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Reading List Halfway Point (from Hot White Snow)

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In January I set a goal on Goodreads of reading 50 books over the course of the year. I guess I’ll make my goal because as of the end of June – the halfway point – Goodreads tells me that I am “18 books ahead of schedule.” I have read 42 books so far in 2015.

Books read thru June 2015I’m not overly surprised. Last year I set a goal of 50 books, then raised that to 75 when it was clear I would pass it, before finishing out the year at 84 books read (which I documented in Reading is Fundamental). The idea behind limiting it to 50 this year was because I planned to read less and write more. It turns out I was doing more of both.

The reading can be split into a few separate genres, the most prolific being books about Abraham Lincoln. I’ve read 15 books so far that look specifically at different aspects of Lincoln’s life and the Civil War. Included in this group are books about his character (Philosopher Statesman), law cases (Lincoln’s Greatest Case), and interactions with the press (Lincoln and the Power of the Press). I also tossed in a book about my home town’s soldiers (Ipswich in the Civil War) and insights from the Smithsonian (The Civil War Out My Window).

This year I also had a new focus – Thomas Edison.

[Continue reading at Hot White Snow]

The above is a partial of a full article “On Writing” on Hot White Snow, my creative writing blog. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.

I’ll have photos and stories from my most recent science traveling trips to Scandinavia and Quebec shortly.

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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How Scientific Peer-Review Works – The Series (from The Dake Page)

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Huh CommunicationEarlier this year I posted a series of articles explaining what scientific peer-review is, and what it isn’t. The series was very popular so I’ve decided to create this single post that links to all the previous ones.

In Part 1 we gave a basic definition of peer-review, described the process, what it is expected to accomplish, and what it is not expected to accomplish. In a nutshell, scientists conduct research and then write that research up in a formal paper (including methods, results, how the statistics were done, conclusions, and some discussion of what it all means). The paper is then submitted to a scientific journal, whose editors send it out to other scientists in the field who are capable of reviewing it for clarity, content, and value to expanding our collective knowledge. The reviewers don’t validate or invalidate the work, just make sure it meets some basic scientific principles and complete enough for others to 1) know what the researchers did, and 2) replicate it.

Part 2 looked at how peer-review can go wrong. Standards for scientific journals can differ, with some being akin to Ivy League colleges while others may be less stringent. The relatively rare problem of “pal-review” (common among climate deniers) was examined, as was the difficulties caused by some (but not all) of the new “open access journals.”

[Read Part 3 and Part 4 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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Science Traveling the Northeast

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David J. KentFor some reason I thought of the old days in Catholic confessional in which I would ask the priest to bless me from my sins and say “It has been 30 days since my last confession.” Well, I’m not really confessing, and I don’t consider it a sin, but I must admit “It has been 30 days since my last science traveling.” That trip was to Scandinavia – Denmark, Sweden, Norway. As you read this I’ve already been several days into my current trip to the northeast – New England and Quebec.

Fireworks and fourth of July parades will highlight (have highlighted) the first part of the trip. But even before that we stopped off in West Orange, New Jersey to visit the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. While Edison was nicknamed “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” he actually spent more time working out of his much larger laboratory complex in West Orange. It was here that he had his grand mansion called “Glenmont,” his multi-story laboratory, several separate smaller labs, and the Black Maria – the film studio where he made motion pictures. This was a must-visit for me as I write my book on Edison; so too was a stopover in the town of Edison (as Menlo Park was later renamed in his honor).

Edison Lab, Menlo Park, NJ

After a few days with the family and the fireworks we’re headed even further north. A couple of days in a Quebec City B&B will let us see Montmorency Falls, the funicular, the aquarium, and, of course, Maison Kent. From there it’s on to Montreal for the Notre Dame cathedral, Musee des Beaux Arts, and for the science part, the Biosphere and Jardin Botanique.

Quebec City

The rest of the trip will be spent leisurely working our way back down western Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut where the main goal is to do some old bookstore hopping. Some of the coolest books in my Lincoln collection have come from old barns and basements, so I’m hoping to make some lucky finds.

I’ll be posting periodically during the trip, both on here and on Facebook, so keep checking back for more science traveling tidbits.

