Lois Schadewald - From the Minds of Pseudo-Scientists

Abstract:

Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair is a collection of writings from the late Robert Schadewald, a science writer who spent much of his time debating with creationists and flat earthers in the name of science. The testimony of a thirty-year expert in the realm of debunking pseudoscience, "Worlds of Their Own" is proof that the world lost a great scientific mind in 2000.” (From Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI)

“History is written by the winners, including that of science. Unorthodoxies that flourish at the grassroots are often beneath the contempt of historians. Zetetic astronomy (flat-Earth science) was a household term in Victorian England, but not a single reference to it is found in conventional histories. We ignore such histories at our peril. Since the beginning of time, con artists have promoted pseudosciences – these ideas usually die in obscurity. Before they do, they may cause genuine harm. So, how do we discern between pseudo and actual science? To fully understand what science is, we must understand what science is not.”

Source: Book jacket cover for Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair

About the Presenter:

Worlds of Their Own was compiled by Lois Schadewald, Bob's sister, an Iowa State University alum and science educator, and faculty in chemistry here at NCC. She spent her 2003-2004 sabbatical preparing Worlds of Their Own as a fitting tribute to her late brother.

Brian Wolff - Kuznets' Curve and America's Avifauna

Presented by Brian Wolff, Ph.D., Faculty in Biology

This Friday, November 6^th, from noon – 12:50 p.m.

Room C1095

Abstract:

Simon Kuznets won the Nobel Prize in 1971 for his work relating economic growth and development to changing social conditions. Among the many fruits of his labor is Kuznets’ environmental curve, which depicts the hypothetical relationship between environmental quality and economic growth. Proponents of Kuznets’ curve often claim we can grow our way out of our environmental problems. This hypothesis is implied, for example, in President George W. Bush’s claim that economic growth is the solution, not the problem with respect to global warming. I will discuss Kuznets’ environmental curve as it relates to one measure of environmental quality - avian diversity.

Background:

Brian Wolff earned his M.S. in Environmental Biology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and his Ph.D. in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota. He has been teaching biology, environmental biology, and ecology at the University of Minnesota and Normandale Community College since 1994. He is the author of several scholarly papers on topics ranging from acidic precipitation and agriculturally-driven environmental issues to taxonomy and utilitarian environmental ethics. Brian commonly describes himself as a theoretical ecologist, with an eclectic interest in environmental ethics and economics. He has been studying birds and recording his observations in Minnesota since 1977.