Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
The classical image of dinosaurs that we carry within our heads is that they were scaled up lizards. This is not simply a cultural view, but was the initial scientific one. Back in 1842 paleontologist Richard Owen coined the word dinosaur from Greek as a description of the term “fearsome lizard”. We perhaps still carry that … Read more
The term Yeti is a familiar one to most people. It describes the ape-like creature that supposedly dwells in the snow peaked Himalayas. For most this is simply a popular cultural myth, but some true believers do exist. Just to be clear … Quantity of actual scientific evidence that the Yeti is or was real … Read more
The Antarctic is of course glaciated and very very cold, that is well understood. What is new is the realisation that it is not all a barren lifeless landscape, but instead contains niches where life has potentially gained a foothold in a rather surprising way. Hidden under the ice are Geothermal ice caverns. This is because Antarctic … Read more
It was my privilege to visit the John Day Fossil Beds in east-central Oregon. As part of that visit, one specific question arose that has an answer that is simply hilarious. Who is John Day? My daughter’s immediate suggestion is that he was most probably some “privileged rich white guy” who made a large enough … Read more
Back last March I had a posting about spring 2017 being very very early in the US. It is now May and so it is appropriate to check back in with the USA-NPN (USA National Phenology Network) and see how things have been blossoming since then. Side Note: “Phenology” is tracking the dates of biological events in their annual cycle. For example … Read more
The USA-NPN (USA National Phenology Network) has been tracking and mapping the start of the spring season across the country using models called the Spring Leaf and Bloom Indices. Wait .. push pause and hold on there a second … who? OK, let’s step back a bit. The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) monitors the influence … Read more