Sagan’s Demonless World: An Impassioned Plea for Scientific Skepticism March 31, 2009

I very recently finished reading Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.  In it, Sagan argues that scientific skepticism and critical thinking in general should be taught more rigorously in our nation’s schools as a means to strengthen our freedom and democracy.  Sagan examines multiple topics of pseudoscience to show how a greater skepticism in the public would make fewer people so easily susceptible to claims such as telepathy, ESP, UFO sightings, alien abductions, and witchcraft. 

 

Sagan demonstrates the beauty of scientific skepticism by indicating that he is ready to believe any of these claims, so long as there is adequate evidence to support them.  In fact, Sagan was very much involved with the effort to seek out extraterrestrial life.  But, as a good practitioner of scientific skepticism, he insisted on evidence. 

 

As Sagan argues in the later chapters of the book, a public skepticism promotes freedom and democracy.  Greater freedom is had by ensuring that the public does not blindly accept what those in authority dictate.  The interests of democracy are preserved in scientific skepticism’s willingness to consider evidence and change opinions, views, and conclusions accordingly.  That, I think, is at the heart of scientific skepticism: insist on good evidence and follow where the evidence leads. 

 

If the public gains a greater appreciation for and awareness of the rigors of the scientific method and the rigors of the peer-review process, we will have a greater ability to sift the good science from the pseudoscience.  Creationists sometimes claim that their articles are not published in peer-reviewed journals because the science cartel doesn’t agree with creationism.  They may be correct that science doesn’t accept creationist dogma, but they are wrong in asserting that reason as the basis for any refusal to publish their work, if any.  The reason their work is not published is because it is not science.  It doesn’t employ the scientific method and it cannot withstand the scrutiny of its peers.  So, it doesn’t get published in the peer-review process.  If people understood this checks-and-balances system, perhaps we would not be expending energy to keep creationist teachings out of the public school system. 

 

In any event, The Demon-Haunted World is an important book and we would do well to heed its advice.

Animal Update September 3, 2008

 

 

• The mantis shrimp has a pretty cool view.  According to recent studies, the mantis shrimp’s eye can detect circularly polarized light, which no other animal can see (at least that we currently know about).  Not only that, but the shrimps’ bodies actually produce that type of light.  So, one shrimp can broadcast its whereabouts to other shrimp while remaining safe that predators will not be able to pick up the sight.  

• The remains of a previously unknown, though now-extinct, species of giant clam has been discovered in the Red Sea.  The announcement in the journal Current Biology suggests that the clam’s extinction may have resulted from overfishing by humans.  

• What would a good animal update be without some information about humans?  Well, researchers say that they may have discovered another taste that humans can detect—calcium.  I never really thought calcium was a taste, like sweet or sour.  But in any event the researchers say that mice, which have very similar DNA to humans, have the ability to actually taste calcium.  What’s more, they apparently have receptors designed for calcium.  

• In other Current Biology news, scientists have discovered that when baby Nile crocodiles tap on their egg casings, they are actually communicating with both other wee crocodiles and with adults.  Once the tapping begins, which is a precursor to birth, it prompts other baby crocs to begin the birth process.  At the same time, the tapping tells the adult tending the nest that it is time to dig up the buried eggs.  

Cat-Like Reflexes? Try the Fly August 30, 2008

In more cool animal news, scientists have discovered how flies are so swift and adept at fleeing from danger. Because flies have eyes that enable them to see nearly completely around them, they can perceive threats from almost any angle. In a tremendously rapid action (200 milliseconds), they can adjust their legs and body position to efficiently escape from the threat.

Squid Beaks May Lead to Engineering Breakthroughs March 28, 2008

A squid mystery has been solved.  Apparently, scientists did not know how squid beaks were able to remain attached to the squid’s soft tissue as it bites into prey.  The large amount of force exerted on the soft tissue surrounding the beak when biting should cause the beak to separate from the tissue.  Scientists discovered that the beak contains a chemical in gradually lower levels from the tip of the beak to the base that connects with the soft tissue.  This discovery could lead to significant breakthroughs which will enable engineers to design objects with mixed materials that would otherwise not function properly together. 

Cool News from the Animal World March 14, 2008

• Researchers have solved the mystery of how alligators move so stealthily through water. It turns out alligators have exceptionally large muscles around their lungs, giving them the ability to actually move their lungs to shift their buoyancy.
  

• A dolphin in New Zealand rescued two pygmy sperm whales trapped on a beach and guided the whales back to the ocean. Watch a video of the dolphin here.

