Skeptophilia

One of the coolest (and most misunderstood) parts of science is the use of models . A model is an artificially-created system that acts like...

Generally speaking, there are two things that rapidly identify a claim as the work of a crank: (1) saying that it explains everything; and (...

A couple of days ago, I was talking with my son about the Standard Model of Particle Physics (as one does). The Standard Model is a theoret...

Once again I was sent a link by my buddy Andrew Butters, of the wonderful Potato Chip Math , who is not only a great writer but has a keen e...

It's interesting how the approach to science has changed in the last four centuries. It's easy to have the (mistaken) impression tha...

I get that scientific terminology can be daunting.  Scientists, and therefore scientific papers, have become so specialized that unless you ...

Generally speaking, there are two things that rapidly identify a claim as the work of a crank: (1) saying that it explains everything; and (...

Scientists use models -- partial representations of reality, often expressed mathematically -- to explain the universe.  Both working scient...

One of the guiding principles of teenagerhood is "I want to be unique, just like everyone else." Not, mind you, that I'm cri...