So I finally got Covid. Thankfully, it turned out to be no more than a run-of-the-mill cold. I did not need Paxlovid which has apparently earned high marks. No doubt, being fully vaccinated helped. Even though I’ve been symptom free for several days I’m testing positive and have a lingering, infrequent cough. I’ve begged off […]
Continue ReadingMost of our websites went down for a bit. They’re back now — lets hope it stays that way!
Continue ReadingRanked choice voting ensures that your desires count when more than 2 candidates are running. You rank candidates in order of preference. If nobody wins 50%, and your first choice doesn’t make the cut, your second choice counts in an “instant runoff.” More on that below. Political parties don’t like this because it reduces their […]
Continue ReadingSomeone sent me a link to this video early on and I just didn’t have time to look at it. Glad I didn’t bother. At that point I was in the midst of a time-crunched project (Powered Paragliding Bible 6). Someone I trust to rely on sound evidence, and who understands how reliable knowledge works, […]
Continue Reading“Freethought” for me means not being constrained by dogma. Going wherever the evidence leads, even if that goes against my previous understanding or societal thought. There is one exception: the dogma of sound evidence. It’s the toolkit that prevents us from fooling ourselves about what we see around us. It means valuing QUALITY research by […]
Continue ReadingCelebrating Independence day reminds me how fortunate, and thankful I am to live in the USA and count myself as an “American.” The reason is freedom. Two freedoms in particularly: 1) the freedom to love and marry who I want without government intervention and 2) the freedom to fly. But #1 is to love and […]
Continue ReadingYou weigh 1% less at the equator than at the poles. Earth’s spin is trying to fling you off like being on the outer edge of a merry-go-round. How would you quantify the effect, and differentiate between the poles and equator? I’m sometimes thinking of ways to help flat earthers re-embrace science and this came […]
Continue ReadingI was reading about this cool Russian X-Ray orbiting observatory when it dawned on me that I couldn’t even have a conversation about it with flat earthers. Besides believing in a flat earth, they don’t believe we have satellites. Think about that. It requires the increasing number of companies, in an increasing number of space-faring […]
Continue ReadingScience is merely the collection of tools that lead to our most reliable knowledge. Different tools work in different situations but they all require taking careful, methodical measurements. Quality tools work when wielded properly by people who know how to use them while sincerely trying to learn. An underpinning of science is the realization that […]
Continue ReadingWe now know that most stars have planets, meaning there are 100+ BILLION planets in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. If even one-in-a-million planets has life, there should be MILLIONS of planets with life in them! Where are all the aliens? This question is called the Fermi Paradox. The drake equation merely lists those […]
Continue ReadingAll knowledge comes in degrees of certainty or reliability. Reliability is merely an expression of certainty. We’re MORE certain of knowledge if it: Comes from sound evidence. Makes sense with how the universe works. Is not based on less reliable knowledge. We build stuff that works by basing it on reliable knowledge. How will gasoline […]
Continue ReadingLike many of us, many interests have expressed themselves over the years–compartments of life that consume time and provide enjoyment. While flying has been the most powerful , others have held sway as described below. And now, if there’s one thing I would love to be, it would be a missionary of rationality: basing our […]
Continue ReadingBy 2010 it was clear that peanut allergies were a growing problem. And it wasn’t just doctors diagnosing them more often — more kids were presenting at emergency rooms with serious symptoms, and occasionally dying. Not surprisingly, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) came out with advice to not feed peanut containing foods to babies. […]
Continue ReadingIf you can test something yourself, that’s the best source. You can believe yourself *BUT*, realize the power of bias. We are the easiest to fool if we are trying to validate our own understanding rather than really test it. Test a claim using methods that others will use who question the claim. Otherwise they’ll […]
Continue ReadingIn spite of easily replicated evidence, there are people who still believe the earth is flat. Given how I marvel at how this could be true, I found this National Geographic video helps understand it. Go here to see my suggestion to a flat-earth believer on how to test it for himself with me. Mostly […]
Continue ReadingWe read about distances to stars but how do we know? What’s cool is how simple most of the techniques are–requiring little more than the willingness to look at the stars at different times of the year. After those curious humans figured out how fast light travels, and how reliably it travels that fast, they […]
Continue ReadingI’d just gotten hired at my first employer as a flight instructor. I was determined to be good at it–to teach safely, effectively, and to let the students fly the plane without excessive interference. I remembered instructors who were too handsy on the controls, making it difficult to get the feel. Was it him or […]
Continue ReadingI marvel at how some remarkably bad designs persist. Do these people test their stuff in something resembling a real world? Do they use normal humans with normal fingers? How about the restaurant owners: do they expect people to tease out the finer details of operation while a line forms behind them, and their food […]
Continue ReadingI get it, vision deteriorates with age. But we don’t put braille in cockpits, and in fact, airline pilots must demonstrate 20/20 vision at least every year. So it was with some amusement that I noticed the N-Number on this particular 737. Notice how BIG it is! Admittedly, I’m not fond of having to search […]
