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Climate Denier Tactic – Lying About Actual Scientific Studies (from The Dake Page)

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June 2015 Arctic Sea Ice Extent trendWe’ve talked about several of the tactics used by climate deniers to intentionally mislead the public. This past week provided a prime example of one tactic – intentionally lying about what a study says. Let’s take a closer look at how this works.

Recall that the climate denial industry, in their role as lobbyists, are well-experienced in manipulating public opinion. Going back to the days of tobacco companies denying smoking causes cancer, they learned to develop a network of “manufacturers” (i.e., to manufacture doubt), “spreaders” (to get the doubt out there), and “repeaters” (to saturate the blogosphere with misinformation). This process was described earlier.

The misinformation process is often employed to spread their own non-science opinions, other non-peer-reviewed and unsupported blog posts, and the occasional paper they get through the peer-review process. But it works also when they want to spin (i.e., misrepresent) the findings of actual real scientific papers by actual real climate scientists. Such is the case this past week when the blogosphere became saturated with a false conclusion drawn from a presentation made at the Royal Astronomical Society meeting held in Wales.

One paper – not yet published or peer-reviewed, merely presented at a scientific meeting for discussion – noted that the study authors used a model that concluded solar activity conditions by the 2030s could be similar to the solar activity conditions experienced during the Maunder Minimum. That was the extent of their conclusions.

The Maunder Minimum was a period of time popularly linked with the “Little Ice Age,” a perhaps overzealous term given to a period of excess cooling in some parts of the world (mainly the UK) from around 1550 to 1850.

But here’s the thing.

[Continue reading on The Dake Page]

The above is a partial cross-post of a full article on The Dake Page. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Abraham Lincoln and the DACOR Bacon House

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The Lincoln Group of DC had the privilege of being invited to the DACOR Bacon House, a historic landmark in Washington DC, for a luncheon highlighted by Kenneth Winkle, author of Lincoln’s Citadel: The Civil War in Washington, D.C. Dr. Winkle’s talk was enlightening, and the DACOR Bacon House was spectacular.

DACOR Bacon House

Sitting just two blocks away from the White House, this early 19th-century house has withstood the onslaught of modern government buildings as it served a succession of important personages of the ages. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall lived there, as did a later Chief Justice, Melville Fuller, several Associate Justices, a former Governor of Maryland, a Senator from Illinois, a Representative from New York, and the odd heiress and countess, all of whom have called the house home over is nearly 200 year history.

Currently the house provides a charming manor for members of DACOR, the Diplomatic And Consulate Officers, Retired, to meet. Members can drop in any time for meals, drinks, and lectures such as the Winkle talk that I was able to attend. Usually restricted to DACOR members, Executive Director Susan Cimburek invited members of the Lincoln Group of DC to join the talk because of the superb liaison work of Elizabeth Smith Brownstein, author of Lincoln’s Other White House.

DACOR Bacon House

Besides the Civil War topic of this particular speaker, the house has another, more direct, connection with Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War the house was owned by William and Sally Carroll, with whom the Lincoln’s became good friends. Despite the trials of the ongoing war, the Lincoln’s found occasion to visit with the Carrolls and even attended the wedding of their daughter. When tragedy struck in early 1863, taking the life of little Willie Lincoln, he was kept in the Carroll’s mausoleum until April of 1865, when his body rode back to Springfield on the same funeral train that carried the assassinated President.

Willie Lincoln

As Vice-President of Outreach and Education for the Lincoln Group of DC I want to again thank Susan Cimbulek and Elizabeth Smith Brownstein for arranging our presence at this lecture. We will be continuing our collaborations in the future, so stay tuned.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Katharine Hayhoe at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby 2015 (from The Dake Page)

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CCL logoThis week the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) held its 6th annual International Conference in Washington, DC. The keynote speaker was Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. In addition to being a climate scientist, Hayhoe is an evangelical Christian, which generally would be irrelevant to the discussion except that she, with her husband, pastor Andrew Farley, wrote A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions. The fact that most religions have acknowledged the science was emphasized this past week with the release of the Pope’s climate and environmental encyclical last week.

