I recently wrote about how to properly understand scientific studies. In this post, I want to discuss three recent pieces of news that might be producing science cynicism. I'll present each item, give examples of how it might be simplistically misconstrued, and then explain its true significance.… [more]
Unfortunately, it's looking like Bernie Sanders is not going to win the Democratic nomination. Or if he does, it will only be through a miraculous turnaround in how Democratic voters have been casting their ballots so far. (Perhaps in combination with a number of superdelegates switching their endorsements.)
Here's the scope of the challenge:… [more]
I have lots of friends who are very committed to either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, and their zeal has me feeling optimistic about the future of the Democratic party. Whoever wins the nomination is going to have an army of near-fanatics at their service, and I'm excited about the possible VPs each might select. I'm also looking forward to the next meaningful primary cycle four or eight years from now, when I suspect we'll have even better candidates to choose from — Hello, Elizabeth Warren!… [more]
This is my review of the recently recalled picture book, A Birthday Cake For George Washington. For those who haven't seen it and will now be unable to obtain it, here's my page by page synopsis of the book with excerpts from the text and tiny, super low resolution thumbnails of the interior pages.… [more]
I went out to see the full lunar eclipse tonight. Here on the West coast, the Moon was suppose to rise in time for us to see the whole nearly hour and a half of its full eclipse, but where I was, the Oakland hills and a thin layer of hazy cloud cover kept it out of sight for over an hour. … [more]
This image, and the idea of dyeing elephant tusks to destroy their value to poachers, has been floating around the Internet lately, sometimes presented as an idea that we should pursue, but more often being presented as something already being done. I looked into this and, unfortunately, it's not something that's being done right now, and worse, it might not be feasible at all.… [more]
You probably know about how Emily Dickinson's poetry can be sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas." … [more]
A reading of my favorite love poem for Valentine's Day.… [more]
I spent an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art when I was in New York earlier this week and almost literally stumbled on a new way of looking at paintings that had a remarkable effect on my experience with many of the paintings I saw that day.
Here's what you do:… [more]
"Blue is the Warmest Color" is a groundbreaking movie that should be seen by anyone with an interest in new ways of telling stories through film.
The movie's primary innovation is its absolute commitment to the faces of its characters. I've read reviews criticizing this as a "preoccupation with closeups," as if this were a lack of directorial balance, but that's ridiculous.… [more]
