Over the past fifty years, anomalies have occurred within Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Some of these have caught the attention of scientists and environmentalists only, while others have produced media frenzies. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring identified the risks of bioaccumulation to egg-laying animals, especially raptors (1962); habitat destruction led to the near extinction of the snail darter (1977) and the Northern Spotted Owl (1980s); the fungal threat to the existence of the Cavendish banana (1992) brought attention to the Gros Michel banana crisis of the 1950s, both related to monocultural farming practices; a marked increase in malformed amphibians highlighted…
The Science Creative Quarterly
From May, 2007
THE SOCIAL NORM OF LEAVING THE TOILET SEAT DOWN: A GAME THEORETIC ANALYSIS
The issue of whether the toilet seat should be left up or down after use seemingly generates a lot of passion among the parties concerned, however, scientific inquiries into the matter are almost non-existent. Notable exceptions are Choi (2002) and Harter (2005). Choi (2002) argues that the rule of leaving the toilet seat down after use is inefficient in the sense that there is at least one other rule that outperform this rule. The unit of analysis in Choi (2002) is the household and the efficient rule is defined as one that minimizes the total cost of toilet seat operations…
DR SCIENCE AND ME
As a real scientist, I have hated the “Ask Dr. Science” humorous newspaper column ever since I was a small child. I mean, this man, this “Dr. Science,” who writes the column is obviously deranged: a compulsive liar who seems to know almost nothing about science. In contrast, I was almost a child genius who graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics at age 17 (note to editor: please be careful not to delete the word “almost”). But, did anyone give me a nationally syndicated column called “Ask Dr. Science”? Need I answer that question? The “Ask Dr.…
ALL CHANGE IS NOT EVOLUTIONARY
What is evolution? Who was Darwin? What do the words Darwinism, natural selection, or survival of the fittest really mean? These words and phrases have been bandied around over the past century, used interchangeably, frequently in the news, and known very much as players of one of the most controversial topics in our society today. Basically, Darwin opened a pretty large can of worms when he wrote “On the Origin of Species” in 1859, and the impact of “The Descent of Man” can still be felt today. In short, evolution is the process whereby species arise. Natural selection is a…
METRICS: THE CELCIUS
Metric: Celsius Measures: Primarily the vibrational and rotational kinetic energy of atoms (you know, hotness). Range: -273.15oC. This is known as absolute zero, a temperature at which nothing could be colder. Some Irishman named Kelvin came up with a scale that started 0 from this value, but basically had the same increments as the Celsius scale. He then substituted “degrees Celsius” with “Kelvins”.** -40oC. Where the Celsius scale intersects with the Fahrenheit temperature metric (i.e. -40oC = -40oF). This temperature is as frosty as Canada/U.S. relations. -20oC. Witch’s teat territory. 0oC. On a day where the freezing mark is reached,…
JOURNAL CLUB FIND: HOW TO BE A BORING WRITER – THE STUDY.
Fig. 1. ‘‘Congratulations, you are now capable of writing technical, impersonal and boring papers like myself and the other gentlemen – Drawing by Sverre Stein Nielsen. REFERENCE: How to write consistently boring scientific literature (page 1 pdf). (2007) Oikos 116: 723 – 727. ABSTRACT: Although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting and adventurous when they talk to laymen and prospective students, the allure of this enthusiasm is too often lost in the predictable, stilted structure and language of their scientific publications. I present here, a top-10 list of recommendations for how to write consistently boring scientific publications.…
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (A.K.A. IT APPEARS THAT THE WRITER WROTE ABOUT BANANAS AFTER EATING A FEW TOO MANY)
Both scientific research and personal experiences are proving, without a doubt, that there is a connection between what we eat and how we think and act – hence the saying “you are what you eat”. This happy-food-to-happy-mood relationship is bridged by “happy” neurotransmitters in our bodies. Just think of “happy” neurotransmitters as the money-orders from your out of town parents that are speedily delivered on highway by FedEx to you. Receiving the money-orders solves your credit card overdue and that makes you really happy! Put it in the context of biology, neurotransmitters are messengers that relay sensations and actions along…
THE MURPHY’S LAW EQUATION
There are many laws in the physical sciences, most of which have mathematical equations that govern them. Widely know laws such as the laws of electricity and magnetism, have Maxwell’s equations. Fluid-flow is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations, and of course everyone is familiar with Einstein’s energy to mass relation, E=mc2. Why then does an equally relevant and useful law, Murphy’s Law, have no such foundational equation? In what follows I present an equation to predict the outcome of Murphy’s Law. The law, in its simplest form, states: “If anything can possibly go wrong, it will, and at the worst…
OBESITY AND DIABETES: A CANADIAN EPIDEMIC
Kahnawake is a Mohawk community of 7000 people, located 12 miles north of Montreal, Quebec, on the bank of the St. Lawrence River. Originally settled in 1680, the community traditionally relied on fishing and hunting for food, as well as gathering corn, beans and squash from the area. However, despite the healthy meat and vegetable based diet of the past, today over 800 people (12%), between the age of 45 & 64, live with diabetes (1). Sixty percent of these people are living with major complications, such as blindness and kidney failure; 48% have heart disease as a result of…