Dr. Hayhoe offered several valuable points during her presentation, several of which are worth expanding upon.

Most scientists are conservative: Conservative in the true sense of the term, not the hijacked definition of “conservatism” that is prevalent in today’s political circles. Scientists, and science in general, are inherently conservative. Science is built on incremental gains in knowledge derived over time from thousands of scientific studies looking at ever smaller pieces of the puzzle. With respect to climate science, rather than be “alarmist” (as climate deniers falsely claim), scientists actually have traditionally downplayed the risks from climate change. In fact, as more and more data are collected, and as we see climate change impacting Arctic sea ice, land-based ice sheet melting, and other visible signs of change, the data have clearly shown scientists that have been underestimating the dangers.

Scientists are hesitant to speak out: Historically, scientists have tended to stay in their “ivory towers” doing research, either in the laboratory or out in the field. They have left the communication of the science to others (e.g., journalists, teachers), and done the same for policy decisions (policy-makers). Part of the reason is that policy-making isn’t particularly interesting to scientists, but part of it is because scientists have been so often attacked for simply documenting the science. You can ask Galileo about how trying to communicate science worked out for him, or in more recent times you can ask climate scientists like Ben Santer, Jim Hansen, and Michael Mann, all of whom have been viciously and falsely attacked by climate denier lobbyists.

The data are out there: One common fallacy is that the public will understand the need to take action if only we can just get more of the science to them. While communicating science to the public can often be difficult, the problem isn’t a shortage of information or the lack of trying to get it across. Just in the last two years there have been a swarm of “state-of-the-science” reports, including (but not limited to) the IPCC AR5, the US Climate Assessment, a National Academy of Science/Royal Society report, and many others. All have the same basic message:

“warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and “human influence has been the dominant cause of the warming.”

So the public has the information it needs to understand. Many do understand, while others either are too busy living their lives to care (which is perfectly fine) or choose to deny the science (which is not fine).

[Read the rest at The Dake Page]

The above is a partial cross-post of a full article on The Dake Page. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Scandinavian Surprises

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The trip to Scandinavia was, in a word, awesome (a word I rarely use, I assure you). In 10 days we visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Olso, Bergen, and points in between. I previewed the route in a previous post and I’m working my way through the first 2800 photographs for future posts, so stay tuned for details.

Each city has its own well-known attractions (e.g., Little Mermaid, Royal Palaces, The Scream, etc.) but we ran into a few surprises as well.

spiral tower

For example, in Copenhagen there was the changing of the guard we accidentally stumbled upon, not to mention the replica of Michaelangelo’s David tucked into an out-of-the-way canal-side walkway, and the big band concert and fireworks at Tivoli. There was also the cool spiral tower above, which I’ll have more on later. Oh, and then there is the Copenhagen Marathon, which blocked our route while about 10,000 runners passed in front of us.

Kungstradgarden subway station

In Stockholm there was the unfortunate surprise that we had scheduled our whole day Monday around the mistaken belief that the museums and other attractions would be open, only to find out that most are closed on Mondays. [Tip: Check the tour books before you plan your schedule.] But that was offset by the more pleasant surprises, like the really cool artwork unique to each subway station (and the station agent at Kungstradgarden that let us go down to the platform gratis to take photos like the one above).

Air and Water Gauges

In Oslo I was pleasantly surprised to find the Ra, the papyrus reed raft Thor Heyerdahl traveled in, which was tucked into the lower level of the Kon Tiki Museum. Of course, the Kon Tiki balsa wood raft he used on his first epic voyage was there too. Meanwhile, the scientist in me liked the above stone slabs on the street that gave visual gauges of air and water quality; more on that in the future too.

In Bergen, nothing can beat the impromptu “makeover/fashion show” that emptied off the train onto the platform (complete with loud dance music, TV coverage, and a catwalk).

And then there was the free beer on the Lufthansa flight from Oslo to Frankfurt. I may have a new favorite air carrier (hint to United Airlines). 🙂

Tesla car

Given the success of my Tesla book, there was one more surprise that seemed appropriate – the prevalence of Tesla Model S and other electric cars and charging stations in all three countries.

