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JD Goulet's avatar

Florida: where the ants have better healthcare than humans!

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Bill's avatar

An always enjoyable romp through science, Brian. Brilliant!

PS: Firesign Theatre is among the best comedy ever.

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vito maracic's avatar

Firesign Theatre? They did pose one of Life's great questions:

" How can you be in two places at once, when you're really nowhere at all?"

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WrightsCreekWolf's avatar

I thought that the Beddoes Pneumatic Institue was a Firesign Theater reference. Now I find out it was a real thing fifty years later.

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Leslie Jean's avatar

You actually made me smile, at the end of a grueling day..

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Paul HB's avatar

Thank you- a very enjoyable article. Re scientific discovery, perhaps the key difference is between deductive logic (if this, then that: evidence and logic based) , and inductive logic ( the perception of patterns derived or inferred from previous experience, or simply insight)? Inductive logic is also useful in other spheres, such as the geo-political. For example, deductive logic views Russian tanks on the Ukraine border as simply a fact; inductive logic recognises a preparation for invasion. In academic archaeology article, deductive, evidence based logic is usually used to analyse the findings; inductive logic is used in the discussion section to posit what these findings may mean.

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Brian Klaas's avatar

Yes! The best thinking usually involves a combination of both. But I suppose there are some realms where inductive logic may be impossible because there’s no way to measure a phenomenon. I like the “madcap science” article because it pushes us to think about whether those areas should be considered “unscientific” or not.

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Yonah's avatar

Thank u… a fun Monday morning read… and the book I happen to be reading right now is…. Fluke… by u! Good book btw…

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Brian Klaas's avatar

So glad you’re enjoying it!

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