Created
01 Sep 2001
Tangents
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Modified
26 Oct 2013

Sciences
SCIENCE DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS . . . ONLY THE ONES THAT ARE MOST PROBABLY TRUE . . . WHICH IS TO SAY, IN ACCORD WITH REALITY.
ON THIS PAGE
Articles Data Links Notes

ARTICLES
Creationist Challenges —quick answers to the most common challenges Ed. 04 Jul 2011
Global Population: Practical Limits —Malthus was right Ed. 04 Jul 2011
Metrifying America —more than a century overdue Ed. 01 Jun 2003
Scientific Method —a primer / refresher New 28 Dec 2005
Viewing Astronomic Events —eclipses, meteor showers New 15 Dec 2000
Why Explore Space? —because we aren't dinosaurs Ed. 01 Jun 2003
A Word about "Creation Science" —from curiouser to curiousest Ed. 28 Dec 2005
A Word about "Intelligent Design" —the theory that isn't Ed. 27 Jun 2012

DATA
Astronomy Calendar and Time Conversions Ed. 28 Apr. 2013
Astronomy Glossary —layman's guide to astronomy terms Ed. 02 Dec 2002
Periodic Table of Elements —with physical, chemical, and nuclear properties Ed. 19 Oct 2011
Space Exploration Time-Line —from Stonehenge to Hubble Ed. 13 Sep 2005

LINKS
(MOSTLY SITES ORIENTED TOWARD THE SCIENTIFIC LAYMAN)
< General | Astronomy | Psychology >
GENERAL SCIENCE
National Science Foundation OK 26 Oct 2013
New Scientist OK 26 Oct 2013
PhysLink OK 26 Oct 2013
< General | Astronomy | Psychology >
ASTRONOMY
Cosmos in a Computer OK 26 Oct 2013
The Galaxy Catalog Not found 26 Oct 2013
Hubble Space Telescope Newscenter OK 26 Oct 2013
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) OK 26 Oct 2013
Nine Planets Eight Planets and a Star Redirected 26 Oct 2013
Solar Eclipse Paths (NASA) Not found 26 Oct 2013
Space Library (NASA / JPL / Caltech) Not found 26 Oct 2013
The Sun - Multimedia Tour Not found 26 Oct 2013
< General | Astronomy | Psychology >

BIOLOGY

Biointeractive (HHMI: Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Added 26 Oct 2013

< General | Astronomy | Psychology >
PSYCHOLOGY
Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World (Howard Hughes Medical Inst.) Removed by host
< General | Astronomy | Psychology >

NOTES


Today's era is one of alarming dichotomy, marked on the one hand by exponential growth of scientific knowledge, and on the other by grinding scientific illiteracy among the general public.  There has arisen a tendency for people to view science as a religion of sorts, or as an arcane art practiced in mysterious laboratories by amoral eccentrics with thick glasses and bad hair.  Indeed, there is an erroneous perception that science has little or nothing to do with the daily lives of ordinary people, and therefore that it can safely be ignored, or even overridden by public opinion, government decree, or religious prophecy.
     But in fact, science has everything to do with us and our daily lives, from our first breath to our last, from making intelligent choices about energy to making sure we have enough to eat.  How well we understand and apply science is a determining factor in whether we will live in a world of peace and plenty, or in one of pain and scarcity.  Indeed, there is a real danger in allowing public policy to be guided by people who are scientifically illiterate—such as the congressman whose "Frankenstein" argument on the "cloning" issue was based, not on solid science as we might justifiably expect of a public servant, but on the popular 19th-century work of horror fiction.

It is not the objective of these pages to examine science's intricate details (which are revealed on many other web sites by people far more knowledgeable and capable than I).  Rather, it is to illustrate the relevance of science to our personal, political, and economic lives, and thereby perhaps afford some tangible incentive for the average person to become better acquainted with it.

=SAJ=