I found this comic (on PHDComics.com) the other day and just had to post it because it really hits the nail on the head. While this process is easiest to identify in science news, where original sources are relatively easily available, I think this fear amplification and exaggeration process applies to most things you see reported in the news. Drill down to original sources and actual data, and everything is always far more nuanced, moderate, and sensible than the story that’s delivered to media consumers. Of course these days many people don’t even read the news, they get their information through the filter of opinion commentators, radio pundits, or cult-like internet personalities. So perhaps the cartoonist could have made the cycle more complete by adding an additional step before the paranoid granny where radio/tv/internet pundits tell you that the government/big business/unions are secretly trying to slip “A” into legislation/biased media/your water supply.
Well things have been getting a little heavy lately in the political world and so I thought for the sake of my sanity and my readers’ interests I’d lighten things up a bit. Yes, the title is correct. Scientists in the UK have discovered, quite accidentally, that our beloved Milky Way galaxy tastes not of chocolate, nougat, and caramel, but of raspberries. The short news article from the UK paper the “Telegraph” follows:
“Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, were searching space for evidence of amino acids: the basic chemicals from which life is created. They told the Guardian newspaper that, despite failing to locate any such aminos, they did find a substance called ethyl formate, the chemical responsible for the flavour of raspberries. Continue reading
Well I’ve been practicing calorie restriction on and off for some time now because of the multitude of studies that have come out over the last several years that point to eating less food as the key to healthy aging. I try to get about 1200 calories per day and its been working out pretty well for me. It’s already been demonstrated that a low-calorie diet is associated with a dramatically longer life-span (in animal testing), a stronger immune system, reduced rates of cardiovascular disease, and a multitude of other pleasant things. But this recent study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (abstract can be found here) provides some evidence for the most exciting benefit yet as far as I’m concerned: a better memory. The entire text of a CNN article describing the study follows…
Well as I promised I’m going to taking a quick break from current events to give you some practical tips and tricks that I’m sure will have significant application to your daily life. A few weeks ago I came across this fascinating article in the Boston Globe, that describes 5 simple ways to fool your smart but gullible little brain: “Hack Your Brain”. I have yet to try any of these but they all look tremendously bizarre and awesome. You can see the full list of tricks at the article above. If anyone out there tries any of these, make sure to document your adventures into your superego in the comments below.
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Quotes
"We do not need to judge nearly so much as we think we do. This is the age of snap judgments. … [We need] the courage to say, ‘I don’t know. I am waiting further evidence. I must hear both sides of the question.’ It is this suspended judgment that is the supreme form of charity. Someone has said that you cannot slice cheese so fine that it doesn’t have two sides."
-Dallin H. Oaks
"It is better to debate a question without settling it, than to settle a question without debating it...The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress."
-Joseph Joubert
"The more you know, the more you realise how much you don’t know — the less you know, the more you think you know."
-David Freeman
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
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