Abstract: In a country racked by violent crime, political infighting and scientific ignorance, the quest of the science journalist mirrors that of a famous Greek mythical hero...
According to Greek mythology, Prometheus, a titan, forged mankind from clay, and knowing that mankind needed fire to survive, he lit a torch from the sun and brought it to Earth. Zeus considered the fire stolen, and was so incensed he punished Prometheus - an immortal - by having him chained to a rock, and a giant eagle tear at his liver every day.
It's a myth imbued with themes of discovery, bravery and loyalty; but the bringing of knowledge, represented by fire, to mankind, is why the analogy of Prometheus is used by the University of Stellenbosch's Professor George Claassen to describe the state of science journalism in his country.
Prof Claassen is the popular archetype of
The state of science journalism in South Africa
Remember your equations?
Abstract: A measure of worth for a leader lies in simple equations...
There's a simple test to see if a person in a position of leadership has got what it takes to make effective decisions - ask them to explain the following equation: F=ma. If it's got you stumped, it's no use skimming through the myriad business management books collecting dust in your office; you won't find it there. You'll have to think back to when you were a lot younger.
During the late 1990s I was part of a company that designed and presented science shows at schools and science centres. I've lost count of the number of schools I visited, but suffice to say I became something of an odd fixture in science education, pacing the school halls in my red lab coat crawling with plastic spiders, carrying my black box plastered
Suspending disbelief? Don’t you believe it.
Abstract: The intellectual downgrading of today's TV programming...
There’s an advert on TV that is particularly infuriating. It features two attractive women standing next to identical washing machines positioned in the middle of an unbelievably uncluttered kitchen. One of the women is bemoaning her inability to remove a stubborn stain from a garment she has just pulled out of the machine. She obviously hasn’t realised her machine is neither plugged in nor connected to the water supply.
I know what you’re thinking: it’s only an advert. But that’s the part that interests me – you know that the two women are fooling you, and yet you’re still expected to trust them. Not only that, but trust them to the extent that you will rush out and buy the product they say works without water or electricity. This means you must be gullible.
There is of
Why you don’t howl at the moon
Abstract: Why claims of lunar-induced lunacy are bollocks...
One of the most fascinating people I ever met when I started in radio was the station's late night presenter. He was something of a wistful, so-called New Age character. When I first met him his head was buried in his hands as he bemoaned the fact that it was a full moon that night. "What difference does that make?" I asked him. He gave me a tired smile and shook his head, "'Cos it brings out the crazies." I remember thinking, "Hey, it's the 1980s! Do people still believe that rubbish?" [I may have used another word.]
It seems they did - and still do. And not just in a silly, breathless Twilight-Saga-kiss-the-werewolf-and-he-turns-into-a-strapping-young-hunk kind of way. But rather in a furiously nodding, yes-there's-definitely-something-in-it kind of way. So I'd be failing in my duty as Sceptic
You know what they say about what they say
Abstract: Science explains why you should beware those who employ the wisdom of they.
You know what they say: a good man is hard to find. If you're nodding your head in agreement you're guilty of employing one the oldest tricks in the book of twisted logic, as well as a form of selective thinking popular with psychology. Don't feel bad, just about everyone does it.
Forget war correspondents; investigative journalists are the real hardcore purveyors of the so-called 'fourth estate', because, like Jack Russells on acid, they'll dig and dig until their paws are bloody and the evidence of their digging is piled proudly next to them. They believe in following the trail to find the original source of a claim, because that is where you'll find not only true accountability but also the real nub of a story.
Science journalists have to be investigative
Light at night sets off alarm bells
Abstract: A branch of science believes bedtime reading increases the risk of breast cancer...
For a parent, there are few things more rewarding than the excitement shown by a child when reading them a bedtime story; but there's a branch of science that fears that such a critical parenting role may increase a child's risk of developing the most common cancer found in South African women.
Such a summation may not seem out of place in the unfortunately imbalanced rhetoric of poor health reporting typically found in tabloids. You can imagine the headline: "Mother Goose causes cancer!" But the reality is that those conducting research in the discipline of chronobiology - a relatively new branch of science concerned with the internal biological clocks of various living organisms - are concerned that using artificial light at night poses a risk of developing breast cancer.
A
The stars and you and the uncomfortable truth
Abstract: The truth about astrology may be a little uncomfortable...but there is a twist...
Those who know me are well aware of the special place in my toolbox for those who believe in astrology. It's a compartment that holds a set of jumper cables, which I use to jolt believers of astrology into the real world. However, and to this I must admit, there's a sliver of truth in what they believe; and what's more, there's a twist. Because there's always a twist.
Astrology is one of those things that we've inherited from the dark pages of history, when ignorance of science was painted over with the murky hues of occultism. In a way it's like a nasty rash that people love to pick at to see what's underneath. Back in its formative years, supposed 'wise men', known as soothsayers, would conjure up all
Where truth is a valuable commodity
Abstract: There is big money in finding the liars out there.
Even a cursory glance at our daily newspapers would give credence to the opinion of the famous poet and essayist WH Auden that politics cannot be a science because "in politics, there is a distinction, unknown to science, between Truth and Justice." However, the race is on in science to design, manufacture and roll out what would be the greatest threat to politics as we know it: an accurate lie-detector.
With the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, it is neuroscience - the study of the brain and the nervous system - that has been dubbed 'the new genetics'. Like the world's oceans, the brain remains largely unexamined - something of a mystery - and this is why neuroscientists are busy trawling through reams of studies in an attempt to get
When the pickles say you’re getting old
Abstract: Science provides evidence when you are getting old - a jar of pickles.
There are several things no father wants to hear from his teenage children. There are those that are obvious because they're harbingers of serious emotional disruption: "Dad, I'm pregnant", "Dad, I think I crashed the car" and "Dad, I want to play for the Blue Bulls". Some, on the other hand, are less obvious, and invite only a little discomfort: "Dad, did you just buy a Carpenters CD?" and "Dad, what are those handcuffs doing next to mom's side of your bed?"
But there's one thing that you really don't want to hear from the lips of your teenage child, even though it is often said with the most profound love and deep respect.
The first time I heard it I was trying to open a jar of pickles. They were
Do not look into the light
Abstract: Neurology explains why near death experiences are not glimpses of heaven...
Near-death experiences have a terrible habit of sneaking up on you when you least expect them, and for that reason they can be quite bothersome. However what we should never do is see them as opportunities to have a sneak peek at heaven.
My such experience was, rather ignominiously, while I was perched upon the toilet. I was gathering my thoughts and thinking about the day ahead, when I was suddenly overcome by the sensation of a cold, wet cloak being thrown over my shoulders. At the same time everything seemed to go dark around me, and I found myself looking down a tunnel of light. I heard the voice of an angel calling my name.
I came round to find my wife helping me off the floor and nursing a rather cruddy