Over the past month or so, there has been an exchange of comments regarding my OP L&FP 48, where I note how New Atheist Stefan Molyneaux, in his “Universally Preferable Behavior” (2007), stumbled across the Ciceronian first duties of reason. As a part of that, sometime objector VL raised the claim: Obviously, for one to Read More…
Well, Jogalekar finally got a chance to tell his story re what happened at Scientific American
Asaronaon: Ashutosh used to write regularly for Scientific American, until he was fired seven years ago over a column in which he advocated acknowledging Richard Feynman’s flaws, including his arrogance and casual sexism, but also understanding those flaws within the context of Feynman’s whole life, including the tragic death of his first wife Arlene.
At The Conversation: How could the Big Bang arise from nothing?
Wait. There is a simpler explanation: In the beginning, the Lord created the heavens and the earth.
Here’s a new one for coffee hour: Rogue planets
At ScienceDaily: Rogue planets are elusive cosmic objects that have masses comparable to those of the planets in our Solar System but do not orbit a star, instead roaming freely on their own.
The million to one statistical fluke that creates our universe
Sheldon: the “Hubble Tension” has increased as the numbers didn’t budge, but the error bars kept getting smaller. We are now some 8 sigma apart.
Researcher found guilty of lying about links to China
At Harvard Crimson: Jurors deliberated for just shy of three hours before coming to a verdict Tuesday evening. Lieber showed little reaction as the decision was read in court.
Another example of our earthly uniqueness
Michelle Starr: Since red dwarfs are so abundant, and so stable, and since we shouldn’t automatically consider ourselves to be cosmically special, the fact we’re not orbiting a red dwarf should therefore be somewhat surprising.
At Fox News: Adam and Eve are compatible with evolution
When we consider the huge difference between human beings and any other life form on the planet, it is more reasonable to assume that we had one pair of ancestors than that we had many.
Why (some) physicists think a multiverse exists
As stated by Ethan Siegel, it sounds like nonsense. But Siegel makes it sound like physics, which is certainly a feat.
How do we distinguish between science and pseudoscience?
Michael Gordin: The gray area is produced by the fact that almost every significant new scientific claim can potentially be the subject of controversy, the fuel that powers the cycles of credit and reputation.
Does philosophy make better scientists?
Shraim: Most of us have a foundational understanding in this area — but, as a philosophy student, I was required to take a structured course in logic. At the start, it was like taking a class in brain-teaser puzzles: A∨B is true if both A and B are true; A∧B is true if either A or B is true.
If math is a reality, atheism is dead
At ScienceAlert: Earlier this year, researchers discovered what they described as a previously unknown law of nature: a growth pattern which describes how pointed shapes form again and again in nature – from shark teeth and spider fangs to bird beaks and dinosaur horns.
A teenager does a good job of explaining the existence of God.
If it weren’t for God, you would not know anything at all. Hat tip: Philip Cunningham
We’ve all heard about the “fact-checking” nonsense but…
Fact-checking merely amounts to ensuring that media are towing the Correct line. Nothing to do with facts as such, like the nurse risking her career to hold the dying baby.
Water bears (tardigrades) create a puzzle re evolution of walking
At Ars Technica: Specifically, as the tardigrades sped up, they would transition between having five legs on the ground, then four legs on the ground, then three legs on the ground—just like insects and arthropods, despite a 20-million-year evolutionary gap between them. “