On the night of 12-13 August, I took some friends up to the top of a small mountain to watch the annual Perseid meteor shower. This year was predicted to be particularly good, largely due to the peak[…]
Read moreAuthor: Wim
Incredible Croatia
I just spent six weeks (6 May – 16 June) traveling and hiking around in Croatia, and also a little bit in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. An absolutely amazing trip! Stunning scenery, wonderful weather, and friendly folks. Below is[…]
Read moreThe Living Set
Life is a self-sustaining network of chemical reactions. A living system produces its own components from basic food sources in such a way that these components maintain and regulate the very chemical network that produced them. Based on this[…]
Read moreSuspicious Preparedness?
Being prepared for disasters, whether natural or man-made, is of course a good thing. But it seems that the global efforts for preparedness are suddenly getting to an extreme this year. From terror attacks to asteroid impacts and,[…]
Read moreA Tale of Täufer and Thönen
In 1711, a man by the name of Hans Thönen left the small village of Frutigen in Switzerland, and traveled by boat along the Rhine river to The Netherlands, where he settled in the town of Kampen. He[…]
Read moreMysterious Dolmens
Holland is a very flat country without any mountains or rocky areas. Yet in the northern part of this little land you will find megalithic structures with big boulders, some weighing more than 20 tons, stacked on top[…]
Read moreIs the Mind Algorithmic? Confusing Science Speak with Layman Language
“Evolution is just a theory.” This claim, often made by creationists, is clearly based on a confusion of the scientific meaning of the word “theory” with its meaning in common language. We can forgive confused creationists, though, as[…]
Read moreJurassic Joy
The Jura Mountains, in the north of Switzerland and extending into France, are a relatively small but very pretty mountain range. With a highest elevation around 1700m, at first sight they do not seem as impressive as the[…]
Read moreModern times…
Just thought this was a nice picture: my current computing set-up at home. New laptop (left; with external keyboard & mouse) for regular work, old laptop (right) to connect with the computer cluster at the university, and meanwhile[…]
Read moreThe Endless River
I just listened to the new Pink Floyd album The Endless River. I’ve always considered Pink Floyd as one of the most interesting, innovative, and creative bands of all time, especially their stuff from the 70s. But alas,[…]
Read moreFrom Salt to Salary: Linguists Take a Page from Science
Language is something we take for granted; we use it every day and could not live without it in today’s world. However, languages are not static but, rather, evolve. While the differences between American and British English are[…]
Read moreChamonix, the Cheap and Cheerful Way
Chamonix (France), at the foot of the highest mountain in the European Alps, is the perfect base for all kinds of outdoors adventures. Hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, and mountaineering in summer, and skiing, snowboarding, sledging, and snowshoeing in[…]
Read moreNESCent Closing its Doors: A Loss for Evolutionary Science & Education
Last week I received an email announcing that NESCent will be closing its doors in June of next year (2015). This will certainly be a big loss for evolutionary science and education.
Read moreThe US Southwest: Colorful Canyons, Red Rocks, and Spicy Salsa
They call it “the pearl of the southwest” (the city of Santa Fe), in “the land of enchantment” (the state of New Mexico). Both, in my opinion, are still an understatement.
Read moreOrigin of Life Research on the Rise
[Note: This post is a modified and updated version of my earlier guest commentary on NPR 13.7 cosmos & culture] For a long time, the origin of life was not considered a scientifically relevant problem. In fact, it[…]
Read moreAmazing Arolla — A 4-day Hiking Trip
Having been stuck at home for most of July, due to unseasonably wet weather, the forecast for the first week of August finally looked quite promising. So I decided to head out to the tiny little village of Arolla, located at 2000m (6600ft) altitude near the upper end of a long and beautiful valley in southern Switzerland.
Read moreRecognizing the Illusion of ‘Homo Economicus’
Standard economic theory assumes that humans behave rationally and are able to objectively calculate the value (or cost) of the different choices they are presented with. In fact, we pride ourselves on our rationality. Different from the animals, we humans have the unique capacity for logical thought and rational decision making. Or do we?
Read moreFlight MH17 Anomaly Claim Debunked
Shortly after the crash of Malaysia Airlines MH17, there were many “conspiracy theories” going around on the internet. One of the more bizarre claims that were made, is that the plane that took off from Amsterdam was not the same as the one that crashed in Ukraine. This claim was mostly based on a picture posted on facebook, shortly before boarding the plane, by Cor Pan, a Dutch passenger on that fateful flight.
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