Cocktails can be ultra-chilling. This medical report provides evidence to that effect: “A lethal cocktail: gastric perforation following liquid nitrogen ingestion,” James Scott Pollard, Joanne Elizabeth Simpson, Moatasiem Idris Bukhari, BMJ Case Reports, 2013;10.1136/bcr-2012-007769. The authors, at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary [pictured below], Lancaster, UK, write: “We report a case of gastric perforation in an […]
Year: 2013
CONCEPTS: FISH | BANANAS
Philosophers are sometimes faced with tackling the complex issues of ‘concepts’. Over the years, as an aid towards a better grasp of ‘concepts’, various standard examples have been developed. Take, for instance, PET FISH and MONSTER BANANAS (Note: the use of SMALL CAPS is traditional in the philosophical literature when dealing with CONCEPTS). Although their […]
Magazine: the special Ig Nobel issue
The special Ig Nobel issue (vol. 18, no. 6) of the magazine (the Annals of Improbable Research) is now out! It’s got lots and lots and lots of detail (especially pictures) about the 23rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony: the winners, the acceptance speeches, the 24/7 Lectures, the full libretto to the new opera, […]
Honestly, overly, methodically, with tweets and occasional venom
Scientists are dropping their euphemisms, in a discussion about #overlyhonestmethods. The discussion is happening in that den of conversation and twaddle called “twitter”. These are translations into blunt words about how some people conduct their experiments. A parallel discussion concerns #overlyhonestreviews. These are translations into blunt words about how some people go about reviewing the work of their peers. Think […]