This page contains some popular science columns and related items I have written pro bono for a few newspapers. The editorial model limits the length to ~850 words; the math, to about the 6th-grade level.
You may distribute any of these items as you wish without fee, provided that a link to the item accompanies any such distribution.
Here is a column about culpability issues in the (Boeing 737 Max 8) crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (10 March 2019) and Lion Air Flight 610 (29 October 2018). Left click on the underlined word in the previous sentence to access the file.
This file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 15 April 2019.
A reply to Greg Travis’s op-ed in IEEE Spectrum (18 April 2019), “How the Boeing 737 disaster looks to a software developer” can be found here.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 22 April 2019/1718 US Central Time.
A column on care and feeding of septic systems, with a nod to the 14th-century French theologian/philosopher Jean Buridan, can be accessed here.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 11 May 2019/0627 US Central Time.
Can the alignment of planets affect human affairs? Surprisingly, the alignment of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter “clock” the 11-year solar cycle, which has various consequences for space-, and Earth-surface-, assets. Click here for more.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 15 June 2019.
How probable is an earthquake, given its magnitude? Some Earthquake-Magnitude Statistics computes some earthquake statistics based on worldwide sample of quakes with magnitude ⩾ 5 . The results agree well with a television report about a prediction made by seismologists about the recent (~4/5 July 2019) Ridgecrest CA earthquake swarm.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 12 July 2019.
A “weather radio” with a siren can save your life, especially if a tornado heads your way while you are asleep. Here is a column containing some information about how to use, and some limits of, these radios.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 13 July 2019.
The Amazon fires will affect everyone.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 2 September 2019.
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Click here for a column on “wannabeef” — real beef grown “in a test tube”.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 16 October 2019.
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Click here for a column on arguments for and against the hypothesis that an asteroid destroyed the dinosaurs.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 20 November 2019.
Click here for a column on why the same face of the Moon always faces Earth.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated on 30 January 2020.
Click here for a column on the coronavirus epidemic.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated 19 February 2020.
Click here for an update on the coronavirus pandemic.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated 20 March 2020.
Click here for a column on whether the coronavirus escaped from a Chinese lab.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updated 30 April 2020.
Can hand-counting of ballots detect errors in machine-counting of those ballots? If the difference between the two counts is greater than about 3%, the answer is “yes”. Else, the answer is “no”. Click here for details.
The file whose link appears in the previous paragraph was last updates 24 November 2020.
What are the impacts of the current computer chip shortage? Click here .
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Should you buy an electric car? Click here .
Climate change has started. Click here for an overview of the IPCC’s 9 August 2021 report on the topic.
Is car maintenance insurance cost-effective? Click here .
How big was the 2 October 2021 oil spill near Long Beach, CA? Click here.
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Are all-electric passenger vehicles less expensive to own and operate than internal-combustion-powered passenger vehicles? Click here for an analysis.
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Does it make sense to install solar-photovoltaic system in your house? Click here.
Will climate change be as grim as the IPCC 2021 predicts? Click here for an analysis.
Click here for how to measure the altitude of objects at a distance.
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Has the price of gasoline skyrocketed recently? Yes and no. Click here for details.
Can a Tesla Model 3 help to solve the climate change and gasoline-price problems? Click here for details.
Should you fix your own plumbing? Click here for some lessons learned.
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Does installing a solar PV system at your residence save money? Click here for details.
Are over-the-counter hearing aids right for you? Click here for details.
Do drug-discount cards or clubs save you money? Click here for details.
Natural gas prices doubled from last year to this. Click here for suggestions about how to lower your heating bills.
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Should AI research impose a moratorium on training AI systems that are more powerful than GPT-4? Click here for an assessment.
This page was last modified on 12 April 2023.
A national dietary-supplement manufacturer claims that its products — dried fruits and vegetables in a capsule – can help you “get your daily fruits and vegetables if you don’t have time to eat the “real thing”. Click here for an assessment of this claim.