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Piltdown again
I wrote recently about contemporary scientific frauds, describing them as modern day Piltdowns, after the great archaeological hoax of early last century. In particular, I used the example of disgraced...
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Einstein is dead
Einstein is dead and so are all geniuses. Or at least genius as we know it. I read an article last month announcing that the scientific genius is extinct. In a commentary in Nature, Dean Keith Simonton...
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It’s just a theory
Several times I have been stumped by people telling me that anthropogenic global warming is really just a theory. Yes, exactly, it’s a theory! But theory means something very different to scientists...
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Open science
There are lots of comments and editorials flying around at the moment about open access as an alternative to the traditional method of publishing academic research. Under the traditional model,...
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Drowning in data
I started my position eighteen months ago now and in that time, I’ve generated well over 50 terrabytes (Tb) of data. Files are jammed into folders wherever I can squeeze them. Storage space is so...
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The citizen scientist
I have wanted to be a scientist since I was five years old. My favourite relics from my childhood include my microscope (complete with pre-made slides and a slide making kit), my children’s...
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I have a confession to make
My confession is this: I’m a human. Now let me explain why some people find this problematic… Back when I was doing my PhD, one of my old officemates loved facts. For her, science was the pursuit of...
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Cooling down a climate scientist
A few months ago I was shaking my fists and huffing as we drove past the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) in Canberra. Surprised, my girlfriend asked how I could possibly be so riled by our hall of...
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Is my research futile?
In recent days in Australia, we’ve been discussing “futile” research. On the brink of a federal election, one major party has promised to target futile research as a source of funding cuts. They have...
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The further back we look, the further forward we can see
Yesterday, prompted by recent political discussion in Australia, I starting talking about “futile” research. I asked about the field of palaeoclimatology and it’s utility. Does the study of past...
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The further backwards we look, the further back we can see
Over the weekend, I gave some examples of palaeoclimatic studies that have been valuable for understanding the climate system and potential climatic changes under greenhouse warming. But is all...
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Looking both ways
Over the past few days, I’ve discussed a variety of different palaeoclimate research projects, questioning whether palaeoclimatology is entirely forthright when we claim that our investigation of the...
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The (messy) scientific method
I did my PhD under “non-traditional” supervisory arrangements. This is a euphemism meaning that things didn’t work out between my assigned supervisor and me, so I had to carve out my own path. One...
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A bottle, and other ocean junk
In January 1988, my Uncle David rounded the southeast coast of Australia and finally headed north. On Australia Day in 1988, he turned into Sydney Harbour and arrived in style, complete with an armada...
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Honeybees vs Peer Review
The last month has really made me feel like my approach to reviewing journal papers is completely wrong. When I get a request to review a paper, I read the abstract, have a think about the content and...
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