Even the most brilliant and careful scientist is susceptible to bias. As philosopher Daniel Dennett has said, “Nobody is immune to wishful thinking.” Is there an approach other than the…
memory
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Two mallards, a multi-colored male and the rather nondescript brown female (except for a dazzling blue chevron on her wings) drift downstream. They are completely at home in the stream…
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After a light, all-night rain, the clouds cleared and the sun made a welcome appearance in the early afternoon. People got outside and into the parkland in droves, including me.…
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Recently I watched a documentary about a species of heron that had learned how to fish, but is unable to transmit that knowledge to its offspring. It raised the question:…
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Autumn is at its peak in northern California, and the normally muted colors in this Mediterranean climate are more intense than usual this year. A path behind the entrance is…
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Overhanging the gorge are great angular outcroppings of volcanic rock—solid and sharp-edged protrusions from some long-ago eruption of Lassen or some other volcano in the area.
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After a light all-night rain, the clouds cleared and the sun made a welcome appearance in the early afternoon. People got outside and into the parkland in droves, including me.…
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After a light all-night rain, the clouds cleared and the sun made a welcome appearance in the early afternoon. People got outside and into the parkland in droves, including me.…