Oh BOY! Nontraditional Therapy Really Works! And
Scientists Just Stuffed Shirts!!

post from SCIENCE AIN'T SO BAD: commentaries on science on 23 February 2009 11:44:00 PM. © SCIENCE AIN'T SO BAD: commentaries on science

photo © lei for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike
EVERYBODY'S a scientist.

In Science News, there's a description of work from the University of Missouri which says that 30 years ago the United States began embracing ancient medical practices and that now a study with over 90 patients has demonstrated the efficacy of NCTT ( "non contact therapeutic touch"). Click the title just above the photo for details.

The lead researcher, Guy McCormack (Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, MU) qualifies his work this way: "There seems to be some subliminal aspects that we are not aware of that may have to do with the connectivity between people. People don't question how you can text someone, transmit messages through computers, or visual images through television; thus the belief system is very powerful. If people believe that NCTT is going to be beneficial and are knowledgeable of it, it will be beneficial." Thank YOU, Guy McCormack. You're serious, right?

Now I get to talk about science which is the point of this blog. Science is us humans doing our best thing: critical thinking. Recognizing that it's easy to fool ourselves (or have others fool us) techniques have evolved to allow us to work together as a community to improve our ability to separate the crap from the non-crap. We do this to protect ourselves from charlatans who want to intentionally mislead us as well as from misguided true believers who don't or can't submit their ideas for proper evaluation. We also do this because we really, really don't want the wings to fall off of the airplanes or our computers to burst into flames. At least not too often.

Naturally, life being what it is, the purveyors of crap, have learned. Although it is often maligned, science really is gaining ground. Now, if you want to be believed, it helps to have studies. They may not be very good studies and, maybe, not subject to the usual constraints such as quality peer reviewed journals, replicated by others, etc. But studies. So everybody's got a study now. And you gotta watch it.

I don't want to bang up Guy McCormack's work since that would be irresponsible (and unscientific and closed minded) of me. Like reviewing a book I haven't read. Believe it or not, I have a responsibility to remain open to the idea that this dubious sounding approach of his is sound. Quantum mechanics isn't exactly intuitive.

But a single study with "over 90" participants where the phenomenon under study, pain, is classically subject to placebo-like effects, is, at best, an ELEMENT of a scientific process. And his comments which suggest you gotta believe to really get the benefit should worry you a little. Oh and comparing radio communications and computer technology whose physical principles have been well studied and profoundly and objectively validated with "non touch therapy"? If that doesn't worry you, you're one of those lucky people who is going to go through life with few doubts about anything.

Read The Full Article:
http://scienceaintsobad.blogspot.com/2009/02/oh-boy-nontraditional-therapy-really
.html

Digg this

Poor correlations, or why it's not the fault of
Aussie cricketers

post from The Mr Science Show on 23 February 2009 10:35:52 PM. © The Mr Science Show

Not too long ago we published an article showing what looked to be a stark correlation between the price of oil and the fortunes of the Australian cricket team.

As the oil price and the Australian cricket team have both declined in recent times, it's time we updated that chart.

And unfortunately, as you can see from the graph below, we can't blame the cricketers for the price of oil (or the economic recession as seen in the Moir cartoon to the right).

Correlations between data sets can occur for 3 reasons:

There is a direct cause and effect relationship between the two sets - for example, if its rains a lot in one week, then umbrella sales go up - the level of rainfall has caused an increase in umbrella sales;
There is an underlying reason for the two data sets to move together, as opposed to one causing the other - for example, the heavy rain has also caused more road accidents - umbrella sales and road accidents may look correlated, but one is not causing the other. In some cases you would need to look through a few degrees to find the underlying cause;
There is no cause and effect and no underlying reason for the correlation - it's simply a coincidence or the work of a devious statistician, as we have here. Scales and time periods are also often changed to make it look like there is a correlation.

If we take the original oil and cricket data, put them on the same x- and y-scales as before, then you can easily see that whilst they are both now trending down, the correlation is no longer strong. The original correlation depended on quite a bit of manipulation of the x- and y- scales, which now means the data sets do not line up. And as the cricket team success is measured as an average win percentage over the last 40 games, it can not drop as suddenly as the oil price. Still, it's fun to speculate and play with the data.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MrSciencePodcast/~3/wAu8PKrw3R0/poor-correlations-
or-why-its-not-fault.html

Digg this

I get email

post from Pharyngula on 23 February 2009 10:00:23 PM. © Pharyngula

Sometimes, they just want to help me out.

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/DqIIEzKNRok/i_get_email
_31.php

Digg this

Park Place Subway Art, Detail 6

post from Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) on 23 February 2009 08:59:59 PM. © Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC

Map of the World, detail 6.

