Lesson Learned, Consolation Prize Earned

OK, so this week I got to relearn a lessen about keeping a backup of my work, because the majority of my last blog entry is gone.

Damn.

More on Reading Science

On the subject of last week's rant, here are a couple of useful infographics to better arm yourself against those who would mislead you into poor choices.

Science is Hard... But Don't Turn Off your Brain!

I've learned something interesting recently.

According to the Canadian Council of Academies, out of 35 nations whose statistics were available, we rank first in the world in science literacy. Excitement! For the briefest moment, I was proud of my nation. Then I kept reading: we're first in the world, at 42%. Meaning, 42% of Canadians understand enough about science that we can properly decipher a science-related news article, and that makes us the most scientifically-literate nation on the planet.

The "Food Babe" Blogger Is Full of Shit

This is a big part of why I decided it was worth giving blogging a shot: "The Food Babe". No qualifications, little to no scientific understanding or (from what I can tell) interest, but she makes broad claims about scientific concepts, pushing pointless and often dangerous ideas about human biology, and yet she has a self-styled "army" of followers who will take up her cause. And she makes a living at it! But don't take my word for it, follow the link and read a well-researched essay on the insanity, complete with citations.

The "Food Babe" Blogger Is Full of Shit:

'via Blog this'

"No Right" vs. "No Business"

In my post earlier, I mentioned my belief that those who don't understand an issue have "no business" affecting decisions related to that issue. Completely by coincidence, (because it's near enough impossible that any of the bloggers involved have read my introductory post the day I posted it), this post made its way to me via the Richard Dawkins Foundation, which does an excellent job of clarifying the difference between "no business" and "no right".

On the “right” to challenge a medical or scientific consensus

Hello World!

Hi there, welcome to my new opinion blog! I'm hoping to generate some discussions on the topics I cover here, so please do use the comment section at the bottom of each post.

My first real post will be auto-posted tomorrow morning, but I expect that I'll be stirring up some strong reactions among the Internet-Activism crowd right off the bat, so for today, here's an introduction to who I am, to give you an idea of what may be to come.