There is tons more to talk about, which I’ll do in follow up posts complete with photos and videos as soon as I can sort through them.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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How Climate Scientists Can Communicate the Science to Scientists in Other Fields (from The Dake Page)

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Huh CommunicationA few weeks ago we talked about how to communicate climate science to all three target audiences – other scientists, policy-makers, and the public. We touched on how scientists “do science,” i.e., through research, data analysis, conference attendance, and scientific publication. Today we’ll take a closer look at how scientists can communicate climate science to other scientists, including those scientists who specialize in other fields.

1) Publish the Research: As already noted, the main way for scientists to communicate the science to other scientists is to publish it in peer-reviewed journals. Doing so allows scientists to carefully lay out the premises, the methods, how the data were analyzed, the results, and the conclusions, all so other scientists can evaluate – and recreate – the work. I’ve discussed peer review in depth in previous posts. [Click on these links to read Part 1 (basics of peer review), Part 2 (when peer-review goes wrong),  Part 3 (abusing the system), and Part 4 (using the internet to bypass peer-review) of the series.] Once published, the research is further scrutinized, which may confirm or refute the work, and usually leads to more studies…and more publications. Many climate researchers, for example, have hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers (whereas most climate deniers have few, if any, peer-reviewed publications).

But think about the scientific publishing process for a moment. Like physicians, for example, where individual doctors may specialize in endocrinology, brain surgery, dentistry, or podiatry, scientists may specialize in astrophysics, archeology, biology, chemistry, mathematics, geology or dozens of other specialties. The more specialized the professional training and expertise, the greater the likelihood that a given scientist won’t be keeping up to date on advancements in other fields. A biologist is likely to have memberships and subscriptions to several biology-related organizations and journals, but may not be reading a physics journal discussing heat transfer in atmospheric systems.

This presents the dilemma that while journal publication is critical, it is largely focused on communicating with other scientists within your own field. That said, despite the tendency toward greater specialization, there is also a greater need for multidisciplinary collaboration. For example, ecologists looking at migratory patterns will see that those patterns are being modified by climate changes.

So how does one reach out to scientists in other fields?

[Continue reading at The Dake Page]

The above is a partial cross-post of a full article on The Dake Page. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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First There was Tesla, Now There is Edison – The Chapter Outline

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Tesla vs Edison cartoonFirst I wrote a book on Nikola Tesla called Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. And now a book on Thomas Edison called Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World. Both are published Fall River Press, an imprint of Sterling Publishing.

Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World is scheduled to be in Barnes and Noble stores in 2016. The manuscript has been accepted by publisher and is now in the design stage getting ready for the printer. And that means it’s time for a preview!

The Edison book will be in the same style as Tesla, with tons of photos, stories, and graphic art. Tesla was such a success that Sterling is making Edison the next book in what they hope to be a series. I can live with that. 🙂  Also like Tesla, Edison is written such that it appeals to a wide-ranging audience.

Here’s an outline of the chapter coverage:

Prologue 

A brief story of interest providing insight into Thomas Edison’s life, along with a short overview of his career and contributions to society. 

Chapter 1: Birth of an Inventor 

The first chapter describes Edison’s birth and family life growing up in Ohio. We’ll explore how his father and mother influenced his early schooling – or lack thereof – and how he exhibited a precocious and inventive nature even at an early age. The chapter takes us through his coming of age and early work on the Grand Trunk Railroad as a “news butch,” a job that turned out to be much more adventurous for Edison than for most teenage boys. His early career as a telegraph operator gives us insight into his future. 

Chapter 2: A Better Telegraph: The Beginnings of Invention 

Tireless energy leads from telegraph operator to dozens of patents improving telegraphs, and signals the beginning of Edison’s inventive career. Resigning from Western Union to focus on becoming a full time independent inventor at the tender age of 22, Edison quickly makes a name for himself as a reliable and innovative external R&D department for the big companies of the day. Along the way he invents a stock ticker and a vote counting machine – his first patent – before stumbling upon the invention that made him a celebrity. 

