“Politics with Hidden Bases” looked at Irish TDs, and found Fianna Fáil TDs are more likely than average to have Gaelic surnames, while Fine Gael have an above-average number of Old English surnames. The explanation offered is that in patriarchal households, so you vote like your Da, not your Ma, and the Gaels are rebels.… Continue reading The Wild Irish
Tag: science
The Conor Project
Last week Conor Lenihan planned to launch an anti-science screed. Then the taoiseach had a bad night, and the story died. But I was curious, so I sent an email to every sitting TD. Quoting the Project Steve statement, I asked three questions: Do you agree with the statement? Should evolution be part of the… Continue reading The Conor Project
News talk
Yesterday, the news cycle covered Conor Lenihan’s proposed launch of a book on creationism. The science minister began by defending the gig as a favour to a friend, then the story went away when the invitation was withdrawn. This afternoon Sean Moncrieff interviewed the author, John J May. Among the tweets in response to the… Continue reading News talk
In the beginning was the word
There was a time when book burning mattered. Once upon a time, religions enforced dictates by burning books containing the wrong opinions. To be orthodox was, literally, to hold the right opinion. And just in case that didn’t work, heretics were burned at the stake for good measure. At the end of the medieval era,… Continue reading In the beginning was the word
Failure to communicate
I attended a seminar on the chilling effects of libel this evening, hosted by the Science Gallery in TCD. Simon Singh spoke about his successful fight against the British Chiropractic Association, and Peter Wilmshurst spoke of his ongoing battle with NMT Medical, a US medical devices maker. Two lawyers also addressed the gathering. After a… Continue reading Failure to communicate
It’s Alive!
This week, scientists created artificial life. Well, sort of. Truth is, once you snip away the press release puff and spin, it’s more a case that scientists copied life. Here’s how the BBC reported what happened: ‘The researchers copied an existing bacterial genome. They sequenced its genetic code and then used synthesis machines to chemically… Continue reading It’s Alive!
Junk Watch
On the final day of my holiday in Donegal, I passed by a health food store. In the window was a handwritten notice offering “herbal swine flu remedies”. Then today, the Mayo News used their twitter account to promote the same idea. ‘Beat swine fly naturally with herbal remedies.’ Oh dear! Pseudoscience has been a… Continue reading Junk Watch
ConCERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research – better known as CERN – plans to press a Big Red Button on Wednesday, accelerating protons to within a whisker of the speed of light then smashing them against each other to recreate conditions similar to those just after the Big Bang. Naturally, this has brought the doomsayers… Continue reading ConCERN
To Infinity And Beyond
Which came first, the thought or the word? Or put another way, can you have a concept of without a word for it? In one of his Discworld novels, Terry Pratchett writes a scene in which a troll, despite a limited counting system (one, two, three, many, lots) is able to carry out sophisticated calculations.… Continue reading To Infinity And Beyond
Dead Planet Sketch
Poor old Pluto just can’t get a break. First it’s demoted from a plant to a dwarf planet. That’s not too bad. It’s no longer the Premiership, but at least it’s still a planet. Then the International Astronomical Union announced that dwarf plants will in future be known as plutoids. Pluto wasn’t easy to find.… Continue reading Dead Planet Sketch