Applying the Null Hypothesis to the eternal
I just had to use the Null Hypothesis in my psych homework. So What’s p value for god?
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Overdosing against homeopathy at Boots
I love a novel approach in activism and it’s nice to see a corner of the pro-science camp take it to the streets for a change. At exactly 10:23 am on January 30, hundreads of homeopathy sceptics across the UK will go into Boots, a UK chain of pharmacies and join a mass homeopathic ‘overdose’. No need to fret about safety of swallowing a hundred or so pills of the alleged “cures” unless you happen to suffer from hyperglycemia.
The effect of downing a bottle of homeopathic ‘pillules’ would be about the same as quaffing as many Pez, and that’s the point. While homeopathy has no proven ability to cure anything, the pills are offered for sale in Boots pharmacies with labels alleging to help with various physiological problems. A number of them have the boots brand. This is interesting since the company itself gave testimony to the Commons Science and Technology Committee that it doesn’t find homeopathic remedies to be effective. So is the snake oil industry just to lucrative to give up on?
The 1023 Statement: “We call upon Boots to withdraw all homeopathic products from your shelves. You should not be involved in the sale of ineffective products, because your customers trust you to do what is right for their health. Surely you agree that your commitment to excellent patient care is better served by supplying only those products whose claims can be substantiated by rigorous scientific research? Or do you really believe that Boots should be in the business of selling placebos to the sick and the injured?”
Monsters From The Id: Science Is Mankind’s Last Great Hope
And now, something that makes cinema worth while; a documentary that possibly explains why there really weren’t that many people who knew what the hell Al Gore was banging on about in an Inconvenient Truth.
“The 1950’s was an idealistic time in American History, filled with hope, opportunity, and wonder. It was also, “The Atomic Age” where new technology promised to both save humanity as well as put it in jeopardy. All of these factors gave birth to one of the most prolific genres in film history, 1950’s Science Fiction Cinema.”
Trolling the web to mine for harbingers of ecological collapse
Some people surf the web, and some others “monitor the situation.” In a case of the latter, here’s a very cool data mining story (and an even better graphic) about how inteligence gathering from seemingly unconnected chat rooms, websites and forums can work as an ecological warning system:
The Interwebs could become an early warning system for when the web of life is about to fray.
By trawling scientific list-serves, Chinese fish market websites, and local news sources, ecologists think they can use human beings as sensors by mining their communications.
via Crawling the Web to Foretell Ecosystem Collapse at Wired Science
RealClimate: Advice for a young climate blogger
RealClimate is one of the best, most readable science blogs out there, and this post reveals why. Their 13 rules for climate bloggers should redone as an agreement that people have to make to set up shop at blogger.com.
Great advice for anyone taking on almost any topic that is largely not understood by the general public, grossly over-simplified in the media or misrepresented by the propaganda machine. My favorite rule in this post is, “If you get noticed by the propagandists, wear that attention like a badge of honor.”
Congratulations! You have taken the first step towards attempting to communicate your expertise and thoughts to the wider world, which remains poorly served by its traditional sources of information when it comes to complex societally relevant issues like climate change. Your aim to clarify the science (or policy options or ethical considerations or simply to explain your views) is a noble endeavor and we wish you luck and wide readership. But do be aware that you are dipping your blog into sometimes treacherous waters. Bad things can happen to good bloggers. So in a spirit of blog-camaraderie, and in light of our own experiences and observations, we offer some advice that may be of some help in navigating the political climate relatively unscathed.
via RealClimate
And while you’re there, read this post on George Will and the Washington Post getting schooled on their science fact checking.
Obama speech quotes put to graphic design
To commemorate Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president of America, The Guardian commissioned illustrators to depict the most momentous parts of his campaign speeches. Content aside, they point me to some pretty good typography out there to hunt down and add to my font collection. I post this one in honor of scientists everywhere who were ignored for eight years of George W Bush. This was one of my favorite of his statements while on the stump. We’ll see if it still rings true or not four years on, though. — Link
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”