Category Archives: Science

Paean to Science Communicators

By Jesse Galef on November 16, 2009 in Comics, Science.

by Jesse Galef
As you have probably realized by now, I have a deep appreciation for the majesty of the universe and great admiration for those who can express and communicate it well. I grew up watching Bill Nye instead of Carl Sagan, but they can both make me smile and inspire a sense of wonder. [...]

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How Observant Are You?

By Jesse Galef on November 14, 2009 in Evidence, Psychology, Science, Videos.

by Jesse Galef
I’m always astounded at how poor data-gathering devices we humans are. Forget all the hallucinations and misinterpretations, we simply don’t notice or retain most of what happens around us. Here’s a great demonstration (via Richard Wiseman’s blog)

I was pretty pathetic. How did you all do?
This is one of the reasons we developed [...]

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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Contagious Enthusiasm

By Jesse Galef on November 13, 2009 in Science, Technology, Videos.

by Jesse Galef
Those of you who also follow my posts at FriendlyAtheist know I’m a huge fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson. I think he’s an excellent science communicator and role model. He’s so enthusiastic about science and he makes others interested through his exuberance.
Back story (taken from the youtube info):
TIME recently went to interview [...]

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Aliens vs Demons

By Jesse Galef on November 13, 2009 in Myth, Paranormal, Psychology, Science.

by Jesse Galef
Can you tell the difference between Aliens and Demons? If you were visited in the night by an intelligent, non-human entity, could you really distinguish between them? (In a sidenote I’m not addressing right now, how would you know the voice in your head is God and not a tricky demon? How do [...]

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Super Monkey Collider Loses Funding

By Daniel Florien on November 11, 2009 in Humor, Science.

This is a huge setback for scientific research:
Congress voted Monday to cut federal funding for the superconducting monkey collider, a controversial experiment which has cost taxpayers an estimated $7.6 billion a year since its creation in 1983.
The collider, which was to be built within a 45-mile-long circular tunnel, would accelerate monkeys to near-light speeds before [...]

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Evolution Is a Fact

By Daniel Florien on November 11, 2009 in Creationism / ID, Evolution, Quotes, Science.

Richard Dawkins explains why evolution is a fact beyond reasonable doubt in his latest book, The Greatest Show On Earth:
Evolution is a fact. Beyond reasonable doubt, beyond serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt evolution is a fact. The evidence for evolution is at least as strong for the evidence for the Holocaust, even allowing [...]

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How Much Power Does The Human Brain Require To Operate?

By Daniel Florien on November 8, 2009 in Science, Technology.

A lot, at least if we were to replicate it with our current technology:
According to Kwabena Boahen, a computer scientist at Stanford University, a robot with a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. That’s the amount of energy produced by a small hydroelectric plant. But a [...]

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