Column Archives
Sublimation: No Excuse To Harm
It’s a simple concept taught in most high school chemistry classes – sublimation – when a material, in solid phase, converts directly to the gas phase without passing first through the liquid phase. The classic example is dry ice which, in actuality, is frozen carbon dioxide. At room temperature, dry…
Blaming The System
By now most Americans are aware that our country is in financial trouble – big financial trouble. In fact, from a financial standpoint, America is virtually on the brink of economic collapse. The reasons for this, according to pundits and politicians, are many: runaway federal spending, a huge negative trade…
Biology Run Amok
Biology – it is the substance of our being, the very essence of our existence. Of course, personal experiences and environmental exposures shape our psychology. But every last thing about us – what we look like, what we think, what we say, what we do, our personality itself – rests…
War On Terror Or World War III
It might not be what you expected. After all, for nearly half a century, we were conditioned to believe that the next world war would consist of a nuclear exchange between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Nevertheless, many are now beginning to refer (though some have been doing so for some…
A Crime That Pays
When I was a kid I often heard the saying, “Crime doesn’t pay.” And back then, such was usually the case. Though there were most certainly exceptions, in general, it seemed to me as though most criminals eventually paid for their crimes. And back then, it also seemed to me…
Brood Nations
Biology is a powerful thing – especially the biological drive to reproduce. Just as nature, it is said, “abhors a vacuum” (at least here on Earth), biology abhors a habitable environment devoid of life. The reproductive drive across non-human species is so powerful that the world’s myriad populations of these…
Better Than Money
A long time ago, when I was a little kid, I heard a man say, “That’s better than money.” I don’t know who he was or to what he was referring, but I never forgot that comment. A few nights ago, I was sitting beside my wife as she held…
Political Math
Math – mere mention makes many people cringe. It seems no other subject is more feared by otherwise “know it all” 8th-graders who consistently protest, “Why do I need to learn this stuff? I’m never gonna use it.” Truth be known, mathematics is a valuable, practical subject with myriad applications…
Stop Failing America’s Young Women
America is a great country. In fact, there is no place else like it in the world. People come to America from all points on the globe – often overcoming tremendous obstacles to get here – to attempt to capture for themselves a piece of the American dream. To them,…
America’s Greatest Natural Resource
Some say coal. Others say natural gas. A few say iron ore. Many say the land itself. Years ago, most everyone said oil. Good choices all. However, when it comes to natural resources, I say that which America is most blessed is the American mind. Not long ago, I had…
Spare The Rod, Spoil The Nation
“Out of control” – that’s how some describe today’s youth in America. Of course, obviously, this phrase doesn’t apply to all of America’s young people as many are well-behaved, well-disciplined, and well-adjusted. Regrettably, however, a significant portion of America’s youth are, in fact, out of control and our nation is…
When Scientists Lose Their Way
Objectivity – it is the absolute bedrock of science. There is no notion, idea, hypothesis, concept, principle, axiom, maxim, theory, or law more fundamental to science than objectivity. In fact, in the absence of objectivity, science does not exist. Call it what you want, but it ain’t science. So what…