Chapter 3: Inventing the Art of Invention 

One of Edison’s greatest contributions may have been the development of the state-of-the-art invention factory. First at Menlo Park, where he gained his epithet “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” and then for much longer at his lab in West Orange, New Jersey (not to mention Fort Myers, Florida and Schenectady, New York), Edison created a new way of bringing together skilled artisans and technicians focused on developing new products.  

Chapter 4: Of Phonographs and Celebrity 

While working late at night on an improved telegraph, Edison almost accidentally discovers the phonograph. This chapter takes us through the development process, the instant celebrity, and then the long decade of inaction that let others get ahead of him. It provides some insight into how he worked, and why he sometimes held himself back. One such quirk – his insistence that he alone could determine what people could see and hear despite his own profound deafness. 

Chapter 5: Not Always at Work – Edison’s Family and Friends 

Edison had a reputation of working 18 hours a day, but he was also a family man that fathered six children. This chapter examines his work/family balance (or lack thereof), his relationships with his wives and children, and some of his famous friends like Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and U.S. Presidents. 

Chapter 6: Building a Better Lightbulb 

This chapter examines Edison’s most iconic invention, the light bulb. Light bulbs existed already, but were insufficient for sustained indoor use. Edison and his team tested thousands of different filament materials to find the one that worked the best, then developed the entire direct current based system to put electric lighting in homes, businesses, and cities. We’ll look at his successes – and his failures – in accomplishing these goals both as stand-alone units and municipal utilities. 

Chapter 7: The War of the Currents 

Electrifying the world wasn’t accomplished overnight, and Edison had to fight many battles. First he battled the existing gas lighting system installed in virtually all edifices, then he battled the existing alternating current technology of arc lighting. He won those battles, but would go on to lose spectacularly in the final battle against the new polyphase alternating current systems of Westinghouse and Tesla. The chapter includes a look at how Edison was separated from General Electric, the company that formerly bore his name. 

Chapter 8: Edison the Movie Mogul 

While the phonograph made Edison famous despite its trials, the motion picture projector made him an icon of movie making despite Edison’s reluctance to develop it. The chapter looks at the process of developing motion pictures, the competition, and even some luck on Edison’s part, while also putting on display how Edison’s personality of control limited the success of this and other inventions.  

Chapter 9: A Man of Many Talents 

Edison was always looking at new avenues of invention, which often distracted him from fully maximizing the value of existing inventions. He threw himself (figuratively) into developing new ways to mine low-grade iron ore where others had failed, then when that didn’t work out, jumped to concrete building materials, then storage batteries for electric cars. He even experimented with X-rays until he almost blinded himself. Prior to and during World War I he took charge of a Naval Consulting Board for the government, evaluating and researching technological options for the war effort. Eventually he even tried to develop a domestic source of rubber for automobile and bicycle tires. 

Chapter 10: A Legacy Like No Other 

Despite many failed endeavors, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. became a brand that is still ubiquitous in our culture today. He received over 1000 patents, but most importantly changed how businesses viewed research and development. His methods of focused teamwork have become the standard today. And his name lives on. Hundreds of schools bear his name. He received awards, and medals are named after him. This chapter will sum up his amazing life, take a look at Edison in pop culture, and examine the work of organizations dedicated to carrying on his memory. 

Appendix: Timeline of key events in Edison’s life 

A summary of dates and events important in Edison’s life, including marriages, children, inventions, and critical conflicts with others that helped shaped his drive to compete.

If you liked Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, you’ll also like Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World. Stay tuned.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Skeletons, Hard Drives, and Galileo – Oh My Edison

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GoodreadsWhile Thomas Edison slowly comes to life on the pages of my book in progress for Sterling Publishing, we’ve seen a “whole lotta writin’ goin on” (with apologies to Jerry Lee Lewis). There has also been a lot a reading, with 21 books logged into Goodreads for the first quarter of the year.

