Archive for May, 2007

Bike to work and back every day.

4.400 miles one way
8.800 miles per day
20.000 miles per gallon
0.440 gallons per day
3.090 dollars per gallon
1.360 dollars per day
27.192 dollars per month

Not much. But think of the carbon savings! It’s about time I did this. Plus, that $30.00 per month is something I can mentally write off the cost of the bike, right?

Meanwhile, read this awesome bit that Brandon wrote in his committee letter application essay. He is a genius/Barry.

I’m also concerned by the ease with which pseudoscience can hijack the scientific lexicon, imitating the sound of science without its method. As Arthur C. Clark wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” In its ever-increasing need for accurate language in order to illustrate complex ideas, modern science appears to have left mainstream America far behind. Shampoos now advertise that they contain “amino-peptide-proteins,” while cosmetics manufacturers advertise that their state-of-the-art wrinkle cream is effective because it contains an individual’s unique DNA, “which is different like snowflakes.” Such statements are loosely bound to reality before being wrapped up in layers of gimmicky, science-themed marketing to confuse a naïve populace into purchasing the modern equivalent of snake oil patent medicines. In a society whose understanding of biology is so primitive that many people will accept that smearing DNA on one’s face has magical, therapeutic benefits, how can doctors possibly communicate meaningfully to their patients that mutations in this same DNA are the basis of cancer? How does one explain to a patient that antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, because viruses and bacteria are wildly different, when most patients aren’t completely sure of what a “germ” is? American medicine is seeing a trend toward patients wanting to become more involved in their treatment. If doctors and scientists cannot communicate effectively about the principles upon which modern medicine is based, DNA face creams begin to compete for credibility with actual, peer-reviewed therapies in the public’s eye. As dangerous as the idea of science being mistaken for magic is, the real, and perhaps implied, danger is that when the two become indistinguishable, “magic” may be mistaken for science.