Whither Science under McCain-Palin?

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Monday September 08, 2008 · 10:56 AM PDT

2008/09/08 · 10:56

My work on the evolution of aging got started on the basis that the National Institute on Aging is better funded than almost any other non-military research branch of the government. Older people vote, politicians and administrators tend to be older, and our population is getting older, so we offer funding to researchers who will work on issues relating to aging. I happen to also find the topic fascinating, and think it raises wonderful evolutionary questions, but I would not have ended up pursuing it if there was no funding available. America cares about aging, so I study it.

In many ways, this is how it should be. If you hire a doctor or a lawyer, you are likely to have some specific benefits you are willing to individually pay for. Remove the cancer, fight the charges. When society hires an academic researcher, individual level benefits are likely to be few or far off, but society expects societal returns. Those who funded early research into the nature of electricity did not anticipate the particular technologies we enjoy based on that work, but they correctly predicted it would somehow be very valuable to society. But what happens when government places no value in science?

Dan Quixote

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Wednesday June 04, 2008 · 9:09 PM PDT

2008/06/04 · 21:09

For as long as there have been science classes, creationists have wanted to teach creationism as science. And in many countries, including this one, they have often done so. In some countries, much more so than the US, they still do. But in the US they have suffered a long series of court defeats on the basis that creationism is religion, and not science, and therefore does not belong in science classes. And it often seems like a battle that can't really be won, because as soon as they lose one court battle they repackage and try again. But considering that history as outlined in this NYTimes article gives me a sense that while we will never convince them to give up entirely, in the long run they are gradually being forced, by their own perverse need to make creationism into science to adopt positions with more and more resemblance to science. After the jump I argue that in the long term we have, and will continue to, make progress.

Poll

48 votes Show Results

Are we making progress in the fight against teaching creationism as science?

48 votes Vote Now!

Are we making progress in the fight against teaching creationism as science?

Yes!

16 votes

It's more complicated than that.

12 votes

Maybe.

7 votes

No.

6 votes

Only until the Republicans get to appoint a few more federal judges.

7 votes

Science as Argument: Climate, Evolution, Holocaust et al.

Dan Quixote

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Wednesday April 16, 2008 · 11:11 AM PDT

2008/04/16 · 11:11

Listening to NPR this morning, I heard two stories which did an excellent job of articulating two opposing point of view, both wrong, which taken together helped me articulate to myself how scientific knowledge is formed, and the difference between a denier and a skeptic.

Dan Quixote

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Sunday December 09, 2007 · 1:02 PM PST

2007/12/09 · 13:02

Seasonal Affective Disorder, generally known as SAD, or winter depression, is the most noticeable expression in humans of photoinducability, the changing of physiology or behavior by day length (or more particularly, photoperiod, the number of hours of light in a day). Sufferers of SAD, which have occasionally included myself, are generally in good mental health much of the year, but if photoperiod gets too short, they find themselves depressed. When photoperiod increases again, the depression recedes. In Alaska, where days can get very short for extended periods, about a tenth of the population suffers from clinically significant SAD this time of year.

This week, in a lecture by Dr. George Bentley, I learned a bit about how animals measure photoperiod, and this changed my thinking about SAD and the biological underpinnings of the winter festival of lights that appears as so many different holidays in so many different cultures.

Dan Quixote

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Wednesday October 24, 2007 · 12:06 PM PDT

2007/10/24 · 12:06

I wrote a diary last week about how great Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-09) is and another proposing that Rep. Lee would make a much better Senator than Feinstein. I received an email from her office this morning:

Hi Dan,

Just a note to say that I passed your diary on to the Congresswoman, and she appreciated it. Along those lines, I thought you might appreciate this statement, which she put out today.

Best,

Nathan Britton

and containing a press release with Rep. Lee's reaction to Senate Confirmation of Judge Leslie (some of my best friends are n-words) Southwick to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
I thought it would be relevant that the subtitle of the press release is:

Singles Out Feinstein for Sending Nomination to the Floor

I've pasted in the press release below.

Poll

183 votes Show Results

Who would you rather see as CAs senator?

183 votes Vote Now!

Who would you rather see as CAs senator?

Diane Feinstein

13 votes

Barbara Lee

158 votes

Neither/don't know

12 votes

Ecological causes and effects of SoCal fires: Initial thoughts

Dan Quixote

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Monday October 22, 2007 · 5:19 PM PDT

2007/10/22 · 17:19

I'm going to keep this short and to the point. While our first priority and major concern at this point has to be the people living in the areas affected by the numerous wildfires currently blackening southern California, I wanted to also bring to people's attentions the ecology of the fire. What ecological factors played into this disaster, what ecological effects can be expected and what lessons should we draw from all of this?