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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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity Rises to #1 Bestseller in its Category

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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity reached #1 Bestseller status in the “Scientists – General & Miscellaneous – Biography” category on Barnes and Noble. The book has always been a top seller in several categories but an ongoing sale has helped push it into the #1 spot.

Best sellers Scientists General Misc Biography 30June2015

It also reached #2 in the “History of Science” category and #3 in two other science biography categories.

Best sellers History of Science 30June2015

According to the publisher, Fall River Press, an imprint of the big New York City publishing house, Sterling Publishing, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has been a smashing success. Published originally two years ago, the 4th printing of the book comes out this month and a 5th printing has already been scheduled for release in October so that there is plenty of stock on hand for the big holiday gift giving seasons. The current sale is time-limited, so if you haven’t gotten your copy yet now is a good time to get one on Barnes and Noble.com.

Because of how well Tesla is doing, Fall River Press is using it to kick off a series of books on great inventors in a similar style and design. Next up is Thomas Edison and I’ve been diligently writing it for many months, and I’ll present the manuscript to the publisher in early August. You should see it in Barnes and Noble stores by early 2016. Assuming Edison is as successful as Tesla, there could be many more in the series. Suggestions on other inventors to cover are welcome.

Back to writing.

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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In Search of Nature (from Hot White Snow)

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Beaver damageRecently I marveled at the nature around us, and then today I realized how much of it is no longer there. This point was emphasized as I read the following:

Most of us live in cities where the number of visible wild species was long ago winnowed down to a few dozen. The sight of anything wilder than a sparrow, pigeon, or a squirrel makes the hearts of urban dwellers soar like the eagles we nearly exterminated.

The quote is from a book called Fire in the Turtle House by Osha Gray Davidson. The focus is on the plight of the green sea turtle in Hawai’i, but this line resonated with me in a more personal sense. I commonly walk from our suburban townhouse over to a small pond surrounded by woods. “Woods” in this case is defined as the residual trees and underbrush remaining after developers have decimated the natural forest and replaced it with townhouse farms, groups of homes that have grown like corporate cornfields in this area of northern Virginia.

Still, I live for these walks. The robins, cardinals, mockingbirds, occasional sparrows, and rare wrens are joined each spring and summer by swarms of geese, many with new families that we matronly watch over as they grow through their baby down into adolescent feathers. We watch as the toothy shavings of yet another small tree reveals the nightly work of an unseen beaver. A green heron makes an appearance in search of food. The occasional great blue heron does indeed make my heart soar.

[Continue reading on Hot White Snow]

The above is a partial of a full article “On Writing” on Hot White Snow, my creative writing blog. 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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Nikola Tesla and the Two Sides of Budapest

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Budapest is the capital of Hungary. It also played a key role in Nikola Tesla’s greatest discovery and in the development of modern technology. There are two sides to Budapest, and I got to explore both of them a few years ago.

Spanning the banks of the beautiful and broad Danube River, the second longest river in Europe, Budapest used to be two cities (or three, depending on how you count). Buda, on the western bank, is the former capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. Sitting high on the hill is the Buda Castle and the Citadel.

Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary

On the opposite, eastern, bank is Pest. Mostly flat (compared to the hilly Buda), its most prominent feature is the newer Parliament Building, though you might think it looks more like some sort of sprawling cathedral. It remains the largest building in all of Hungary, and the tallest in Budapest. And yes, it was rainy during my entire visit.

Parliament, Budapest, Hungary

Buda and Pest were merged into the single city of Budapest in 1873. Nine years later, Nikola Tesla had moved to Budapest expecting to take a job working for Alexander Graham Bell’s new telephone company. The job turned out to be nonexistent, but Tesla was able to find work at the Central Telegraph Office, where he soon found himself sinking into a profound depression. It was during one of his episodic visions he discovered the principles that led to his most famous invention – the alternating current polyphase system of electricity. You can read more about that in this excerpt from my Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity book.

Budapest offers other interests to science travelers like myself. It houses the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, eighteen different Universities, Roman spas, and of course the beautiful Danube River itself.

