Tag Archives: Science
What Ancient Bones Tell Us About Being Human
Last week a remarkable show ran on PBS, “The Bones of Turkana,” which documents Richard Leakey’s search for the origin of the human species. Convinced that the Turkana Basin in Kenya is the place where we all began, Leakey, his … Continue reading
Ancient Mayan Newsflash: The World is Not Going to End in December
We can all breathe easier on this score, according to a recent find at Xultan, in northeast Guatemala. Archeologists discovered a wall in a small room that seems to have functioned as a blackboard for Mayan astronomers. The 1200 year … Continue reading
The Secret Life of Pronouns
Who knew that pronouns can predict romantic compatibility, reveal power dynamics, lying, and who will recover from trauma? James Pennebaker, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin has been tracking the truth of pronouns for 20 years. He … Continue reading
Filed under Authors, Books, Psychology
People and the Planet: A Report by the Royal Society
On April 26, The Royal Society, the UK’s 350 year old academy of science, released the results of a 21 month study of patterns of population and consumption. Sir John Sulston, chair of the working group, put it very simply: … Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Current Events, Economics, News, Science
Another Regulation Conundrum
My previous post centered on regulations to force bloggers to disclose seemingly small-fry issues, like whether they were comped with an ebook for reviewing independently published authors. Thursday’s paper ran a story from the New York Times on a more … Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Current Events, Nature, News
Imagine by Jonah Lehrer: A Book Review
Don Lee, a Manhattan computer programmer, lonely because his girlfriend moved out and took the cat, began to stop after work at a local watering hole. The bar was an upscale establishment, famous for it’s $15 cocktails. With nothing better … Continue reading
The California Wolf
On December 28, a 2 1/2 year old male wolf crossed the border into California after a 1,000 mile journey south through Oregon. Wolf OR7, as he is called by Fish and Game, is the first wild wolf in the … Continue reading
Filed under Animals, Current Events, Nature, News, Science
The 21st Century May Be Bad For Your Mental Health
To appreciate this post, you need to know a little of how it came about. Yesterday morning, in my dentist’s waiting room, I started reading an article in the Nov. 14 Newsweek by Dr. Andrew Weil. He and others have noted … Continue reading
Filed under Authors, Culture, Current Events, Psychology, Science
A Scientist Talks About Alternate Worlds
I’ve spent the last 30 years deeply engaged in the study of Eastern and Western esoteric world views, so the topic of my last two posts, the legendary realm of Shambhala, does not seem impossible to me. No more so … Continue reading
Filed under Authors, Science, Spirituality
Occupied
I sat up and took notice the other night when a local news announcer complained that the “Occupy Sacramento” protestors “could not even say what they want.” In other words, they won’t play by the rules – you know, the … Continue reading
Contagion: A Movie Review
We’ve all seen pandemic movies before. Andromeda Strain, The Stand, Outbreak, and 12 Monkeys come to mind, but all of these add something extra to the disease: aliens, demons, time travel, or a government ready to nuke a California town. … Continue reading
Your Brain on Google
According to Alva Noe, Professor of Philosophy at UC Berkeley, Google is not making us stupid. Good news, even though I wasn’t worried until I saw his article. http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/09/20/140625802/google-is-not-making-you-stupid. Noe is the author of, Out of Our Heads: Why You … Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Novels, Psychology, Science