Stone and glass floor mosaic at NYC's Park Place entrance, which connects to the WTC (Chambers Street) station via a tunnel; also there are hundreds of stone mosaic eyes on the walls throughout the Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains).

Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.

Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].

Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/grrlscientist/~3/FroqJ8Yd5gc/park_pla
ce_subway_art_detail_6.php

Digg this

Book Review: Animal Tracks & Signs

post from Urban Science Adventures! © on 23 February 2009 08:43:00 PM. © Urban Science Adventures! ©

For all of my loyally readers who love the blog and have wished you could take it along with you when you were exploring outside, I have the perfect field guide for you! Animal Tracks & Signs Author: Jinny JohnsonPublished by National Geographic
Animal Tracks & Signs is perfect for animal lovers and junior naturalists of all ages. It is 192 pages long, but it isn?t meant to read in one setting or at bed time. This really is a reference book, complete with pictures, details, and explanations about a wide variety of animal species. As often you go outside and observe nature, you will use this book. In fact, I recommend taking it along with you on your outdoor adventures and nature walks in your neighborhood.
What I like about the book:
The foreword, by John A. Burton. He gives readers a glimpse into the challenges that wildlife film makers and photographers must overcome to catch those breathtaking shots of our wild neighbors. Tracking and finding animals are long and painstaking tasks. Without basic naturalist skills like close observation patience, we wouldn?t be able to enjoy fine animal programs and photographs.
The How-to Section. You can jump right in and look up information about that critter you spotted the other day, but there are also a few pages in the front to get you prepared for animal watching. Different types of animal tracks and the related foot anatomy and movement of the animal is explained, as well as how to make plaster and casts of animal tracks are also provided. This book is the Official Urban Science Adventures! ©Field Guide.
The Biodiversity. It isn?t an exhausted list of every species known to humankind, but it does introduce us to every basic kind of animal, even voles. With the exception of polar biomes, this book introduces readers to mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects and invertebrates from around the world.
The index card-like details. Illustrations or up-close photographs of animals are provided that includes a quick summary about its size, where the animal lives, what it eats and what eats it and other interesting facts. Plus, accurate pictures of animal signs like webs, tunnels, droppings (or poo), nests and dens, bird pellets and life size silhouettes of its tracks.
Plus, the book gives attention to the ecological roles of the animals described. No animal exists without its habitat and other requirements for life. It explains with pictures and brief details how to locate the homes of secretive animals and how to identify animals from simple clues like its tracks, scat, pellets, nest shape, or flying silhouette.
This book is amazing! Go and get it!

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UrbanScienceAdventures/~3/sR7_eA4c0zQ/book-review-
animal-tracks-signs.html

Digg this

A sprightly explanation for UFO sightings

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 23 February 2009 08:31:32 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

In legend, sprites are trolls, elves and other spirits that dance high above our ozone layer. But scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that some very real "sprites" are zipping across the atmosphere as well, providing a possible explanation for those other legendary denizens of the skies, UFOs.

Read The Full Article:
http://machineslikeus.com/news/sprightly-explanation-ufo-sightings

Digg this

Researchers develop new rocket that could make
space launches less costly

post from Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought on 23 February 2009 08:22:23 PM. © Machines Like Us - Science at the speed of thought

Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are developing a new rocket that could make this and other spacecraft maneuvers much less costly, a consideration of growing importance as more private companies start working in space.

Read The Full Article:
http://machineslikeus.com/news/researchers-develop-new-rocket-could-make-space-la
unches-less-costly

Digg this

Got binoculars Spot a comet near Saturn tonight

The greenish comet Lulin, more formally known as C/2007 N3, has been approaching Earth for some time and will, tomorrow, be at its brightest, as it'll reach its closest approach to us. But it might be easiest to spot tonight, as it will be passing especially close to Saturn. (Close, that is, in the flattened geometry of our sky; it's actually much, much closer to us than it is to Saturn.) Although Lulin technically a naked-eye object, if ....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001853/

Digg this

Carnival of Space #91

Wander on over to the Next Big Future to check out the 91st Carnival of Space! And, while I'm linking to stuff, you might also want to listen to this week's Planetary Radio, which features an interview with Michael Mumma on the recent discovery of the methane plumes on Mars. ....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001852/

Digg this

Fireball meteorites and Death reviews

Two quickies: 1) I mentioned last week that possible meteorites form the Texas fireball had been found, and it appears that’s now confirmed. In fact, they look like standard chrondrites, a typical type of meteorites associated with rocky asteroids.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/23/fireball-meteorites-and
-death-reviews/

Digg this