Category Archives: Culture

The Center

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Ron Miksha

We love the superlative – biggest/smallest, widest/narrowest, and more often than not, the tallest, heaviest, strongest rather than the shortest, lightest, weakest.  Not many travel posters feature the ‘averagest’ waterfall, tree, or lake. So it might seem against human tendency … Continue reading →

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Why Non-Experts are Experts

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Ron Miksha

It seems that youngsters who are not particularly gifted in science and math are more likely to want a science job later in life. Kids who excel in science are less likely to want to be scientists. At least, that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science Education | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

December 20: Light Up Day

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Ron Miksha

What are the odds that three important electricity developments should all occur on December 20th? Probably, statistically, rather good. So I’ll not make much of the coincidence. Impending winter darkness was not a likely motivator – in the case of … Continue reading →

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Naming Schools after Nobel Laureates

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Ron Miksha

The Washington Post recently ran a story about the late Abdus Salam, a physicist who won the Nobel Prize almost 40 years ago. The piece concerns the politics of naming a building at a Pakistani university in honour of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, History, People, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Going on Four (Billion)

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Ron Miksha

A paper published last week in Nature, claims that life began at 3.7 (billion years ago). This is the latest in a rather faltering progression of our best guesses of the date life started on Earth. Biblical literalists are still … Continue reading →

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Tunguska’s Kulik

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Leonid Kulik is probably another geologist you’ve never heard of. Well, it’s his birthday anyway, and here’s your chance to add a new name to your fact file, just in case you get that call from Jeopardy and the Remarkable … Continue reading →

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Into Big Valley

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Ron Miksha

A few days ago, I lamented that the lovely town of Big Valley is blessed with a Creation Science Museum. The museum is a single-room curio shop with a fossilized Teddy Bear and not much more. It’s a disappointing destination … Continue reading →

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Creation Science Museum, Part 2

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Ron Miksha

If you ever wanted to visit a museum unencumbered by crowds and undistracted by children’s laughter, come to the Canadian Creation Science Museum in Big Valley, Alberta, Canada. It’s as quiet as a tomb.  I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Creation Science Museum, Part 1

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Ken Ham’s latest monument to his beliefs has opened in Kentucky. The Ark Encounter is about an hour from his Creation Museum. Both are operated by Answers in Genesis, which is operated by the Australian immigrant. They both seek to … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Cuba, America, and Oil

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Ron Miksha

With America’s president visiting Cuba this week, I thought it might be helpful to re-post my story “Has Cuba Got Oil?” which I wrote in 2014.  It’s still valid. Cuba still has oil. But I argued that I doubt oil … Continue reading →

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