Wrath of Pele
The legend of Pele is relatively well known even outside of Hawaii. Her wrath, tears, hair, curses and legends are explored here.
Category Archives: Science and Nature
Ball lightning videos everywhere
Videos purporting to show the rare natural phenomenon of ball lightning are popping up on social media. Are they real or fake?
I survived the Bermuda Triangle
Finding the weird and wonderful in Bermuda Cross one item off my bucket list for 2022: I visited Bermuda on a family holiday. Unsurprisingly, when I visit new places, I look for spooky things and natural wonders. So this post will mainly be about the unusual aspects of the tiny island country. Bermuda is definitely… Read More: I survived the Bermuda Triangle »
Mystery booms in 2022
Here we are in a new year! Let’s hope it’s a good one. Mystery booms and Skyquakes of 2022 In 2021, I began keeping track of mystery booms reported in the media. Mystery booms are unsettling because they signal some sort of danger from below ground, on the surface, or in the sky. Often, we… Read More: Mystery booms in 2022 »
Texarkana Fish Rain Mystery Solved
The fish that fell in a December thunderstorm likely came from the nervous stomachs of birds that ejected their recent meal, investigators conclude.
Flat-earthers as scientifical Americans: One message from ‘Behind the Curve’
Most people react to flat-earthers by labeling them as stupid or scientifically illiterate. A moderate effort to examine what they say will reveal that is not so. On the contrary, those who embrace conspiratorial beliefs seem to be bored with the conventional. Their active, creative brains spin more intriguing, complicated, and colorful trappings around mundane… Read More: Flat-earthers as scientifical Americans: One message from ‘Behind the Curve’ »
Science and cryptozoology: The taboo subject of Bigfoot doesn’t add up
Episode 7 of Laura Krantz’ Wild Thing podcast on Bigfoot, science and society explores the contentious relationship between the orthodox scientific community and those scientists who choose to seriously explore fringe topics like this one. Several science-minded Bigfoot advocates are profiled who lament the way society and the “Ivory Tower” of science (a monolithic metaphorical… Read More: Science and cryptozoology: The taboo subject of Bigfoot doesn’t add… »
Why the Darwin Awards Should Die
The Darwin Awards are a commodification of callous ghoulishness that celebrates people’s death and misfortune.
Human sacrifice at CERN? It’s not a joke when bizarre claims are taken seriously
Reaction has been varied regarding a video seemingly depicting a human sacrifice on the grounds of CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, the location of the Large Hadron Collider and cutting edge particle physics research. Some people are chuckling at the spoof while others see it confirming their dark suspicions and sinister worldview. As a science advocate… Read More: Human sacrifice at CERN? It’s not a joke when bizarre… »
Animal Planet’s Monster Week tones down the hype for 2016
It’s business as usual at Animal Planet channel. It’s Monster Week. You know, it’s not that bad to air shows like The Cannibal in the Jungle for one week or on occasion. But AnPlan has gone too far in the past several years by suggesting that mermaids, Megalodon and cryptids exist by co-opting bad or outright… Read More: Animal Planet’s Monster Week tones down the hype for 2016 »
Book Review: Dawkins’ Brief Candle
Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science by Richard Dawkins My rating: 4 of 5 stars I feel this book helped me understand Dawkins considerably more than I did previously. It also deepened my appreciation for him and his life’s work – in zoology, evolutionary biology, religion, philosophy, and science in society. There… Read More: Book Review: Dawkins’ Brief Candle »
100 Things Popular Science Thinks Science Got Wrong, but Didn’t Quite
I was in the grocery checkout line a few weeks ago. I sometimes scan the magazine rack impulse grabs but never buy them. This week, the crop circle cover photo of a special edition of Popular Science caught my attention: Mistakes and Hoaxes – 100 Things Science Got Wrong What did science get wrong about… Read More: 100 Things Popular Science Thinks Science Got Wrong, but Didn’t… »
Cryptozoology and Myth, Part 1: The Illusion of Facticity in Unknown Animal Reports
What can we make of folklore tales that cryptozoologists use to support claims that an unknown animal has been historically reported and remains to be identified? Cryptid researchers say that modern reports of Bigfoot-Sasquatch, lake monster, sea serpents, giant flying animals, and elusive land creatures are supported by the stories of native people, legends or… Read More: Cryptozoology and Myth, Part 1: The Illusion of Facticity in… »
Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for cryptozoology
The highly anticipated paper from B. Skyes regarding DNA testing of anomalous primates has been published and is, thankfully, freely accessible. In 2012, the team from University of Oxford and the Museum of Zoology, Lausanne, put out a call for samples of suspected anomalous primates – Yeti, Bigfoot/Sasquatch, Almasty, orang pendek. The samples, if accepted,… Read More: Sykes paper is a clarion call for higher standards for… »
Warnings of impending danger: Science and Social Factors
Natural disasters happen every day. The people who can help prepare society for them are not psychics or crank pseudoscientists but those who study events inside out and upside down – scientists. Those who consider prediction a part of their research and responsibility range from weather forecasters to seismologists and volcanologists. It’s a great responsibility to… Read More: Warnings of impending danger: Science and Social Factors »
Science and society: The giant earthquake that launched a new era in geologic knowledge
I am a geologist by training and my main interest was natural hazards. I was not able to apply my interest to earthquakes or volcanoes as I’d hoped but I did get to help the public deal with sinkhole hazards that also cause property destruction and occasional loss of life. This short film is worth… Read More: Science and society: The giant earthquake that launched a new… »
Speculative paleozoology done by professionals (Book Review)
Last night, I simply could not read any technical stuff before bed so I browsed my Kindle looking for some entertaining reading. The thing is, I don’t really do much fiction, almost everything I have is nonfiction. Then I came across “All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals” by Darren… Read More: Speculative paleozoology done by professionals (Book Review) »
Defending the faith of cryptozoology
My latest post, regarding the rational vs non-rational response to the new cryptozoology book by Loxton and Prothero, Abominable Science, went live on Huffington Post yesterday. Cryptozoology Gets Respect While Bigfooters Behave Badly. When critical thinkers approach the subject of Bigfoot (or cryptozoology in general) with a focus on the evidence, they are met with… Read More: Defending the faith of cryptozoology »
There is something alive down there. Troglobite!
Several years ago, I put a downhole camera into a borehole that I suspected was drilled into a network of rotten rock, riddled with widened fracture and small caves, possibly a cavern (karst). The system was fed by surface stream leakage but sustained by what was estimated to be a very extensive hydrogeological system across… Read More: There is something alive down there. Troglobite! »
Science appreciation class
Several years ago, while learning about the problem of science illiteracy, I discovered something of critical importance: You can’t get people engaged and enthusiastic or even respectful about a subject if they don’t see any value or connection to themselves. Kids aren’t going to do well in high school science classes (or even choose to take those… Read More: Science appreciation class »