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Two stories, no thinking digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/two-stories-no-thinking/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/two-stories-no-thinking/' reddit_title='Two stories, no thinking'  What do these two stories have in common?1) The TV channel A&E has greenlit a new unscripted program called "Paranormal Cops", where police moonlight chasing ghosts. This is not a joke. Well, the program is, but the story isn’t. The only accurate part of this thing is that they didn’t call it a "reality" program.2) A woman in Papua New Guinea "was bound and gagged, tied to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week". Why? Probably because she was accused of being a witch. Yes, a witch. There has been a growing number of people in that country who have been tortured and killed because they were suspected of sorcery.Those two stories don’t seem too similar at first blush. One is a frivolous program meant to entertain, the other a deadly serious and shameful act.But I think they are both shameful (on different levels, but still), and both are driven by ignorance. Ignorance of science, ignorance of logic, ignorance of reality. There is no credible evidence for the existence of ghosts. None. Zip. Just first-hand testimony, notoriously inaccurate and untrustworthy, and fuzzy pictures either obviously hoaxed or obviously pareidolia. Our all-too-human fear of the dark, bred into us by ten thousand generations of being prey, takes over our rational mind. The same with witchcraft; it’s our all-too-human ability of linking events together that may not be causally connected. You find a penny, and then you get a raise. Your brain says, finding a penny is good luck! Your neighbor sneezes violently, and your crops fail. Your neighbor is a witch.Both of these feelings are natural. Both are understandable, and both are powerful motivators. And they’re both wrong. We are more than animals, capable of far more than simple stimulus and response. One of our finest aspects is our ability to reason, to check our logic, to make sure our senses aren’t trying to fail us. The TV show on A&E will teach thousands of people to trust their senses, to not use reason, to not analyze things logically. It will steer people away from our finest and noblest attributes.And the other story… that’s the extreme consequence of ignoring our ability to reason. When you partially reason, when you only take logic part-way to a conclusion, when you let your desires and your fears rule your thinking rather than the other way around, people get hurt. People die.These stories are both about ignorance. One may seem relatively harmless, and the other horrifying. But they are linked strongly by their combined willful disdain for logic and reality. Tip o’ the tin foil beanie to Tim Farley for the witch article. January 8th, 2009 5:01 PM by Phil Plait in Antiscience, Piece of mind, Science, Skepticism | 24 Comments » What would I do with $20,000,000,000? digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/what-would-i-do-with-20000000000/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/what-would-i-do-with-20000000000/' reddit_title='What would I do with $20,000,000,000?' Update (20:00 MT): I am now at nearly 1200! I love me my BABloggees!When I was interviewed on The Takeaway last week, I was asked what I’d do with NASA were Obama to pick me to run it. I said I’d make sure programs were run on budget and on time. Once the various programs proved they could do it, I’d open up the budget and see what NASA could really do.Of course, in the pre-interview, when they asked me the same question, I said I’d embezzle several billion dollars and disappear. I’m hard to pin down.Well, maybe I’ll get my chance. An anonymous source — she knows who she is — informed me that informally, I’m in the running to be the next NASA Administrator. And by informal, I mean really informal: a website has been set up to allow people to nominate and vote for people they’d like to see run the space agency. As I write this, it’s an uphill battle. Pete Worden has over 300 votes, and my friend Alan Stern has 100+. I have 14. The thing is, Wil Wheaton has 23! CURSE YOU, WIL WHEATON! You took me down once, Wil, but this attempt at a second smackdown SHALL NOT STAND. Flying a starship does not give you the necessary background to run the agency, nor should you accept. How many times did Picard turn down a post at Starfleet Command? And look what happened to Kirk when he took a post there: he gained twenty kilos and lost his hair. Wil: we like you with hair, whereas I have nothing to lose. The only honorable action is for you to withdraw and give your votes to me. I’ll show that Worden a thing or two.… and if you do, I’ll shave a nice couple of hundred mil off the top of my embezzlement. How many velvet paintings could you commission for that?Pic of Wil and me from A.Real.Girl’s Flickr pics. Again, my thanks to My Anonymous NASA Mole. January 8th, 2009 3:01 PM by Phil Plait in Humor, NASA, Space | 59 Comments » Aliens hate green energy! digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/aliens-hate-green-energy/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/aliens-hate-green-energy/' reddit_title='Aliens hate green energy!'  Obviously, aliens hate the fact that we’re going green: an energy-producing wind turbine in the UK was destroyed last Sunday. Mysterious lights were seen in the sky around the same time. Ergo, aliens want us to burn coal.Hey, my conclusion is no dumber than assuming flying saucers were around in the first place. But that didn’t stop people from assuming UFOs were behind the turbine’s destruction.What’s funny is that we have a whole pile of rational explanations for this event. The lights have been identified as fireworks. While they probably didn’t destroy the turbine, it’s not completely out of the question. More likely, though it was a coincidence: the weather conditions were very cold, with icing a problem. Ice on one blade could have been flung into another, causing the destruction. Or ice could have built up in a crack or seam on the blade, bending it, throwing it off balance. At the size and speed of those blades, a small deviation can cause