31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Supercollider Was an Unreasonable Gamble`
Now particle physics in the United States is struggling
to survive the d isaster of the Supercond ucting
Supercollid er. The Supercollid er was a gigantic particle
accelerator project that was canceled in 1 993 after about
3 billion d ollars had alread y been spent on it. The
cancellation was a personal traged y for many of my
friend s who had d evoted the best years of their lives to
the project. But when I speak of the d isaster of the
Supercond ucting Supercollid er, I d o not mean the can...Folksonomies: socialism government funding
Folksonomies: socialism government funding
1 
notes
notes08 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
Universities Targeting Out-of-State Admissions for Tuitio...
Colorado Mesa University was typical of most public institutions in the fall of 2007, with out-of-state students making up a small number, about 5 percent, of the overall student body. But when the economic downturn hit in the fall of 2008, and state support for higher education began dwindling, Colorado Mesa President Tim Foster knew it was time to shake up the status quo. He decided to aggressively recruit out-of-state students, who pay 50 percent to 60 percent more than do Colorado residen...Folksonomies: academia admissions
Folksonomies: academia admissions
1 ...at the expense of in-State students.
24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Humanity is Not the Purpose of the Universe, It is Humani...
Another phrase which occurs frequently in the propaganda of Christian fundamentalists is "scientific humanism." Scientific humanism is supposed to be a philosophy standing in opposition to Christian faith. Fundamentalists like to pretend that we have only two alternatives, either scientific humanism or their version of Christianity. But scientific humanism has as many different meanings as scientific materialism. Roughly speaking, a scientific humanist is somebody who believes in science and ...Folksonomies: humanism
Folksonomies: humanism
1 notes
notes01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Story of Flo, an Aging Chimpanzee Mother
Flo, inevitably, began to show her age. She wasn't strong enough to wean Flint when the time came, nor to care for her new infant Flame, born when Flint was only four and a half years old (the normal birth interval is five years or more). Flame disappeared during a time when Flo was too ill even to climb into a nest. Though she recovered somewhat after Flame's death, she did not have the strength to discipline Flint, who insisted on riding on her back and sleeping in her nest. When Flo died i... 1 notes
notesShe is too old to properly raise her infant, who grows up to be too dependent on her and cannot go on when she dies. This story is from the "F" family that Jane Goodall studied.
07 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Learning Different Perspectives Makes Children Better Liars
Children's discoveries about belief also have consequences for other aspects of their relations to people. To deceive peopie, or to recognize that they are deceiving you, you need to be able to understand the differences between what they believe and what you believe. Doing that depends on understanding the way beliefs work. It depends on knowing what you have to do to make someone believe something that isn't actually true. Two- and three-year-olds are such terrible liars. they hardly qualif... 1 notes
notesBefore they understand that other people have different perspectives, children make terrible liars.
19 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Theory of Evolution Predicts the Existence of a Species
Both Darwin and his co-discoverer of natural selection, Wallace, called attention to an
amazing orchid from Madagascar, Angraecum sesquipedale (see colour page 4), and both men
made the same remarkable prediction, which was later triumphantly vindicated. This orchid has
tubular nectaries that reach down more than 11 inches by Darwin's own ruler. That's nearly 30
centimetres. A related species, Angraecum longicalcar, has nectar-bearing spurs that are even
longer, up to 40 centimetres (more tha...The existence of an orchid means there must be a species adapted to reaching its nectar.
03 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
Kennedy's Speech to Congress Requesting Funds for the Spa...
First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel...
1 Quite amazing what he was asking for here. Could such an endeavor be engaged by the nation again today?