Skeleton Road near Blackwater National Wildlife RefugeWe’ve seen skeletons here on Science Traveler since the last update. Skeleton Road explored a wrong turn near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge that led to the remains of a deer massacre (unrelated, but somehow reminiscent of the Alice’s Restaurant Massacree of infamy). We also looked at how A Booth Saved a Lincoln (including an interesting connection to Nikola Tesla). There was also a review of the Jonathan W. White book Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln.

hard driveOver on Hot White Snow were two creative writing pieces. Lights Out took a microfiction look at the end of the world as we know it. It turns out it’s hard to end the world in less than 100 words. And in a lighthearted look at what would happen if someone dug into my old computer, check out Dear New Owner of My Old Hard Drive. Watch out for erotica.

GalileoOn the serious side, The Dake Page offered a review of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. Not only does the book put Darwin’s finches in context with recent understanding, it does it in a darn good storytelling format. Also on The Dake Page is The Galileo Delusion – How Climate Deniers Create Alternate “Realities.” The article focuses on the Ted Cruz’s of the world who deny all climate science, then delusionally claim the role of Galileo (the exact opposite of reality).

Young Thomas EdisonNow back to Thomas Edison. Did you know that as a child he was actually called “Little Al?” Or that he was a teenage “news butch” on a train (not quite a teenage werewolf in Paris)? Or that his deafness started at an early age? Stay tuned as Little Al grows up into “The Wizard of Menlo Park” (even though he wasn’t in Menlo Park very long).

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Rounding Up the Writing Life

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Finally getting a chance to write on Science Traveler for the first time since Monday’s update on the Scandinavia trip plans. That trip is for the end of May, but before that a lot is happening. Much of it is writing. And the rest of it is doing interesting things worth writing about.

Current warsCurrent writing projects are headlined by my forthcoming book on Thomas Edison. The publishers of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity asked that do a similar treatment of Tesla’s biggest rival. I’m working on the early chapters and finding that Edison, like Tesla, was an interesting personality, though in a few ways almost the opposite of each other. Surprisingly, Edison wasn’t as great a businessman as most people think. The irony is that while others often got credit for the contributions of Tesla, Edison often got credit for the contributions of others. Publication is scheduled for 2016 but I’ll post more on this here as the writing progresses.

My concurrent e-book writing project is called Lincoln and Tesla: Connected by Fate. There are a surprising number of connections between Nikola Tesla and our 16th President, and this book takes a look at all of them. Stay tuned for more info and expected publication on Amazon this summer. Here’s a preview.

Other writing includes a forthcoming piece called And the War Ends I wrote for the Smithsonian Civil War Studies website. This will be the third article for them and covers the end of the war and Lincoln’s assassination. This week has also seen a “microfiction” experiment called Executing One Final Joke on Hot White Snow and How the Media Enable Climate Denial and Misinform the Public on The Dake Page. Oh, and there is the Lincoln and Science book proposal.

I also have tons of events on my calendar that will keep me busy for a while (as if writing two books and a proposal for a third wasn’t enough to do).

  • March 21: Lincoln Institute full day symposium in Ford’s Theatre
  • March 22: Wine-tasting and bald eagle viewing on the eastern shore
  • April 9: Tesla Spirit Awards in Philadelphia
  • April 11: Lincoln Group book discussion
  • April 14-15: Ford’s Theatre events related to Lincoln assassination
  • April 21: Lincoln Group dinner meeting
  • April 24: CPRC-SETAC Annual Spring meeting
  • May 16: Lincoln Group Legacy of Lincoln full day symposium

And that’s just for starters.

Somewhere within this time frame I should be receiving my first advance payment for the Edison book and my spring royalties for the Tesla book. The Tesla Wizard book is back in Barnes and Noble stores and selling fast while the Tesla and Renewable Energy e-book is available on Amazon. On top of that, yesterday I shipped a second case of 24 books to the Tesla Science Foundation for them to give as gifts to teachers who have worked so hard to get Nikola Tesla incorporated into school curricula.

