A collection of post on Science with a Malaysian focus
Previously I wrote about a great report from MASTIC that surveyed the perception of the Malaysian public regarding Science and Technology. What I failed to mention or rather what I ‘chose’ not to mention at the time was a specific portion of the report that dealt with the Theory of Evolution, and the reason why I didn’t want to address it was to not distract from the original...
The Star today reported on ‘4D fortune teller’ who was arrested for in connection with a cheating case worth over RM1 Million. Of course most of think that the guy got what was coming to him, however the question becomes how do we say a ‘4D Fortune Teller’ was cheating–to the point where we can charge him in court (under section 420A of the Penal code). The report...
I recently discovered a really good study conducted by the MASTIC in Malaysia to determine Public Awareness of Science in Malaysia. The study was conducted every 2 years from 1998 till 2008, which gives us 5 really great data sets to determine not just the public awareness of science in a particular year–but also how that perception changes over the decade. The study makes for a good...
In conjuction with the release of the Government Transformation Project Annual report, the Star today reported: The Malaysian education system is on track to becoming among the world’s best as stringent monitoring is in place to ensure its success under the Government Transformation Plan (GTP). “The rate of improvement of the system in the last 15 years is among the fastest in the world,”...
This is so true. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is probably the most famous astrophysicist on the planet, and of late he’s been the face of science education in America. He’s got the coolness of Jay-Z mixed with the lovability of Bill Cosby and the intelligence of Carl Sagan all rolled into one. He’s been promoting science in America a lot, and fighting for a budget increase for NASA...
Sometimes good intentions lead to bad things, particularly when they’re not grounded on rational science. Just like how some still believe that Wi-Fi poses a health hazard and even more common myth of how Mobile phones cause gas station fires. Now that’s a myth that’s been around a loooong time. No matter whether you call them handphones or cellphones or mobile...
Techdirt recently reported on how Canadian Schools are Banning WiFi based on bad science, and I was appalled by the complete lack of science we have operating in the minds of these clueless parents. No doubt they’re well-intentioned but their complete and utter disregard of the scientific evidence in favour of fearful knee-jerk reactions are actually causing more harm than good for the very...
Lawrence Krauss is a smart guy, he’s a professor of physics, he’s written a whole plethora of books on science and has an award list from the scientific community that’s longer than my sunday grocery list (and trust me that list is looong). He’s also famous for one of my favorite books, the science of Star Trek, in where he explains things like warp speed an teleportation...
I wrote recently about the sad state of Science Education in Malaysia, now I’m beginning to see some examples of really bad Mathematics as well. Bernama today reported that: BN has the ability to obtain a two-third majority in the 13th general election (GE), that is expected any time soon, Department of Special Affairs (Jasa) director-general Fuad Hassan said. He said to garner two-third...
The White House has a “We the People” website where any member of the US public can submit a petition.If the number of people supporting the petition exceeds 25,000 then the White House will at the very least respond. While for the most part, the petitions are boring and politically slanted — the coolest and most techy petition to date was one to “Secure resources and...