Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel bravely leaps into the field of science and, unsurprisingly, lands with a resounding thud. Read these two paragraphs, which betray either complete ignorance of the big bang and evolutionary theories or the deliberate construction of an absurd straw man:
Category Archive: Science
Mar 20 2013
The Solar Energy Future
Glen Hiemstra has an article about what I think is a likely future development in the use of solar energy, which is solar roads that generate electricity. Combined with the ability to transfer electricity wirelessly to vehicles, I think this may ultimately replace our current system of inert roads and gas-guzzling cars.
Mar 10 2013
Owls and Larks: The Importance of Sleep Chronotypes
Elizabeth Kolbert reviews a couple of recent books on the science of sleep and hits on something that increasingly fascinates me, which is how different people have very different sleep patterns. One of those books discusses how those distinct patterns can put one quite out of step with normal society.
Mar 01 2013
The Absurdity of the ‘Rational Science’ Method
I’ve recently come across this group that refers to themselves as advocating “rational science.” There’s a Facebook group for it. They are followers of a first class looney tune named Bill Gaede, who is a 9/11 truther and apparently believes that all science after Faraday is wrong. You can find more information here.
Jan 10 2013
SCOTUS Denies Cert in Stem Cell Case
The Supreme Court this week denied cert (that is, refused to hear the appeal) in a case where two scientists are trying to prevent the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) even if it involves stem cell lines that already exist. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them, so …
Dec 02 2012
The ‘Science’ of Bigfoot, Done by Press Release
Here’s another perfect example of pseudoscience by press release, making breathless claims about the DNA of Bigfoot being sequenced and found to be a new species of hominid that is a hybrid of Homo sapiens and some other species. Ben Radford of the Committee for Scientific Inquiry explains:
Oct 08 2012
Stem cells in the 2012 Presidential election
This is a guest post by Laurel Barchas, the Director of Academic Outreach for the Genetics Policy Institute and a friend and classmate of my old pal Nick Matzke at Berkley. It’s about an upcoming conference on stem cell research and the political implications for that research pending the outcome of the presidential election.
Jul 30 2012
The Unreality of Reality TV — Or Why NatGeo Should Be Ashamed
One of the more irritating things about the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel, which purport to be pro-science and educational, is how often they put on shows that push egregious nonsense instead of critical thinking. And a new NatGeo show about UFOs is so bad that even the stars of the show are …
Jun 07 2012
Why Framing Matters, Climate Change Edition
I wrote recently about Jonathan Adler’s conservative and libertarian argument for taking climate change seriously and adopting policies to respond to it. Here’s a recent paper that supports the importance of framing an argument effectively in order to get people to respond positively to it. The bottom line is that evidence rarely actually changes anyone’s …
Jun 03 2012
Can We Please Ban the Evolution Article Template?
This article just pisses me off, as has almost every article in the media about evolution, especially human evolution, for as long as I can remember. I swear there must be a template in Microsoft Word for such articles, where the meaningless term “missing link” is already there, along with a title that announces how …
Apr 30 2012
WND Pimps Nonsense on Oil Again
Birtherism isn’t the only conspiracy that Jerome Corsi, the Worldnutdaily’s favorite loony, believes in. He also believes that oil is abiotic and has a new book out about it, with WND promoting it by asking the idiotic question “HOW DID DINOSAURS GET MILES UNDER THE EARTH?”
Apr 29 2012
Michigan Senate Threatens U of M Over Stem Cell Research
In 2008, Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum that overturned the state’s laws against embryonic stem cell research. The University of Michigan, one of the premier medical research facilities in the world, quickly became a hot spot for such research. And now the Republicans in Michigan want to cut its funding over it. Sen. Gretchen …
Apr 19 2012
Vic Stenger’s New Book
Physicist Vic Stenger has a new book out, God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion. It’s about Christianity and science, arguing that the religion held back the progress of science for centuries.
Feb 28 2012
Barton Explains Science and Religion
David Barton has decided that all scientists in the world are doing it wrong. You see, they should really just be reading the Bible because any science that is in conflict with the Bible must be wrong, no matter how much it explains or how rigorously it’s tested.
Dec 14 2011
Santorum Gets It Exactly Backwards
Rick Santorum, author of the infamous Santorum amendment that would have encouraged local schools to teach intelligent design in science classrooms (if it hadn’t been removed from the final bill by a conference committee), says that science should stay out of politics:
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