Some scientists on Reddit have called for scientists and science advocates to organize a march on Washington (#ScienceMarch), with satellite marches elsewhere. The www.scientistsmarchonwashington.com Web site objects to the Trump administration’s policies of slashing funding for scientific research and restricting scientists from communicating the results of taxpayer-funded research. Yet because the organizers have also spoken out against racism and sexism, they have been accused of being against science. But if you care about science, you must also care about scientists, even the black and female ones. And if you are a human being with a conscience, you must also think about how scientific work is being done, and how the results are being used.
Month: January 2017
Happy Year of the Rooster!
The Chinese year of the rooster begins on January 28, 2017 and will end on February 15, 2018. The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that it has months based on the phases of the moon but that it occasionally adds an extra month (intracalary month) to keep the calendar more or less in step with the seasons of the year.
Can Donald Trump Read?
Donald Trump is a graduate of an Ivy League university. He gained national fame as the co-author, or at least the main character, of a best-selling book, The Art of the Deal. Yet Donald Trump did not write one word of that book. Moreover, it is likely that Donald Trump cannot read well. Neither could Nelson Rockefeller. Like Rockefeller, Trump was born into such a rich family that he could get by without learning to read and write. This would mean that he cannot read the executive orders he issues, or the legislation he signs into law. It also means that he cannot read intelligence briefings.
Martin Luther King: I Have Been to the Mountaintop
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died on April 4, 1968. Yet he still speaks to us, through his writings and through his recorded speeches. Here is a complete audio recording of his last speech, which is called his I Have Been to the Mountaintop speech, which he delivered the day before his death. He knew that his days were numbered, and he urged the rest of us to carry on.
Continue reading “Martin Luther King: I Have Been to the Mountaintop”
Why Is New Year’s Day on January 1?
How long is a year? On what day does a year begin? These are questions that people struggled with for thousands of years. To answer them, ancient people developed the classical liberal arts. The liberal arts curriculum included the Quadrivium, which were the four arts of number, space, and time:
- Mathematics was the art of number.
- Geometry was the art of number and space.
- Music was the art of number and time.
- Astronomy was the art of number, space, and time.
Astronomy helps you understand your place in the universe. It also enables you to figure out how long a year is. The choice of when they new year should start is arbitrary.