Re: More TV science-: see Sagan's new book

From
Date
At 05:54 PM 9/28/96 -0700, you wrote:
>UPDATE ON TV SCIENCE FOR THE NEW SEASON IN AMERICA
>
>The TV networks this season are expanding their fare of pseudoscience and
>antiscience.  Get ready for lots of questions from your students and
>nonscientific friends.
>...snip...



I've recently picked up Carl Sagan's new book - Demons of a Haunted World -
I think a MUST READ to fully appreciate and get the thinking/logical
argumentative ammo to help us counter the pseudoscience preoccupation and
proliferation that is unfolding worldwide - and the dangers - and the
reasons why so many people  would like to believe in pseudoscience. After
all, if we could make things happen by simply wishing them and developing
the power to do make them happen - as some claim that's all there is to it -
then life would be so much easier than the reality of it.

...sorry world - there is no free lunch - or turning back for that matter:
at least the alternatives are not very good.

Last spring I had the opportunity to hear Richard Smalley (Rice U.;
coinventer of the Bucky ball - 3rd form of carbon) speak. He spoke on Global
warming/anthropogenic influences; population projections; and Energy
limitations -- typically Doomesdayish type stuff -- but with one BIG
difference: he is proposing solutions through nanotechnology (not
nannofossils to you nanno paleo people out there) - but creating solutions
by economic molecular level frabrications / production etc. There is a lot
of skepticism that all that is being proposed by nanotechnology supporters
can be accomplished, and indeed needs to be proven in time (vs. a funding
ploy). NEVERTHELESS, it is a refresing approach vs. a Doomsdayish one - as
one answer among many we, and generations into the future need to address.
See: http://cnst.rice.edu/ for more info.

Paul

**Paul E. Belanger; email: belanger@darkwing.uoregon.edu
**Dept. of Geological Sciences         personal address:
**University of Oregon                 P.O. Box 572082
**Eugene, OR 97403-1272                Houston, TX 77257-2082
**(541) 346-4573;                      (713) 664-1135
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~belanger (in progress)