catastrophic damage.Heck, even someone taking a shot at it with a rifle would explain what happened. But that didn’t stop the BBC and other news outlets from devoting a lot of time and space to the UFO angle (including The Mirror, which also posted a picture of a flying saucer from the movie "Forbidden Planet"). Of course, they’re just quoting Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, the owner of the turbine:“Until we have some idea, some plausible explanation that it was not a UFO, I don’t think we should rule it out”.Brilliant! Of course, they have no evidence Doctor Who didn’t do it, so they can’t rule that out either. Or maybe it was Jenny McCarthy! Windmills cause autism! Why, that would even explain Don Quixote! Was Cervantes ever chelated?And to top it all off, the Ecotricity site has been using this for publicity, saying, incredibly, "We don’t as yet have any evidence that points us to a cause … but speculation in the press is rife." Yes, speculation has been rife because the CEO of your company specifically mentioned UFOs.Sheesh.This kind of breathless nonsense is really, really dumb. It’ll waste time during the investigation, it wastes space in the news, and it reduces the overall population’s IQ by some fraction of a point as well.Feh. But hey, at least I can use this graphic now: Tip o’ the tin foil beanie to John J Dempster, Thomas Siefert, and James Oberg. January 8th, 2009 1:01 PM by Phil Plait in Antiscience, Debunking, Piece of mind, Skepticism | 34 Comments » Bioastronomy digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/bioastronomy/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/bioastronomy/' reddit_title='Bioastronomy' OK, sure, I make fun of biology sometimes. I blame PZ; he’s such an easy target! But then, sometimes, I wonder. Take a look at this: Is this an orbital view of dune fields on Mars, or a close-up of tentacles on a jellyfish?OK, they’re dune fields. But don’t they look biological? The grooves are gullies running down from the crests of the dunes, but from the altitude and resolution of the camera HiRISE on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter they look like organic growths seen through a microscope. But since they’re on Mars, they’re way cooler.You can keep up with new images from Mars on the HiRISE website. You can also follow HiRISE on Twitter! January 8th, 2009 11:01 AM by Phil Plait in Astronomy, Cool stuff, Pretty pictures | 16 Comments » Texas: not so doomed? digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/texas-not-so-doomed-2/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/08/texas-not-so-doomed-2/' reddit_title='Texas: not so doomed?' Some good news from Texas for a change: the final proposed science standards for the state actually strengthen science, and creationist weasel-words (about the weaknesses of science) were removed.How good is this news?But with the “weaknesses” requirement removed and a new definition for science, the new plan makes it clear that supernatural explanations like creationism and intelligent design have no place in public classrooms, said Dan Quinn with the Texas Freedom Network, an Austin-based nonprofit group that opposes religious influence on public education.I’d say pretty darn good! Especially since it’s neighbor to the north is busily trying to destroy children’s minds.How bad could it have been? Don McLeroy is a full-blown creationist, and head of the Texas State Board of Education!Don McLeroy, the state board’s chairman, has said that science should admit the possibly [sic] of the supernatural when natural explanations fail. But he has also said that he is not trying to put creationism in public schools.I think that after saying that last part, his pants burst into flame.Now, before we celebrate too much, this final standards proposal has to be put to a vote by the board in March, and that board is still packed with creationists who will no doubt object to a lot of this language. This isn’t over yet. Texas took a strong step back from the brink with this, but there are plenty of people still trying to push it over. If you live in Texas, I strongly urge you to contact the Texas Freedom Network and see what you can do to support reality and keep the antiscience forces at bay in the Lone Star State.Hmmm. I need a "not doomed" picture. I’ll have to dig around for one. It’s a pity I rarely ever need one. January 8th, 2009 9:01 AM by Phil Plait in Antiscience, Politics, Religion, Science | 30 Comments » Oklahoma: Doomed digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/07/oklahoma-doomed/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/07/oklahoma-doomed/' reddit_title='Oklahoma: Doomed' C’mon, Sooners! Can’t you at least let this new year get a little ripe before shooting yourselves in the foot?One week into 2009, and Oklahoma lawmakers are already trying to pass antiscience legislation:Senate Bill 320 (document), prefiled in the Oklahoma Senate and scheduled for a first reading on February 2, 2009, is apparently the first antievolution bill of 2009. Entitled the “Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act,” SB 320 would, if enacted, require state and local educational authorities to “assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies” and permit teachers to “help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories pertinent to the course being taught.” The only topics specifically mentioned as controversial are “biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.”Wow, what a load! I love that last line; the only "controversies" in evolution, origins of life, and global warming are those manufactured by people driven by ideology. And human cloning isn’t a scientific controversy; it’s a medical ethics issue.Note the name of this legislation: "The Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act". One thing these antiscience jokers know well, and that’s their Orwell.But that’s the new tactic by the creationists who would have us set our clocks back a thousand years; call their methods academic freedom. Who would vote against that?Of course, this kind of freedom would allow astronomers to teach astrology, historians to teach the Earth is 6000 years old, and geologists to teach the Earth is flat. Have no doubts, this is