• Bees can be pretty intimidating, even to other bees. Researchers discovered a link between black spots on the faces of paper wasps and a disincentive to fight in the wasps. Apparently, the more well-fed and bigger wasps develop black spots on their faces, which serve as a signal to other wasps to stay away.
  

• As larvae, sand dollars can clone themselves to defend against being eaten by fish. Researchers discovered that sand dollars can produce smaller copies of themselves within 24 hours when confronted by chemical cues emitted by fish.

• Humans’ ability to digest starchy foods directly results from an enzyme in our saliva. Developing this enzyme may have contributed to the evolution of our large brains by giving us the ability to maximize caloric intake from otherwise indigestible foods. Watch a video here.
  

The Former Buzz February 26, 2008

The population of US honeybees is in dire straits due to a mysterious disease, which could have extraordinary effects on agriculture.  Honeybees pollinate many plants and are relied upon by agricultural interests across the United States.  But, the honeybees keep dying en masse.  

In a terrific article in the New Yorker magazine from last August, Elizabeth Kolbert describes the agricultural reliance on honeybees, as well as their drastic disappearance.  To give you an idea of the severity of the disease, the article describes it as an AIDS-like attack on the bees’ immune system, leaving them vulnerable to every bee disease out there. 

The Guardian newspaper is reporting that individual companies are now providing funding for research into this devastating disease.  Let’s hope they can find a cure. 

Wolves in the US—Hunt, Save, Hunt… The Pattern Continues February 22, 2008

The federal government announced today that the gray wolf will be removed from the endangered species list. The gray wolf was added to the endangered species list after becoming nearly extinct from the effects of hunting. Once the wolves are removed from the list, their management will revert to the states. National Geographic reported that three states want to begin hunting the wolves again, once their federal protection is removed.

While I understand the need to “manage” certain wildlife populations, I think it would be wise to remember how we got to this point in the first place and give the wolves some room to roam.

On Another Dark Note… February 18, 2008

Check out hubblesite.org.  There are some really phenomenal pictures of various spacey things taken by the Hubble Telescope.  Also available are some pretty cool desktop/screensaver images. 

San Francisco Magazine’s “Green With Worry” February 12, 2008

Standing in the check out lane of my neighborhood grocery store, I noticed this headline on the super-glossy cover of San Francisco Magazine, “It’s new. It’s green. It’s eco-anxiety.” The subheading promised to teach me how to “get past our free-floating guilt over global warming (plastic bags! polar bears!) and focus on what really matters.” Now, as someone who actually cares about the senseless ubiquity of plastic bags and polar bears drowning in the Arctic, I couldn’t help but feel that perhaps the article might treat these issues as neuroses of people who are “caring” too much and not having enough fun, rather than as legitimate concerns.

Those of us who consider ourselves environmentalists, or at least concerned about the human impact on the world we inhabit, (including many, many of us in the Bay Area), must certainly have felt a kind of green despair at some point. I feel them nearly every day, though I’m lucky that my worries don’t send me to the therapist, as has happened to certain people interviewed for the article. We are constantly thinking about our impact on the planet and, with humans’ incredibly poor choices in recent history, it’s easy to become distraught.

The answer to green worry, according to the article, is to recognize what you can change, and do your best to change those things, but also to recognize what cannot be changed. And, as the famous saying goes, the difficulty lies in distinguishing the two. I agree with the article in that I believe that the most good will come from each person focusing on their own choices and activities, and changing what they can change, to a reasonable extent. Education, or advocacy, is also extremely important. Otherwise, who of us would know how or what in our lives to change.

However, advocacy should not be condescending; it should be helpful and, where appropriate, fun. After all, the only reason I can call myself an environmentalist now is because someone along the way took me by the hand and showed me the impact of my choices and how I could do things differently. Rather than screeching at me about what an awful person I was for the choices I was making (and I guarantee I was making them in true, innocent ignorance of their results), this savior took me in with kindness and gave me the way.

But possibly the best way that I have found to overcome my green worry is to focus on the absolute wonder of the world, from the tiny ant with its intricate colonies to the galaxies that are thousands of light years across and hundreds of millions of light years from Earth. When I study the natural world and ponder its magnificence, I become peaceful and balanced. And the more peaceful and balanced I feel, the more I can summon the energy to help save what has given me such great tranquility.

I think this post is a perfect way to begin this new blog. I envision it as a combination of critique on the current state of affairs in terms of politics, society, and the law, and study of the wonder of the natural world. In that way, I hope to add a little balance, peace, and tranquility.

 

The article is available on San Francisco Magazine’s website, at http://www.sanfran.com/home/view_story/1895/