Alison Campbell • Oct 02, 2018 •
The internet, while it can be a godsend if you need to find something out (gotta love google maps for directions), can also be a wretched hive of wrongness and misinformation. That misinformation can take many forms, but when it comes to 1080 it’s clear that those opposed to NZ’s use of this chemical firmly believe that a picture … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 23, 2018 •
Claudio Bozzi, Deakin University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The US Federal Communications Commission last month granted Elon Musk’s SpaceX permission to launch 4,425 satellites that will provide affordable high speed broadband internet to consumers. The Starlink network will be accessible in the US and around the world … Read More
Paul Walker • Mar 02, 2018 •
A couple of years back in an email about my book The Theory of the Firm: An overview of the economic mainstream I wrote: The other thing I don’t get is the price dispersion. $180 at the book depository but $355 at the NZ based Mighty Ape website. Isn’t this internet thingy supposed to do away with price … Read More
Guest Author • Feb 13, 2018 •
Timothy Summers, University of Maryland This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Protecting individual privacy from government intrusion is older than American democracy. In 1604, the attorney general of England, Sir Edward Coke, ruled that a man’s house is his castle. This was the official declaration that a homeowner could … Read More
Jean Balchin • Jan 17, 2018 •
I first realised my brother was missing when I logged into Facebook one evening to see his bashful face grinning at me from a ‘MISSING’ notice. Rather absurdly, I wondered why they hadn’t picked a better photo of John instead of this blurry, orange-toned selfie. I continued scrolling through Facebook while frantically calling my family. Funny, innocuous videos of … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 19, 2017 •
Ralph Holz, University of Sydney Most people have never heard of the software that makes up the machinery of the internet. Outside developer circles, its authors receive little reward for their efforts, in terms of either money or public recognition. One example is the encryption software GNU Privacy Guard (also known as GnuPG and GPG), and its authors … Read More
Sarb Johal • May 16, 2017 •
“Right now we have a health hazard to democratic functioning.” Those are the words of Professor Sam Wineberg of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University in the United States, my guest on this edition of The Psychology Report. You can listen to the original podcast here, as well as reading our conversation below. Professor … Read More
Peter Griffin • Apr 14, 2016 •
Despite the Edward Snowden revelations of mass online collection of meta data and some high profile data breaches at our own government departments, what Kiwis most fear is not snooping spies, but companies harvesting our Facebook likes and internet searches. The latest World Internet Project survey of nearly 1400 Kiwis included for the first time a set of questions about online privacy … Read More
Ken Perrott • Sep 10, 2015 •
Here are some of chemists’ pet peeves about discussion on social media and the internet in general. The list is from the article 5 simple chemistry facts that everyone should understand before talking about science posted on the blog The Logic of Science. Everyone who has attempted to discuss issues like vaccination or fluoridation with opponents will have come across these … Read More
Ken Perrott • Mar 09, 2015 •
Social media – Facebook, Twitter, etc., – are a challenge for science. Often considered frivolous or at least not serious, they are tempting to ignore. But it seems that many anti-scientific or pseudoscientific ideas a promoted by social media. What’s … Continue reading → … Read More