40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World
January 29, 2015
Different Map Projections
January 29, 2015
Any time you take something as massive and complex as the earth and try to put it down on a flat piece of paper you are going to lose details and create inaccuracies. You also have to make choices about how you represent the information. For example, what goes in the center? What goes at the top of the map? The bottom? Is the most “accurate” map the best map?
http://www.viewsoftheworld.net/?p=752
A funny way to interpret your choice of projections
A very nerdy and almost too thorough explanation of the errors of map projections
Texas GOP rejects ‘critical thinking’ skills. Really.
January 29, 2015
Interesting debate about what should get taught and how.
Young Minds in Critical Condition
January 29, 2015
“Our best college students are very good at being critical. In fact being smart, for many, means being critical. Having strong critical skills shows that you will not be easily fooled. It is a sign of sophistication, especially when coupled with an acknowledgment of one’s own ‘privilege.'”
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/10/young-minds-in-critical-condition/
Does science require faith?
January 29, 2015
“Sometimes faith is used as an alternative to reason, a way to designate (and sometimes denigrate) beliefs that are aren’t based on arguments or evidence, or that aren’t assessed critically. On this view, science and faith almost certainly conflict; science is all about arguments, evidence and critical assessment.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/09/23/225239775/does-science-require-faith
Is science faith-based?
January 29, 2015
TED Talk: Wade Davis: Dreams from endangered cultures
January 29, 2015
“With stunning photos and stories, National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world’s indigenous cultures, which are disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate.”
TED Talk: Wade Davis: The worldwide web of knowledge and belief
January 29, 2015
“Anthropologist Wade Davis muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares breathtaking photos and stories of the Elder Brothers, a group of Sierra Nevada indians whose spiritual practice holds the world in balance.”
Does science ever actually prove anything?
January 29, 2015
Below is a link to a letter signed by a large number of climate scientists about the reality of climate change. One provocative statement they make in defense of their work and against climate change skeptics is that “There is always some uncertainty associated with scientific conclusions; science never absolutely proves anything.”
This letter caused a stir among other scientists, some of whom wrote and signed another letter making the argument that: “There is no reason to doubt the laws of physics governing acceleration and momentum. These laws are the basis for a large number of industrial operations, transportation and numerous other activities.”
An interesting exchange that gets to the nature of science and scientific knowledge.
Original letter:
http://www.skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-and-the-Integrity-of-Science-a-letter-to-Science.html
Response:
Ann Druyan Talks About Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe . . . and Carl Sagan
January 29, 2015
An interesting essay written by Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan’s widow. Carl Sagan was a famous scientist and creator of the original Cosmos television show.
“It is a great tragedy that science, this wonderful process for finding out what is true, has ceded the spiritual uplift of its central revelations: the vastness of the universe, the immensity of time, the relatedness of all life, and life’s preciousness on our tiny planet.”
http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ann_druyan_talks_about_science_religion/
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