Category Archives: Science

J. Bronowksi: THE ASCENT OF MAN

(Little, Brown, 1973, 448pp, including 9pp (in tiny print) of bibliography and index) This is a substantial book that was popular in its time but is probably not really recommendable now, simply because it’s 50 years out of date in … Continue reading

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Academic Freedom, Good Citizens, and Moving Forward

Alan Lightman on academic freedom; Alan Lightman and Martin Rees on how scientists can be good citizens; Rewatching Conclave, and recalling two key quotes, about certainty, and moving forward. – – – The very idea of academic freedom, of freedom … Continue reading

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The Clueless Conservative War on Reality

MAGA’s war science: Ignorance is Strength!; Trump doesn’t understand the separation of church and state; Trump doesn’t understand how trade deficits worth; Trump thinks Veterans Day should be only about veterans who won wars; Trump doesn’t understand even the Declaration … Continue reading

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Timothy Ferris, COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY

(Morrow, 1988, 495pp, including 107pp of appendices (a glossary and a timeline history of the universe), notes, bibliography, and index) This is the first big substantial nonfiction book I’ve read in a while, especially one specifically about science. Ferris is … Continue reading

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Edward O. Wilson: LETTERS TO A YOUNG SCIENTIST

(Liveright, 2013, 244pp, including 4pp of acknowledgements and photo credits) This is one of Wilson’s later, perhaps lesser books, compared to his earlier tomes like ON HUMAN NATURE and CONSILIENCE. It’s more like THE ORIGINS OF CREATIVITY and GENESIS (both … Continue reading

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Chris Mooney, THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON SCIENCE

(Basic Books, 2005, 342pp, including 86pp of interview credits, other credits, notes, and index.) This is journalist Mooney’s first book, from 20 years ago, and it’s especially apropos to look back at now given the hostility to and/or misunderstanding of … Continue reading

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Who’s Happiest and Why?

Phil Zuckerman on that World Happiness Report; A NYT article about alternatives to religion; Recalling mythos and logos; Richard Dawkins on how reality is so much more interesting than religion, And Vox on social trends that may affect religious affiliations. … Continue reading

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Tribal Warpaint

How Trump doesn’t want to govern, and rejects the idea of American government as a collaboration; How the idea of consumer choice led to the idea of being gay; Trump and covid.gov rewrite the history, as authoritarians do; How Trump … Continue reading

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The Cowboy Myth, Presidential Corruption, and Disingenuous Cuts to Science Research

Heather Cox Richard on the “cowboy myth” that informs the Trump presidency; How Trump et al are giving billionaires a bad name; How Trump has done the most corrupt thing any president has ever done — getting rich from anonymous … Continue reading

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Conservative Intellectuals, and the Wrong Way to Do Science

Robert Reich collects comments from conservative intellectuals about the Trump administration; Reich summarizes ten points that demonstrates Trump’s ineptitude and incompetence; Similarly, Salon’s Brian Karem on how Trump has turned the White House into a joke; How RFK Jr.’s approach … Continue reading

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