Category: Reality Check
The Problem with the Cosmological Constant
Einstein had inserted into his gravitational equation a factor called the cosmological constant that provided a repulsive force to counteract the gravitational attraction that otherwise would make the universe collapse. Although the cosmological constant is often referred to as a “fudge factor,” that is a misnomer.
Did the Universe Come from Nothing?
They will tell you that they intuitively feel that something must be “out there,” some power that is responsible for the universe and the laws that govern it. After all, they ask, “How can something come from nothing?”
Is Carbon Production in Stars Fine-Tuned for Life?
For years theists have claimed that the constants of physics had to have been finely tuned by God for life in the universe to be possible…
Thoughts and Matter
In his book God and the New Atheism, theologian John Haught calls naturalism “deeply self-contradictory.”
Will the LHC Destroy Earth?
In 2008, a suit was filed asking for a temporary restraining order prohibiting CERN from turning on the Large Hadron Collider.
Is the Brain a Quantum Device?
In 1989, the Oxford mathematician and cosmologist Roger Penrose published a bestselling tome called The Emperor’s New Mind…
ESP and Religion
In one example, I argue that almost all religions posit an immaterial spirit or soul separate from the body…
The Mindless Quantum
Two recent films tell us that we can change our lives, heal our ills, and become rich and famous just by thinking we can do so.
God and Rev. Bayes
Bayes’ theorem provides a means for calculating the probability of a statement being true based on the available evidence.
Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
The last resort of the theist who seeks to argue for the existence of God from science and finds all his other arguments fail.
Free Energy and Teleportation: Numbers Don’t Lie
One sure way to unmask pseudoscientific arguments is to check the numbers.
The Privileged Planet
A few months ago, the Smithsonian Institution agreed to cosponsor a film called The Privileged Planet…
Marooned on Spaceship Earth
Over a hundred planets beyond our solar system have been identified, with more being found every day.
The Evolution of Creationism
The species of religious thought called creationism continues to evolve by a process of natural selection.
Can Prayer Change the Past?
The notion that human consciousness can supervene the material principles of physics is often found in the literature on…
Darwinism and the Age of Earth
Evolution is often attacked as not being “good science.”
Meta-Analysis and the Filedrawer Effect
An extraordinary phenomenon is normally not considered to be even tentatively established until it has been observed…
Has the Second Law Been Falsified?
“One of the most important principles of physics, that disorder, or entropy, always increases, has been shown to be untrue.”
The Science of Prayer
Praying for yourself may help you. Or it may harm you. Or it may do nothing at all. Each of these is possible…
The Emperor’s New Designer Clothes
Intelligent Design is the latest buzzword in the so-called dialogue between science and religion…
Buddy Can You Paradigm?
A common view is that science progresses as new theories replace old ones that are “proven wrong.”
The Energy Fields of Life
The principle behind almost all of alternative medicine is that some ëlan vital infuses organisms with life.
Questioning Truth and Reality
Recent trends in some academic circles have called into question conventional notions of truth and reality.
Sci-Fi Art, the Levitron, and Collapsing Atoms
One of the results of a long and checkered career is the accumulation of assorted information, most of which does me no good.
Pseudoscience on the Internet
Pseudoscience has become more sophisticated and, perhaps, more mainstream than it used to be.
On the Internet
Some time ago, I subscribed to Prodigy and spent many bemused hours corresponding with denizens of their physics bulletin board.
Psychics, Physics and Magnets
A wonderful document has wafted its way across my desk. It is either a press release or a scientific abstract…
EMFs Again
My last column had a few things to say about claims of cancer risk produced by low frequency electromagnetic fields.
Bad Science, Phony Science and Pseudoscience
Sometimes the difference between real science and pseudoscience is so small that it is hard to tell which side you’re looking at
No More Mister Nice Guy
One of the disadvantages of modern technology is that now anybody can publish his/her own book.
Scientific Illiteracy in the Press
I’m the first to admit it: I have not made a scientific, double-blind study of this phenomenon.
Foibles and Fallacies
Recently I pulled myself kicking and screaming into the nineties by subscribing to the Prodigy information service.
Tachyons and Other Nonentities
Sliding across my desk recently came a copy of a full-page ad that had appeared in a journal called Pacific Spirit…