18 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
The Anti-Relativity Movement
America's embrace of Einstein stood in stark contrast to the treatment he was getting at home. Right-wing relativity deniers, like modern American climate science deniers, mounted ad hominem attacks against Einstein and his theory, which they loudly branded a "hoax." They were led by an engineer named Paul Weyland, who formed a small but mysteriously well-funded group that held anti-relativity rallies around Germany, denouncing the theory's "Jewish nature," and culminating in a major event at...Folksonomies: antiscience denial
Folksonomies: antiscience denial
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notes
notesJust as there are Climate Change Deniers today, there were those who would not accept Einstein's Theory for political reasons.
04 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Mark Lynas Admits His Error Concerning GMOs
I want to start with some apologies. For the record, here and upfront, I apologise for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonising an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.
As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not hav... 1 notes
notesFormer anti-GMO crusader admits that with a scientific understanding of GMOs, he came to understand how they can benefit the environment.
17 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Sarcastic Science
Sarcastic Science, she would like to know,
In her complacent ministry of fear,
How we propose to get away from here
When she has made things so we have to go
Or be wiped out. Will she be asked to show
Us how by rocket we may hope to steer
To some star off there, say, a half light-year
Through temperature of absolute zero?
Why wait for Science to supply the how
When any amateur can tell it now?
The way to go away should be the same
As fifty million years ago we came—
If anyone remembers how ...
1 A poem about science arguing we need to go to the stars, but it has made it so we must leave Earth. I wonder if Frost is referring to extinction as the way to go?
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Dr. Frankenstein as Scientific Hubris
I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the Thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful Engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handiwork, horror-st... 1 notes
notesFrom the author's introduction to her book.
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Dr. Victor Frankenstein Inspired by Science
‘The ancient teachers of this science,’ said he, ‘promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted, and that the elixir of life is a chimera. But these philosophers, whose hands seem only to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of Nature, and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heav... 1 notes
notesScience promises the secrets of the Universe, Shelley makes it sound like a dark art.
