A Sunday story.
Most of these blogs have talked about science, society, and complex systems. Today, I offer a more personal story, a story that may, in the end, circle back to the big questions. Continue reading
Author Archives: Don Neeper
Blog 45. The flow of information and misinformation
The big headline above a 26 column-inch editorial says,
Climate change threat is overblown.
This is in the newspaper of the most science-centered town of the nation? Well, some accounts claim Los Alamos has more science Ph.D.s per unit population than anywhere else. Continue reading
Blog 44. Big consequences of singular events
As suggested in the previous two blogs, the magnitude of a social calamity (or good fortune) that arises from a single event depends on how we react to the event, more than on the event itself. Now really, do I assert that the outcome of hurricane Sandy depended on our reactions more than the blast of wind and deluge of water? Continue reading
Blog 43. Making molehills or mountains
From small molehills, big mountains grow. Sometimes. If the feedback is positive, that is—if the mole is rewarded with more food just for digging that molehill, and if his children are likewise rewarded. We’re not moles eating carrots, so how does this relate to us? Continue reading
Blog 42. Cyber (and other) security and responsibility
During the recent week, Charlie Rose (PBS) interviewed Peter Singer, author of a new book entitled Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know. The book deals with infiltration, theft, and disruption via digital communications, particularly the internet. Continue reading
Blog 41. Fast enough? FASTER by Gleick
Americans feel they do not have the time to do everything that needs to be done. Sound true? James Gleick says so Continue reading
Blog 40. Season’s greetings with hope
In the 39 previous blogs of this year 2013, you and I have dealt with some fundamental issues, but we haven’t yet talked about hope. There is hope. Continue reading
Blog 39. Is federal regulation legal?
In drafting the federal constitution, the founding fathers didn’t foresee a government involved in administering diverse things like air travel, radio waves, rivers, and food purity. The Constitution specifically allows regulation of interstate commerce and postal roads, but, for example, does it allow federal regulation of pollution in rivers? Continue reading