Science Journalism

This post is not about the Jules Verne fantasy; however, checking news sources from the Associated Press and the BBC to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-- one comes away with horror and doomsday scenarios. I refer to the countries of India and Brazil. While many of us in the US are lucky to  have been vaccinated, India and Brazil fell into complacent states that scream horror. No oxygen tanks for those fallen ill and fewer options for many who have no doctors. We, as a world community, must ask ourselves -- are we our brother's keeper? While I will end my complaints about the former president of the US who called COVID-19 a Leftist hoax and advocated for quack remedies, I post this in the hopes that those of us who have been vaccinated will be kind to their neighbor, friend, or enemy.  If you can do anything, take time out of your day for a moment of silence for those with no resources to combat a seemingly preventable pandemic.    

While at the American Chemical Society (ACS) website, my eyes stopped at the following title, Airborne Transmission of COVID-19: Aerosol Dispersion, Lung Deposition, and Virus Receptor Interactions. The lead author, Yi Y. Zuo and his two co-workers are affiliated with reputable US Universities. The article, itself, is from the ACS journal, NANO, the title is short for nanotechnology. The field of nanotechnology was originally launched from lecture given by the late Richard P. Feynman at the California Institute of Technology in 1960. JUSTIFYING THE BAD-SCIENCE? COVID-19 transmission perplexes those of us who watch public figures continue to assert COVID-19 as not dangerous. Many of us continue to mask up and have received a vaccination. Whether for personal gain or perceived political advantage, public officials continue to harm their constituents. When the COVID-19 issue was labeled a hoax in 2020, conspiracy theorists seized on public perceptions of vaccines and masking to equate to ...

The field of nanotechnology was originally launched from a lecture given by the late Richard P. Feynman at the California Institute of Technology in 1960. Here is a link to the appropriate transcribed talk in formal publication from CalTech-  http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/1976/1/1960Bottom.pdf The gist of the talk was an interdisciplinary approach to building molecular machines in ways other than (but not exclusive to) organic or inorganic syntheses. Feynman correctly reasoned that 1960s technology could build those types of machines.  At that time, his talk was viewed as the ‘ingenious’ Feynman lecture—a brilliant idea that was theoretically possible but impractical in terms of cost.  Not meaning to disparage the Nobel laureate by any means, he is mostly remembered for his brilliant contributions to Quantum Electrodynamics, his book of lectures for University physics students, and his brilliant analysis of the Shuttle Challenger disaster. His genius is often imita...

   Dear Lord,   The present era of loss needs much compassion from those who can muster the will and foresight to apply their skills. Given the disproportionate amount of death in the world, it strikes me as odd that our world has as yet to honor those who are compassionate towards inordinate suffering. Instead of an Academy Award ceremony for thespians, we need to find within ourselves to award ‘Good Samaritans.’  My strong belief, we need a new kind of hero. It is no coincidence nor small wonder, that in times of sorrow, our forefathers gathered around campfires to give pearls of wisdom in the form of stories to assuage our fears. By filling our desires for warmth, protection, and love, we learned to love as well. We need those kinds of heroes to inspire a love of our neighbor, our friends, and our enemies, too.   We spend much of our adult lives attempting to instill good values to our children and grandchildren. Give us all the needed compassion that bro...

The world may be entering a new phase in the battle with COVID. We - you and me, should not be completely shocked by what has transpired since the last president (#45) left office. In my rather angry tone, the world will be lucky if the USA escapes another war. The former president (#45) gave much of the world a blackened, bloodied eye. His base should view the current COVID crisis as time to repent and strike a new path. (I am dead serious...) I would count all of us fortunate if we do avoid any major conflagrations overseas.  I was watching the news this Sunday morning, and the largest democracy in the world is in chaos. It is not the USA -- it is India. India adopted democracy much later than the USA--- nearly 125 years later than the USA. The COVID crisis, in India, should concern all of us. Reports from their hospitals sound nearly apocalyptic.  India's democracy was gained from the struggles of Mahatama Ghandi, Nehru, and their followers with the UK [in the 20th century]...

COMMENTARY & BOOK REVIEW: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence -- Reckoning and Judgement by Brian Cantwell Smith MIT Press 157pages  2019 I bought the book at the brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble, in Fresno California. [The bookstore appeared well-stocked but the store was far emptier than  expected.] Introduction-- My Understanding of Artificial Intelligence When someone hears terms "artificial intelligence" in local parlance, it is often in a derogatory manner. Artificial intelligence (AI) owes its bad reputation to poorly executed tv and movie scripts where talking computers of a prior era could think for themselves. They could do everything but perform mathematical addition, correctly. These so-called, self-aware computers violated a major axiom of artificial intelligence: the computers acted like people and less like machines. Machines can not be self-aware and will not be human-like.  However, the exceptions to poorly executed mainstream human-like machines...