It’s a good life.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Climate Collusion, Lincoln Language, Selma Sadness, Edison Elation – Catching Up On the Blogs

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Write! Write! Write! That’s the mantra, and the last couple of weeks have certainly demonstrated how to do it. Well, except for the writing most important at the moment – Thomas Edison. Otherwise there was big news on collusion by climate deniers, Abraham Lincoln’s commencement address (of sorts), sadness over the Selma 50th anniversary, and much more.

Abraham LincolnHere on Science Traveler the focus was on Abraham Lincoln, with several events commemorating his 2nd Inauguration and one of the finest speeches ever delivered. A Busy Week for Abraham Lincoln sums up the biggest events, and His Greatest Speech looks specifically at the “With malice toward none; with charity for all” elocution that is one of his best. Additional background on the events can be read here.

DSC_0099That wasn’t all Science Traveler was about. I also posted a photo retrospective of the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, one of the most haunting, and powerful, memorials I’ve ever seen. To balance the heaviness of that piece, check out the lighter side of things by exploring how two events in my writing world – Tesla and Edison – helped Barnes and Noble stock skyrocket in one day!

selma-dogsOn Hot White Snow I took a look at how we’ve moved Forward to the Past on the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment and the 50th anniversary on the fateful march on Selma that led to the Voting Rights Act. How far we’ve regressed on our previous gains is saddening – and should be maddening – to us all. Also on HWS I tried my hand at microfiction, the art of writing a story in 100 words or less, with a piece I called The Case of the Hated Haberdasher.

Climate Skeptic Graphic Paint2The Dake Page posted a series of climate change-related pieces since the last update. Part 4 of the series on peer-review examined how some people have tried to get around peer-review using the internet, with sometimes nefarious results. You can read Parts 1 though 3 by following the links in Part 4. The most recent post takes a look at collusion among climate deniers, where lobbyists, “skeptic” scientists, and media have worked together to intentionally misrepresent the science and misinform the public. The collusion became evident as climate deniers try to block release of the new documentary based on the Oreskes and Conway book, Merchants of Doubt. Here’s the trailer for the movie:

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book is on Abraham Lincoln, due out in 2017.

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Little Tommy Edison and All the Rest

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Young Thomas EdisonTwo weeks have passed since my last recap, and it’s been a busy fortnight. Tops on the list is finding out all about little Tommy Edison. Yes, Thomas Alva Edison. And he wasn’t really called Tommy; in fact he was called Al (not to be confused with the Paul Simon song, “You Can Call Me Al”).

It turns out Little Al was a precocious child. After dismissed as “addled” by a teacher, Edison was home-schooled, ran off to be a news butch, then telegraph operator, and at 22-years-old quit work to become a full-time independent inventor. No wonder he got more than a thousand patents in a life filled with both excitement and disappointment, where his inventions flourished after they were made better by others, and where his loss of hearing left him biting the local piano to enjoy the music.

Intrigued? Good. As my new book develops I’m confident that you’ll discover the many sides of Thomas Edison that most people don’t know…and much of which people do know may actually not be true. Stayed tuned for more updates.

Lincoln Quote BustAlso seen lately here on Science Traveler was a review of a book on Lincoln’s sometimes rocky relationship with the press, and a birthday tribute to the the man himself.

The AwakeningOn Hot White Snow I relived The Trauma of First Grade. Having missed any opportunities for pre-school or kindergarten, there is nothing like having to stand in the hallway half of the first day of first grade to stigmatize a child’s vision of the educational system.

Peer reviewThe Dake Page continued its series on how peer-review of scientific papers works…and sometimes doesn’t work. Part 2 looked at what happens when peer-review goes wrong, while Part 3 looked at the rare, but important, cases of intentional abuse of the peer-review system.

Meanwhile, plans continue for a late May trip to the lands of Vikings (not the Minnesota ones), Fjords (not the Detroit ones), and blondes (yes, those ones). Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take advantage of an invite to see two great friends from Brussels get married in Bulgaria as it falls on the same week I already have travel plans. I actually already visited Sofia (the capital) and Plovdiv as part of a rapid response trip several years ago, but it would have been great to see them again. Next trip!

More science travel posts soon (I promise).

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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