Science 2.0
I Earned It, You're Privileged - The Paradox In How We View Achievement
The concept of “hard work v privilege”, and what either one says about someone’s social status, is an important one.
Politicians regularly draw dividing lines between “hardworking families” and those receiving “handouts”. Others distinguish between those whose wealth increases while they sleep, and small business owners who work hard for their incomes.
Categories: Science 2.0
Letter To A Demanding PhD Supervisor
A fundamental component of my research work is the close collaboration with a large number of scientists from all around the world. This is the result of the very large scale of the experiments that are necessary to investigate the structure of matter at the smallest distance scales: building and operating those machines to collect the data and analyze it requires scientists to team up in large numbers - and this builds connections, cooperation, and long-time acquaintance; and in some cases, friendship.
Categories: Science 2.0
More Meat, Less Carbs, And No Raw Milk - The New Dietary Guidelines Are Better Than Expected
In 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt instructed his US Department of Agriculture to create a set of nutrition guidelines for a population that was gaining increased access to more foods, thanks to railways, but were more and more often in cities.
Wilbur Olin Atwater, Ph.D., did just that, and it was great, and we could have stopped there. Yet that is not the way of government. His recommendations were entirely sensible. Think about calories first. Eat meat and vegetables, limit fatty and carbohydrate foods. It was immensely popular but popularity breeds jealousy and now a desire by scholars to 'make their mark on history' and feel proud they have changed the world every five years.
Wilbur Olin Atwater, Ph.D., did just that, and it was great, and we could have stopped there. Yet that is not the way of government. His recommendations were entirely sensible. Think about calories first. Eat meat and vegetables, limit fatty and carbohydrate foods. It was immensely popular but popularity breeds jealousy and now a desire by scholars to 'make their mark on history' and feel proud they have changed the world every five years.
Categories: Science 2.0
Misinformation Common Among Women With Breast Cancer
Vaccines are getting American media attention now that Republicans are engaging in misinformation the way Democrats did for decades, but there has long been a war on the pharmaceutical and medical communities.
When the HPV vaccine was first rolled out, progressives began the conspiracy theory that it was due to the Vioxx settlement by Merck. Vaccines did not have the same "accountability" (read: predatort lawyers being able to sue and win if they just convince a jury a product may have caused problems) so they created products like Gardasil to claw back their revenue.(1)
When the HPV vaccine was first rolled out, progressives began the conspiracy theory that it was due to the Vioxx settlement by Merck. Vaccines did not have the same "accountability" (read: predatort lawyers being able to sue and win if they just convince a jury a product may have caused problems) so they created products like Gardasil to claw back their revenue.(1)
Categories: Science 2.0