I feel it is important to raise these issues before everyones attention moves on and we fail to learn from previous mistakes. I'll appreciate your input and comments.

With no further ado:

Dan Quixote

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Sunday October 21, 2007 · 9:47 AM PDT

2007/10/21 · 09:47

Too much of the popular discussion of science focuses on what we know and understand, instead of what is really interesting to scientists, the areas where we have some vague guesses we are actively exploring. I am as guilty of this as anyone. When I talk about my research to non-experts, I mostly just talk about the background on which I am building, rather than putting in the effort to get to the enormous number of things nobody yet understands. But ultimately the attempt to identify and solve new mysteries, not the recounting of previous conclusions, is the essence of science. Most science classes never give students the opportunity to engage in science, only to memorize scientific facts and concepts. As someone who makes his living as both a scientist and a science educator, that pisses me off. It is like teaching someone to drive by having them memorize lists of auto safety statistics. Perhaps useful, but certainly not sufficient.

So this morning I will introduce you to a bit of my own research. But rather than just dumping facts on you, I'll ask you to try to explain a mystery that I don't know the answer to. Consider it an invitation to science.

Dan Quixote

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Saturday October 20, 2007 · 12:03 PM PDT

2007/10/20 · 12:03

I honestly don't understand why the Democratic 'leadership' (If I can call them that) in Congress keep rolling over at Bush's command. I don't mean just that I don't like it, I mean that I can't figure out what motivates them to act that way.
So I wrote to my Representative, Barbara Lee, asking not ofr a change in policy, but for an explanation. I have enough faith in Rep. Lee to think I have some chance of getting a substantive reply.

Below is the letter my fiancee and I sent to her. I tried to keep it strident but not all adversarial. I'd like to encourage others to write to their congresscritters and ask them to explain what is going on.

If anyone here feels they really understand why the Dems are acting (or rather failing to act) the way they are, I'd be glad to hear a reasoned explanation. "Because they suck," is not an enlightening response, I've heard that already, and there has got to be more to it than that.

Poll

85 votes Show Results

Why doesn't the Democratic 'leadership' in Congress stand up to Bush?

85 votes Vote Now!

Why doesn't the Democratic 'leadership' in Congress stand up to Bush?

Cowardice.

28 votes

They have a brilliant secret plan.

1 vote

Directionless confusion.

17 votes

It is a short sighted cynical partisan manuever gone wrong.

17 votes

Aliens! Aliens!

2 votes

They secretly want to bring back the Permanent Republican Majority.

7 votes

They are handling it just right and we commoners just don't understand.

2 votes

Ours is not to question why, ours is but to swallow lies.

5 votes

I'll explain it to you, real slow so you understand, in the comments.

6 votes

Disability stereotyping

Dan Quixote

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Friday October 19, 2007 · 1:42 PM PDT

2007/10/19 · 13:42

My friend who lives across the street is partially blind. She can see things if she gets very close and looks at them in just the right part of her visual field. Last month she was in San Francisco, looking at a bus map while she held her white cane. Some sanctimonious prick came over and started yelling at her for "faking blind."
I can walk. A bit. I stand when I teach, when I cook, whenever else I need to. I can lift fairly heavy objects (so long as I don't have to bend over too far), climb stairs (slowly) and pick up small children and turn them upside-down. But I still need my reclining wheelchair. Some of the time. This confuses a lot of people. It even angers people when they see me get out of my chair and start walking. And it has made me keenly aware of how entrenched in most people's minds stereotypes of disabled people are. Either you can walk, and you don't need a wheelchair, or you can't and you do. Either you can see and you shouldn't carry a white cane, or you are blind and you can't read a bus map. This isn't just a theoretical problem. For disabled people who don't fit the stereotypes, it can be a major obstacle. It is not an issue I'd ever heard of or considered before I was disabled, so I thought it would be worth bringing to light.

Dan Quixote

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Wednesday October 17, 2007 · 10:32 PM PDT

2007/10/17 · 22:32

As I wrote about yesterday, Rep. Barbara Lee, (CA-09) is wonderful. She is an unabashed progressive who actually stands up for things like rights, peace, justice and equality. She is leading the charge to defund the war, she consistently stands up to Bush, even back when it was unpopular to do so. She is smart and charismatic and incredibly popular in her district (Oakland and Berkeley). She is responsive to her constituents and active nationally. I want her to be in the Senate. She is, quite frankly, the only elected representative I've ever had I feel really proud of.