During my time in Europe I was able to see several of the places that Nikola Tesla spent time, including Budapest, Austria, Strasbourg, Slovenia, Prague, London, and Paris. Still on my list to see are Belgrade and Lika. I look forward to that adventure.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release July 31, 2017. 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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The Pope’s Climate Encyclical and Why Climate Deniers are Their Own Worst Enemy (From The Dake Page)

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Pope climate encyclicalIt should go without saying that when you deny reality long enough, eventually reality makes you look foolish. Climate deniers have been denying the science behind man-made climate change for so long that they have lost even the illusion of credibility. They have become their own worst enemy, and as such have put themselves on a path of complete irrelevancy.

Deniers have chosen this path, of course. By blatantly denying even the most basic science and by egregiously promoting the most obvious and ludicrous falsehoods, deniers have marginalized themselves to the point of inconsequentiality. Deniers now find themselves being taken as seriously as Donald Trump’s presidential run. Yes, they have become that buffoonish.

And alone.

Deniers used to hide behind ideological blinders, seeking protection for their anti-science beliefs in the arms of “conservatives,” the “religious,” and “Republican” comfort groups. Now deniers find themselves in a category among themselves. In contrast, intellectually honest and informed people who identify within these traditional labels no longer provide cover for denial.

Religions do not condone denial of the science

This point is brought home as Pope Francis, leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, issues the Vatican’s papal encyclical on climate change and the environment. [Here is a summary of the main points; and here is the full letter, in English] In it the Pope acknowledges the unequivocal science demonstrating human activity is causing our climate to warm, and that the changes observed and coming present a significant risk to humanity.

Let me stop here and reinforce this to make it clear, because this is a point that climate deniers have intentionally tried to confuse as they attack the Pope.

[Continue reading the full post 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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Tesla and Electric Cars in Scandinavia

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More and more I see electric cars around the United States, mostly the obvious ones like the Tesla Model S and an occasional plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt, plus the obvious non-plug-in hybrids like Toyota Prius. But this pales to the number of electric cars that I saw in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. One reason – access to charging stations.

Tesla car

Elon Musk has been working hard to install charging stations throughout the major driving corridors of the US. The government has not been all that helpful in that regard; in fact, because of oil and auto manufacturer lobbying (and Congress’s inability to function), our government inaction still works against the widespread distribution of electric cars. Europe has taken the opposite approach.

Electric cars in Oslo

In Copenhagen, there were a couple of charging stations right next to the famed city hall. In Stockholm, charging stations were also present, while in Oslo they have put a huge focus on electric vehicles. The photo above shows charging stations lined up and down both sides of the street. Interestingly, this particular spot was up against the old stone fortress walls made so famous in Jo Nesbo books. It shows that the old and new are compatible.

Norway EV Sales

While it was nice to see so many Tesla Model S cars, the predominant electric vehicle (EV) was actually the Nissan Leaf. According to Clean Technica, the Leaf has grabbed a huge lead in market share in Norway. The graphic above shows that Leaf sales made up 55% of the total EV sales in January 2014, almost four times the next electric car (Volkswagen’s e-Up!) and almost five times the Tesla Model S. Fully electric vehicles (EVs) dwarfed the number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in Norway (and in Denmark, where 100% of EVs were full plug-ins). Oddly enough, PHEVs were ahead of full EVs in Sweden, in part because of the popularity of Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV and the lack of availability of the Tesla Model S.

Besides the greater environmental awareness of Scandinavians compared to Americans, drivers in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway already have access to the type of electrical sockets needed for EVs. These countries also offer much better financial incentives to help drivers move away from fossil fuel based engines to more sustainable engine technology.  They have also done a better job at facilitating charging stations, most of which are free to the public.

As you’ll see in that last link, charging stations for EVs and PHEVs are starting to appear in more and more places in the US as well, which should mean faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in the near future. Eventually, all our vehicles may be EVs. That would go a long way to reducing our dependence on oil-based energy and our contributions to man-made climate change.

I’ll have more science traveling updates from Scandinavia, as well as from the Everglades, Yosemite, Argentina, and the other places I’ve visited since I embarked on this new career. Stay tuned (and feel free to wander around previous posts by clicking on “Travel” in the category list below).

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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