Some of the historical instances which typically get characterized as “science having been wrong” can be better understood as incomplete theories/models being conceptually re-framed in order to account for both the facts explained by the prior theory/model, as well as Read more
The mathematical concept of a “vector” is ubiquitous in the realms of physics, engineering and applied mathematics. Typically, the concept is first introduced (usually in a first semester physics course or perhaps a trigonometry or calculus course) as a quantity Read more
By the time genetically engineered seeds came along, the practice of buying new seeds every year had been common place for more than half a century. There were and are a few reasons for this: Firstly, by the 1930s, commercial Read more
Extremely popular on Facebook and other social media is the idea that a cure for cancer has been found but is being suppressed. The reason given for the suppression is universally the same. The premise is that companies stand to Read more
One of the common criticisms of commercially available Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds is the idea that they have led to an increase in pesticide use. In actuality, it turns out that they’ve corresponded to a decrease in total pesticide use, but Read more
You may at some point have heard people speak of glyphosate as being “less toxic than caffeine or table salt.” What they’re referring to when they say that is what we call its LD50, which a standard way of quantifying Read more
Bringing up pictures of doctors smoking cigarettes is a common tactic used by anti-GMO activists and other critics of “mainstream” science to cast doubt and mistrust on matters of scientific consensus by implying that a world wide scientific consensus can Read more
One question that comes up a lot with regards to the safety of genetically engineered crops is whether or not they might produce allergens. The concern is that, by moving genetic material from one organism to another, an allergen might Read more
In July of 2014, the British Journal of Nutrition published a 343 study meta-analysis which has been used as justification for concluding that organic foods are more nutritious than their conventionally grown counterparts. In a nutshell, its most relevant claims Read more
In part I, we discussed the fundamental forces in physics and the dual nature of particles and fields. We also talked about how the elementary particles of the Standard Model are divided into fermions and bosons. In part II, we Read more