precisely what these religious zealots want.Reality-based people of Oklahoma: make your voice heard. This act will be read on February 2. Call your local legislators, write them, make sure they understand that what they are doing is wrong. Because, if you don’t: It was a tossup between the above graphic and this one. January 7th, 2009 10:01 PM by Phil Plait in About this blog, Debunking, Piece of mind, Politics, Religion | 109 Comments » AAS #6: Hubble spies interstellar interlopers digg_url = 'http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/07/aas-6-hubble-spies-interstellar-interlopers/'; digg_topic = 'Space'; reddit_url='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/07/aas-6-hubble-spies-interstellar-interlopers/' reddit_title='AAS #6: Hubble spies interstellar interlopers' Sure, when you’re young, you’re reckless. Give a teenager the keys to a sportscar, and how long do you think it’ll be before they smash into something?Turns out stars are the same way. And Hubble just gave us proof. Hubble spots young stars ramming through gas clouds. Credit: NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory).Astronomers were using Hubble to look at bright gas clouds, hoping to spot dying stars that were ejecting shells of gas as they shed this mortal coil. What they found by accident were young stars slamming into the gas clouds, creating these gorgeous shock waves. Picture a boat moving through water. The bow of the boat creates that familiar V-shape as it pushes the water aside. Any object moving through some medium like a liquid or gas will do that. If the object is moving faster than the local speed of sound, then you get a shock wave; a much stronger wave that forms. That’s what these stars are doing. Moving at interstellar speeds (50+ km/sec!), they’re ramming the gas and compressing it. What’s interesting are the variety of shapes they see. The one on the upper right of the Hubble image above is the only one that has that standard shape. The one on the upper left looks for all the world like a microscopic photo of a sperm swimming! That implies some sort of oscillating motion, a back-and-forth movement to whip up the gas that way. I’m not sure how it manages that. The orbital motion of two stars in a binary might do it, so maybe the stars that have that pattern are actually doubles, traveling through space together. I suspect the one on the bottom right, with the curved tail, is form the star and gas moving in slightly different directions, and the moving gas blows the tail into a curve, like wind distorting a jet’s contrail.We can learn quite a bit just from these images. A star all by itself is way, way too small to make patterns like this in the gas; the bow shock would be too tiny to see. However, if the star is emitting a stellar wind — like the Sun’s solar wind, a stream of subatomic particles emitted from the star’s surface — then this all makes sense. The wind expands, displacing far larger amounts of gas than the star itself could. But that in turn implies these stars are of intermediate mass (a bit bigger than the Sun) and young! Why? Because very massive stars blow winds that are huge and ionized (that is, glow like a neon sign). That’s not seen here, so these stars must be lower mass than that. They have to be more massive than the Sun, because the Sun’s wind isn’t strong enough to make these patterns. We know they’re young because star like these don’t blow a wind like this all their lives; it’s only when they are very young or very old that their stellar winds are active. The phase when they are old but blowing a wind is pretty short, while the young wind-blowing phase is long (millions of years) so it’s far more likely these are youngsters in the scheme of stellar lifetimes.Why are they moving so rapidly? Most stars plowing through gas like this are plodding along, and wouldn’t make such intricate shapes in the gas. The pedal-to-the-metal velocity of these stars indicates they had some sort of encounter earlier in life that kicked them up to high speed. Maybe they formed in a cluster of stars, and a series of gravitational slingshots boosted their speed. Maybe they each used to orbit a high mass star that blew up, giving them a kick that accelerated them. Hard to say.We know of other high-speed stars like these; but those are high mass stars that will one day explode. Those are rare, but bright and easy to spot which is why we knew of them before. These new guys are lower mass stars, so they’re fainter and more difficult to see. The fact that the astronomers found 14 of them without even knowing they existed means that these runaway beasties are more common than their beefier brethren, which is an interesting result all by itself.But furthermore, this makes you wonder what happens to the gas cloud through which these guys are plowing. The gas is getting stirred up, slammed by the stellar winds. See the parts of the wakes where the gas is brighter? That almost always means the density of the gas is higher (higher density = more gas = more light emitted). Do interlopers like these help compress gas so that more stars can be born? If that’s true, and there are lots of these events going on, then there may actually be a process that triggers the births of stars that we were entirely unaware of previously. That is so cool! There is a lot we still don’t know about the Universe, and we learn so much just by keeping our eyes open! That’s one of my favorite lessons of all about science. January 7th, 2009 11:01 AM by Phil Plait in Astronomy, Pretty pictures | 19 Comments » « Older Entries document.write('<\/script>');  If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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The opinions and ideas expressed in this blog are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Discover Magazine and/or the James Randi Educational Foundation, of which Dr. Plait serves as President. Two stories, no thinking What would I do with $20,000,000,000? Aliens hate green energy! Bioastronomy Texas: not so doomed? quasidog on Fight harder for vaccination!Bruce A on Aliens hate green energy!Luke on Two stories, no thinkingLuke on Texas: not so doomed?Luke on Aliens hate green energy! 
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