How our reflexive mistrust of authority hurts America By E.E. Robakis Defiance is a deeply American trait, rendered, for better or worse, into a national pastime. Americans are chronically, debilitatingly anti-authority; this has deep roots in the colonization of North America by Europeans and the establishment of this country as a “safe haven” from tyrannical […]
Sure, the recently announced Nobel Prizes are a big deal, but the 2020 Ig Nobel Prizes bring a little lightness during these heavy times By Kathleen Apakupakul What does the size of your eyebrows have to do with how vain you are? What does kissing have to do with how well your country’s economy is […]
The same facts will sound different to people depending on what they already believe. By Adrian Bardon, Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University Bemoaning uneven individual and state compliance with public health recommendations, top U.S. COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci recently blamed the country’s ineffective pandemic response on an American “anti-science bias.” He called this bias […]
By Mike Gaworecki Accurately evaluating forest carbon stocks is difficult to do in remote rainforests where researchers are afforded limited access. It is widely believed that only experts can properly measure forest biomass, but a new study found that well-trained indigenous technicians are just as effective at collecting the necessary data to monitor forest carbon variability. […]
Cris Ledón-Rettig, Indiana University, Bloomington Picture a lion: The male has a luxuriant mane, the female doesn’t. This is a classic example of what biologists call sexual dimorphism – the two sexes of the same species exhibit differences in form or behavior. Male and female lions pretty much share the same genetic information, but look […]
By Ana Aranha and João Diaz – Repórter Brasil Leading expert on modern-day slavery Kevin Bales talks about the lack of tools available to stop the flow of money from consumers to networks facilitating human rights abuse and environmental destruction. Kevin Bales is co-founder of the advocacy group Free the Slaves and professor of Contemporary Slavery […]
Two Twitter hashtags signal new era for science outreach By Ben Lybarger Two events last month generated an incredible response on social media. One was triggered by Donald Trump’s reported pressuring of female staff members to “to dress like women.” This spurred the hashtag #dresslikeawoman, which has managed to deconstruct antiquated gender norms related to fashion […]
Article by John Cook, George Mason University Image: Pardon me while I blow this out of proportion. Blowfish image via www.shutterstock.com. A famous psychology experiment instructed participants to watch a short video, counting the number of times players in white shirts passed the ball. If you haven’t seen it before, I encourage you to give the following […]
Article by David Varel, Case Western Reserve University Photo: Allison Davis, circa 1965. Courtesy of the Davis family. When black historian Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1926 (expanded to Black History Month in 1976), the prevailing sentiment was that black people had no history. They were little more than the hewers of wood and […]
