Bock Hyde - Oct 4 2012 - 3:40pm

Does More Freedom Of The Press Mean More Democracy?

Freedom of the press is integral to a functioning democracy and respect for human rights, it is said, and a new study tackles the effects of media freedom in countries that lack democratic institutions like fair elections.  The findings?   By itself, freed ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2009 - 11:54pm

Crossing Over: How To Use And Misuse The Fisher-Pry Curve

The Economist reported that in early 2007, for the first time in history, more humans lived in cities than in the countryside. We are now a different species, in terms of the environmental niche we inhabit.  One thinks of Isaac Asimov’s Trantor, the plane ...

Article - Fred Phillips - Sep 19 2009 - 11:30am

Pirates & Squid, a Natural Match

On this day of celebration, let us remember and honor the invaluable contributions of squid to pirate lore and culture:- Davy Jones and the Kraken in Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As observed elsewhere, the Kraken's mouth is much m ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Sep 19 2009 - 10:10pm