Cool Sh*t I’ve Been Reading This Summer
I’m on vacation, in an island paradise, and I’m sorely tempted to skip my end-of-the-month “Cool Sh*t” post. I want to just hang out on the beach and watch the waves roll in...
Stories by John Horgan
Physicist George Ellis Knocks Physicists for Knocking Philosophy, Falsification, Free Will
Biologist Rupert Sheldrake, whom I interviewed in my last post, wasn’t the only fascinating scientist I hung out with recently at Howthelightgetsin, an festival hosted by the Institute of Arts & Ideas...
Mind & Brain
Scientific Heretic Rupert Sheldrake on Morphic Fields, Psychic Dogs and Other Mysteries
For decades, I’ve been only dimly aware of Rupert Sheldrake as a renegade British biologist who argues that telepathy and other paranormal phenomena (sometimes lumped under the term psi) should be taken more seriously by the scientific establishment...
Environment
Could Consuming More Energy Help Humans Save Nature?
Even before I arrived at the annual “Dialogue” of the Breakthrough Institute, an Oakland, California, think tank that challenges mainstream environmental positions, I was arguing about it...
The Sciences
Technology Historian Crushes Internet Myths
As readers of this blog know, since 2005 I’ve been teaching at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. One of the best parts of being an academic is hanging out with cool (compared to me), young (compared to me), up-and-coming scholars, some of whom know far more about the history of science and [...]..
More Cool Sh*t I’ve Read—and Seen—Lately
This is the fourth installment of my monthly feature "Cool Sh*t I've Read Lately,” in which I draw attention to, um, cool stuff. (Here are columns one, two and three.) Breakthrough Journal...
Prominent Economist Touts Benefits of War in New York Times. Really.
I was hoping to chill out on Father’s Day, perhaps see the latest Tom Cruise sci-fi blockbuster, or stroll along the Hudson with my girlfriend.
My Ayahuasca Trip
Ayahuasca—a foul-tasting hallucinogenic tea that can induce violent nausea and terrifying visions—is becoming trendy. A recent article in the “Fashion & Style” section of The New York Times notes that many people—including celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Sting—have turned to ayahuasca as a “catalyst for inner growth.” Ayahuasca is fascinating, for many reasons...
Multiverse Skeptic Whacks Multiverse Peddler for Whacking End of Science
I suppose I should be grateful that, 18 years after the release of my book The End of Science, people still care enough about it to knock it.
So Far, Big Data Is Small Potatoes
Is Big Data going to revolutionize science and help us make a better world? Not based on what it’s done so far. Let me back up a moment.
Mind & Brain
Talking Death with the Late Psychedelic Chemist Sasha Shulgin
Alexander Shulgin, the most prolific psychedelic chemist in history, has died at the age of 88. I interviewed Shulgin and his wife and co-researcher Ann at their home in California in 1999, when I was researching my 2003 book Rational Mysticism...
Cool Sh*t I’ve Read—and Seen–Lately
This is the third installment in my monthly feature “Cool Sh*t I’ve Read Lately.” (Here are number one and number two.) This month I’m calling it “Cool Sh*t I’ve Read–and Seen—Lately” so I can add a movie and art exhibit...
Evolution
My Testy Encounter with the Late, Great Gerald Edelman
Biologist Gerald Edelman–one of the truly great scientific characters I’ve encountered, whose work raised profound questions about the limits of science—has died.
Health
Sorry, But So Far War on Cancer Has Been a Bust
I recently got into an argument, again, about cancer. The occasion was a talk by one of my colleagues at Stevens Institute, philosopher Gregory Morgan, on the fascinating history of research into cancer-causing viruses...
Patient in Failed Depression-Implant Trial Tells His Painful Story
Success stories are a staple of medical communication. The clinician or reporter tells the tale of a patient whose ailment has been ameliorated by a new drug, device, surgical procedure or other intervention...
I Usually Resist Tribalism, But I’m So Proud of My School’s Students!
I lack the tribalism gene. I don’t identify strongly, emotionally, with clusterings of people, whether nation, religion, ethnic group, profession or sports team (although decades ago I endured the horror of being a Mets fan)...
Cool Sh*t I’ve Read Lately, II
Last month, in an effort to make this blog more upbeat, I started a monthly column called “Cool Sh*t I’ve Read Lately.” My stated intention was to draw attention to “well-written articles about compelling topics.” In this second installment, I’m breaking that rule by mentioning not only articles but also books, including a novel...
Behavior
Tripping in LSD's Birthplace: A Story for "Bicycle Day"
After consuming magic mushrooms in Basel, Switzerland, I ran into Albert Hofmann, the chemist who catalyzed the psychedelic era.
Biology
Crows Aren’t Just Smart, They’re Also Jokers
Corvid cleverness is making news lately. Two of my favorite science writers, Sharon Begley and James Gorman, describe a variety of experiments--reported in PLOS One by researchers in New Zealand–in which crows mimic the hero of Aesop’s ancient fable “The Crow and the Pitcher.” By dropping objects into containers of water, crows raise the water’s [...]..
Policy
Does Growing Time Lag for Nobels Portend End of Fundamental Discoveries in Physics?
Some idiot over at National Geographic just wrote a column titled “Science Is Running Out of Things to Discover,” and the commenters are hammering him.
