Energy Balance Revisited
Going back a few years I published an article simplifying the calculations for atmospheric greenhouse gas effects for undergraduate non-science majors,
Blais, B. (2003). Teaching energy balance using round numbers …
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Category: science
Leon Cooper passes away
My mentor and friend Leon Cooper has died at the age of 94. I am still grappling with this news, hitting me harder than I expected. However, why wouldn't I …
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One Rule to Rule Them All Bayesian Analysis in the Sciences
I'm giving a talk at the Fall Cross-Disciplinary Research, Teaching and Technology Symposium on Wednesday November 9th, 2:00PM – 5:00PM at Bryant University. The theme this semester is Bayesian …
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Why do we need double-blind studies?
I was recently reading some articles about dubious medical procedures, and the claims of miraculous healings. I was struck by a level of credulity with some of these claims, but …
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Chemical Reaction Dynamics Reproducing a Computational Paper
As an exercise, I like to reproduce computational papers, but with my own tools. This let's me know that I understand completely what is being written and in many cases …
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Simulating Stochastic Processes Gillespie Algorithm
In this post we are going to explore the simulation of stochastic (i.e. random) processes, and work our way to understanding how the Gillespie algorithm works. We'll be using …
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Gravitational Attraction
What would happen if two people out in space a few meters apart, abandoned by their spacecraft, decided to wait until gravity pulled them together? My initial thought was that …
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A Simple Physics Problem Gets Messy
A physics problem from a practice AP test came to my attention, when my daughter was in AP physics this past spring. I went over her solutions when she did …
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10 dogmas of science dismantled
In his talk about the limitations of science, Rupert Sheldrake lists the "10 dogmas of modern science" (also listed here in text http://wariscrime.com/new/the-ten-dogmas-of-modern-science/). They are:
- Everything …
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Physics Lab Ideas - Structure or No?
Over the years I have taught introductory physics labs and I have seen that most “canned” labs offer very little to the student in the form of learning. I summarize …
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Sea Slug Brains …delicious or no?
I learned a somewhat disturbing fact about sea squirts recently - once they find their permanent home they eat their own brain because they don’t need it anymore - their brain …
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I'm not a Denier, I'm a Skeptic And yes, there is a difference
In this tumultuous time, it is important to not demonize people who disagree with you. It is also important to recognize that people can have nuanced views on complex subjects …
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Art, Scientific Reductionism, and the New Neuroscience
Introduction
In an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Alva Noë challenges the neuroscience paradigm, summarized as
The momentous proposition is this: Every thought, feeling, experience, impression, value, argument …
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