Continue ReadingAmidst a Caribbean cruise I got to do the coolest shore excursion. Tim made the detailed plans, so I had but a vague idea on stops. On day 3 I found out we would be stopping in San Juan, Puerto Rico and it hit me: Luis Ruiz of the “Kamikazes!” He is a paramotor instructor […]
Continue ReadingIndividuals have billions of settings and specifications–all set at birth then tweaked through environment. Specifications (Specs) are the physical and mental capabilities that can frequently be changed through deliberate action like exercise. Physical dimensions are mostly set through genetic programming, but even height can be adjusted through a small range using an inversion table. Other […]
Continue ReadingWhat a way to have a wedding. The story of Aaron and Louis is fascinating on its own, but this only touches the bit where they marry and set sail on the world’s largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas. The ceremony, vows, and proceeding were touching, tearful, comical and fun. For the men of […]
Continue ReadingThis is simple. Nearly all morals come from answering this one question: How would I want to be treated? This “Golden Rule” is universal enough to be coded by many religions whose writings have been preserved. Some are shown at right. It’s what we expect of our courts and of our people. Application of the […]
Continue ReadingIn the U.S., tandem (two place) paramotor instruction is legal using an exemption such as 9575 from USPPA.org. It is NOT legal for recreational use; that’s what Sport Pilot is for. This, of course, a HUGE safety improvement for training since there is no excuse not to ensure students can handle the craft’s oddities before […]
Continue ReadingHave you ever noticed that unhappiness from a sad event fades? We then tend to go back to our average, or baseline level of life satisfaction. This emotional falloff is fortunate. It’s why the saying “time is the best healer” is pretty sage advice. Emotional Falloff Probably the best example of this is when a […]
Continue ReadingIt’s an unsavory but necessary calculation. What’s a life worth? Let’s say we can save 1000 lives by requiring airlines to spend a billion dollars. That makes the cost per life saved (1B / 1000) $1 million. What about a safety initiative that only costs $100 million but only saves 10 lives? That’s (100M / […]
Continue ReadingBoeing said it’s building an airliner intended for only one pilot. Is that a good idea? In short: not yet. The technology itself is essentially there but not at the reliability that we need. It’s about 90% there but there’s a lot of devil in the last 10% of detail. And there are other problems. […]
Continue ReadingIt’s sobering to realize how much we owe to those who gave so much. Freedom isn’t free. Regardless of politics, these kids and parents knew what they were signing up for. There are forces that would like to subdue freedoms, to have us live under Sharia Law, or other religious law or be subject to […]
Continue ReadingMy history is intertwined with flight, but there was a time before flight; a time when I didn’t really think about flying as something available to me. I drew ships. I had some fascination with being in moving things. I remember putting a ping-pong table top of a wagon and pulling it around with our […]
Continue ReadingReliable knowledge is important. I saw how fragile it is, and how often nonsense gets pedalled after getting into paramotoring (see FootFlyer.com) and seeing just out how much misinformation was out there. Only a couple years in revealed that much of what was taught regarding safety was wrong. I’d get bits and pieces of good […]
Continue ReadingI’m lucky to have a human that I truly enjoy spending time with, and I’m hoping for many more years. He is the Great Tim. Many aspects of Timness are difficult to explain, but one of the most impressive is thoughtfulness. He does all these little things that I don’t even think of let alone […]
Continue ReadingThere is only one Science. It’s the collection of tools that help us extract reliable knowledge. We know a tool works because the knowledge it uncovers can withstand challenge or serve as a reliable building block for other knowledge.
Continue ReadingMy paramotoring started in March of 1999. There was no formal (read consensus) training program so I opted for the next best thing: paraglider training using the US Hang Gliding Association (USHGA)’s program. Through my long exposure to aviation I’ve had numerous flying friends die which enforced more respect for the dangers of flight and […]
Continue ReadingSo why does this whole bit about knowledge matter? Good question. Primarily, it’s because knowledge has consequences. If you think that Albinos have special powers and are inately evil then you may be OK with killing them and mixing their bones into a special sauce. That’s happened. Search “Persecution of people with albinism” and marvel […]
Continue ReadingSo you fancy yourself a critical thinker. You get the importance of basing knowledge on evidence, but what constitutes GOOD evidence? Nearly everyone says they have evidence for all manner of claims. But evidence comes in degrees of quality, of certainty. Belief should be granted in proportion to the evidence. If you think that Lord […]
Continue ReadingCritical thinking is the process of analyzing information using logic, reason, and measurable evidence to gain the most reliable knowledge process. We should strive to thinkers. Not feigning intellect to impress people, but rather seeking the most reliable knowledge so we make the best decisions. It includes understanding and seeking sound evidence on which to base […]
Continue ReadingHow many times do we hear that something is “Black and White?” It may be true occasionally, but most often that something is shades of gray. The physical universe is full of shades. Planets orbit in a habitable zone, physical states like solids and liquids can be difficult to define, and all kinds of weirdness […]
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