The authoritative news is that we are safe from outside attacks because we have a good system. But, like our military that always seems to be fighting the last war, our authorities seem to be ignoring the abilities our pathogens have to adapt. We are told, for example, that ebola is not transmitted from a […]
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I just learned about Cyborg science the other day. The phrase comes from the book, Machine Dreams: Economics Becomes a Cyborg Science, by Philip Mirowski. A cyborg is a combination of man and machine. It’s a good term to describe how common it is for ‘scientists’ to use mathematics to describe, influence, and exert control over […]
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Common Sense Medicine looks at our body’s defenses, those functions of our body that protect us from insults in our environments. These functions have developed over the years by natural selection and are the best that are available to us. They are strongest where we are most vulnerable–at the openings to our bodies where we […]
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Choosing to major in Mathematics and choosing to major in Music might not be as different as we like to think. A recent article by the University of Chicago describes composers and mathematicians who use math to explore music and sound in new ways. A while ago we wrote a blog post about Einstein losing himself […]
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As our thoughts go with the children returning to classrooms for the new school year, it reminds us of the importance of learning and adapting. Our children should be learning and adapting at school. And we hope they will […]
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The recent epidemic of enterovirus respiratory infections for which we have no means of prevention or treatment other than supportive therapy leads me to make this suggestion: try keeping your noses clean. The prototypical enterovirus is the one that causes polio so they are not to be taken lightly. And like with polio we will […]
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Craig Reynolds modeled the complex flocking patterns of birds and fish using three main steering behaviors: separation, cohesion, and alignment (see his website: http:// www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/). Reynolds called the generic simulated creatures “Boids,” and Dr. Jones and Jerry Bozeman adopted this name into the title of their book. As birds, fish, and humans are all complex […]
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Thinking like a child means many things – it means letting go of inhibitions. It means being spontaneous – following a random idea just to see where it takes us. It means being persistent and open to all the new ideas that are thrown at us. And it […]
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Everyone seems to know that the problem in Ferguson relates to a white police force in a predominantly black community. Whether the community leaders were blind to the problem, or aware of it but unable to find African American people qualified, is argued from both sides. Howard University students take powerful #DONTSHOOT photo in […]
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Insurance is designed to pay for the unexpected crisis. Health insurance started that way in the U.S. but gradually, because the companies we work for were paying for it and getting a better tax break, it morphed into paying for it all. That means we have less interest in getting the ounce of prevention than […]
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