Now, as you know, California already has two Democratic Senators. I like Barbara Boxer. I happen to think it might be better if we had two Senators named Barbara. That said, I don't think it is reasonable to expect that Lee would mount a primary challenge when Feinstein's current term ends in 2012. But there is a chance she will retire. One way or the other, I would like to put Barbara Lee forward as a leader we ought to be supporting, and one who would make a great next Senator from California.

Poll

44 votes Show Results

Should we try to draft Barbara Lee to run for CA-Senate?

44 votes Vote Now!

Should we try to draft Barbara Lee to run for CA-Senate?

Nah. There won't be an open seat for another 23 years.

1 vote

Nah, she's too liberal for me.

4 votes

Nah, she's too unknown to run for statewide office.

2 votes

Nah, Feinstein is my kind of Senator.

0 votes

Maybe.

2 votes

Great idea, waste your time. Leave me out of it.

2 votes

Great Idea if Lee is into it.

17 votes

Great Idea! Let's make a project of it.

12 votes

We already started that effort two years ago. Where were you?

4 votes

Being Represented by Barbara Lee (CA-09) is boring

Dan Quixote

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 16, 2007 · 9:02 PM PDT

2007/10/16 · 21:02

My representative, Barbara Lee (D Oakland/Berkeley) is great. She almost always votes how I want her to. She sponsors the right bills. Even by coastal California standards, she is a hard core progressive. She was ranked as the 6th most liberal member of the House. More liberal that Pelosi. Far more liberal that Kucinich. I am happy to be represented by an African American woman, because I think diversity in congress is important, and we don't have enough African Americans or women.

She voted no in 2001 on the Authorization for Use of Military Force when everyone else in congress rolled over and played dead. She's smart. She's brave. She's outspoken.

So I am happy for her to stay in office. And she will as long as she wants to, because Oakland and Berkeley love her. There is no point in getting involved in her reelection campaign. She won 86% of the vote in 2006. But frankly, this is boring. How often can I write to thank her for continuing to be frickin' awesome? Not like the good old days when I lived in Sue Kelly's district (NY-19). That made for some great angry letter writing.

Poll

80 votes Show Results

Barbara Lee is...

80 votes Vote Now!

Barbara Lee is...

the best person in congress.

14 votes

in the top ten.

43 votes

better than most.

9 votes

pretty good.

1 vote

a closet conservative.

2 votes

much worse than you think. Pay attention for once.

2 votes

boooooring.

1 vote

a hippy commie banker.

5 votes

not a citizen because she supports strong civil liberties.

3 votes

Invitation to propone your candidate's energy policy.

Dan Quixote

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Tuesday October 16, 2007 · 8:29 AM PDT

2007/10/16 · 08:29

I'll admit it. Even though energy policy, and its connections to environment, international policy, security policy and economic policy are very important to me, I've not actually made the time to look into what the energy policies and backgrounds of the Democratic presidential primary candidates are. So I thought I would lay out some of what I thought energy policy should be, and then try to start an argument over which candidate has the best energy policy.

A couple of ground rules here though. (Well really more ground suggestions).
First, don't just point me to the diary you already wrote about the speech your candidate gave. Pointing me to your diary is great, but what I am really looking for here are comparisons. Who has the firmer commitment to making sure our alternative energy sources are actually sustainable, Clinton or Edwards? Who has done the most to stick it to Big Oil, Obama or Richardson?
Second, let's try to keep this within the realm of energy, not just argue who is the best candidate overall.
Third, I don't think Gore will run and I already know that if he does I will vote for him, so telling me how great Gore is on energy policy won't help me.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

Who, other than Gore, will get energy policy right?

18 votes Vote Now!

Who, other than Gore, will get energy policy right?

Biden

0 votes

Clinton

3 votes

Dodd

0 votes

Edwards

2 votes

Gravel

0 votes

Kucinich

2 votes

Obama

5 votes

Richardson

1 vote

Only Gore could get it right.

4 votes

Get real, the oil companies own them all.

1 vote

I don't see a problem with current energy policy.

0 votes

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RSS

Whither Science under McCain-Palin?

Dragging Creationism toward Science

Science as Argument: Climate, Evolution, Holocaust et al.

SAD, Skeleton Photoperiods, and Winter Festivals of Lights.

Barbara Lee takes on DiFi

Ecological causes and effects of SoCal fires: Initial thoughts

Sunday Morning Science: Intro to Evolutionary Demography

Explain to me why the Dems keep rolling over

Disability stereotyping

Draft Barbara Lee for CA Senate 2012

Being Represented by Barbara Lee (CA-09) is boring

Invitation to propone your candidate's energy policy.