Project Reason

Inflation

2013-06-12T22:41:14-08:00

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/06/does-the-big-bang-necessarily-mean-were-part-of-a-multiverse/

50 years of progress - a visual comparison

2013-06-11T06:52:07-08:00

http://crispian-jago.blogspot.ca/2013/06/50-years-of-progress.html

Interesting and informative.

Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay

2013-06-03T07:42:27-08:00

Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay

Applying Science & Reason to the “Law of Attraction” Spiritual Philosophy

2013-06-04T11:12:03-08:00

Hi! I don’t mean to break any forum rules outright but I am writing this post for two reasons:

1. To make you aware of a writing project I am undertaking which actually needs support in terms of funding.
2. To challenge the notion that this topic doesn’t need a serious discussion and to open up the debate.

My project on IndieGoGo (crowd-funding site) is located at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-validity-of-the-law-of-attraction

And to address the 2nd point - “The Law of Attraction” absolutely deserves serious debate for several reasons.

+ It is a cultural phenomenon, a spiritual phenomenon that is at the basis of New Age beliefs, many self-development philosophies, and is in turn influencing popular Religious beliefs (thus transforming those beliefs). As the new atheists have opened a modern discussion on religion’s validity I wish to do the same with this fundamental New Age belief.

+ I believe that once understood “The Law of Attraction” philosophy actually sheds light on many diverse spiritual philosophies, including those that are the basis of the major religions. It may also explain phenomena associated with meditative practices and altered states of consciousness. Already there are accepted links between these practices and the study of psychology, but an understanding of “The Law of Attraction” philosophy could give us a more complete picture.

+ “The Law of Attraction” has not received a fair discussion in the society of skeptics and rationalists mainly because it has not been represented in complete form and with equal integrity. No attempt has been made to reconcile it with scientific knowledge in a sophisticated and careful manner. This is where my project comes in.

Be aware that I am not necessarily trying to “prove” the Law of Attraction, as it may not be correct. I mean to open up the discussion at a level that satisfies a careful scientific thinker.

Please feel free to comment on anything I have said or on the nature of my project. Your harshest criticisms are welcome as long as they are founded on scientific arguments. Thanks!

Science News

2013-06-05T22:14:56-08:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130605144326.htm

What Happens When You Wring Out a Wet Towel in Zero G?

2013-05-31T15:17:28-08:00

What do you think happens? In hindsight it’s obvious (especially after listening to the astronaut’s explanation), but it surprised me.

Here’s the video.

The Consensus Project

2013-06-01T05:09:14-08:00

The debate is over-this for the climate illiterate-

http://theconsensusproject.com/index.php

The Future is Better than you think by Peter Diamandis, (Everybody needs 2 watch this!)

2013-05-19T12:58:03-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1NJ9Vv-Y6Q

lidar

2013-05-31T11:52:38-08:00

Interesting video (one minute) of how lidar helps find lost cities in the Central American jungle.

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/05/2013/search-for-lost-cities-in-central-america

“I almost started crying when I saw the lidar images. I thought, Oh, my God, I’ve just got back ten or twelve years of my life. It would have taken me that long to survey those nine square kilometres.” - Fisher

Archeologist Fisher is speaking of exploring on foot some of the dense, sweltering, inhospitable mountain rain forest in Honduras, crawling with jumping vipers, coral snakes, fer-de-lance, stinging plants and biting insects. And then there are the illnesses - malaria, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, Chagas . . .

See also an article in the May 6 New Yorker -‘THE EL DORADO MACHINE - lost cities of the pre-Columbian rain forest’ by Douglas Preston.

The key point about global warming

2013-04-20T05:47:03-08:00

is that it is not reversible, but stoppable. Very informative link here-

http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-not-reversible-but-stoppable.html