The northern lights as one would expect and see them if they were in the frozen reaches of Canada, Scandanavia, or Russia, maybe and maybe not.  However, a glow in the sky unlike anything most of us will see in the 48 contiguous United States of America was visible last night, and may be visible again tonight, and Sunday night.  For the first time since 2003 a G5 geomagnetic storm is predicted to hit us.   There have been a series of solar flares emitted in the correct direction and timing for the charged particles released to interact with Earths geomagnetic field.  These particles are either deflected by Earth's magnetic field or directed towards the poles.  The result of this interaction and interaction with our atmosphere is the r

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have become buzzwords often debated within the United States, sometimes controversially perceived as a redistribution of opportunities. However, in a global context—such as in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) project, led by the European Space Agency and NASA—DEI adopts a unique significance. Here, it is about creating a welcoming and safe environment for all qualified researchers from across the globe.

Avi Loeb he prolific Harvard astrophysicist, dances on the edge of cosmic controversy. His research spans black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and the early universe, but it’s his extraterrestrial musings that have set tongues wagging. What he is right about is if alien intelligences exist one of the most interesting things, they could find would be another technological alien species.  If they exist it makes sense that they would observe us from time to time.  Space is full of a whole lot of nothing alive, then a whole lot of single cell life, and technological complex multi cellular life seems rare.   That would make us interesting.

The online discourse of our time has come to the issue of plagiarism. Now Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman of Harvard and MIT have been accused of plagiarism for what are basically political reasons. Gay was president of Harvard and did not condemn students who protest against Israels actions in Gaza in ways that may cross a line into anti-semitism. A man named Bill Ackman a billionaire donor to Harvard is the husband of Neri Oxman so others have gone after her. In both of these cases what is being called Plagiarism is not plagiarism. Both of them are innocent of that and are at worst guilty of sloppy citation.

According to Websters Dictionary.
plagiarized; plagiarizing

In the past I have predicted certain things at the start of certain years.  This is a selection of those which I recall, along with issues I am watching out for the next year.  They include a solar eclipse that will happen, and an asteroid that is not likely to impact us.   

Christopher F Rufo has accused the president of Harvard of plagiarism in an effort so clumsy that his own case provides proof that he has no idea what plagiarism even is.   To use someone's ideas and build on them one must quote or paraphrase them, cite them in the text, and the citation should be accompanied with a reference that points to the original source.   In natural science it is quite often the case that people come up with the same basic idea independently.   In social science this can happen as well.  It is also the case that when describing the same concepts, one will use the same words.