from the desk of Herb Masters
Hi Science Supporters,
When I went for my covid-19 jabs I tried to have some fun with the folks that were doing the jabbing. Both times I asked for the dose with the extra chips in it. I said that I was working on a theory that if I wrapped a bunch of neodymium magnets around my arm or head that I could deactivate the chips. I think I kept a pretty straight face when making the requests. The first jabber was a paramedic from San Mateo. He looked at me and just started laughing. Then we both had a good laugh. The second jabber was a nurse who looked at me with a very puzzled face and just stared at me. Finally, after an extended pause, she said that she couldn’t tell if I was serious! I should have realized then that science is in trouble. If someone using science to better the lives of many has to question if someone could believe the chips conspiracy, it is a sad statement. I finally had to let on that I was joking.
I have to admit that I am concerned and saddened at how things are going these days. Here in the SF Bay Area generally life has been opening up as more success is achieved each day in fighting covid-19. However those successes seem to be being scaled back and down. It’s called a war on science by many. This isn’t new… A War on Science 10 years ago… The War on Science 4 months ago
You may think it is The right’s war on science and facts. Sadly it may just be that there are an incredible amount of trolls pushing the flat earth, vaccine denial, or the one I most recently heard, birds aren’t real.
There is so much to find on the web about pseudoscience, and conspiracies you can get lost in all of it. Trust me that’s why this is coming out so late today! Attacks on Science and Why isn’t the right more afraid of COVID-19?
OK, more… What’s Behind the War on Science and finally 7 Anti-Science Myths We All Need To Unlearn
So what can you learn about how the universe works this week and share it with someone? Here are a few ideas… Get to know cephalopods: Natural history of the Cephalopoda Wed @ 11:00, the Hubris of Manipulating Nature Wed @ 8:00, After Dark: Living Things Thu @ 6:00
Here’s something to think about The Biggest Myth In Education
Flight 9 Was a Nail-Biter, but Ingenuity Came Through With Flying Colors
NASA Ingenuity Helicopter Achieves Another Mind Blowing Record
Everybody should be thinking about fire season. You may remember the day of the red sky last year. Here’s something to think about both for you and your family but also for the firefighters that are out there trying to control and extinguish these fires. What’s in wildfire smoke? A toxicologist explains the health risks
If you forgot this, you’ll remember right away. Then it really gets interesting… How Come You Never See a Baby Housefly?
Here’s your cool video of the week. Ganymede and Jupiter
I hope you have a great time learning new things and realizing you were wrong about some things as well.
herb masters
“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don’t know anything about it?”
– Carl Sagan
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