All posts filed under: Science

Drunken Monkeys Confirmed

February 25, 2026
by Nicholas Knisely
Brief Note / Science

Boozy chimps fail urine test, confirm hotly debated theory – Ars Technica In short, “We find widespread physiological evidence of the consumption of alcohol by chimpanzees,” Maro said. “If there’s any doubt about the drunken monkey hypothesis—that there’s enough alcohol in the environment for animals to experience alcohol in a way analogous to humans—it’s been cleared up. Food and alcohol evolutionarily are, as it turns out, very much connected, especially in the lives of chimpanzees.” […]

With AI and LLM’s the rich get richer… but not in the simple way you might imagine

January 14, 2025
by Nicholas Knisely
Science / Web/Tech

I’m spending my sabbatical time doing a deep dive into how Machine Learning and Large Language Models (LLM) work and what the implications might be for all of us in the next few years. I came across this insight just now: AI’s Uneven Arrival – Stratechery by Ben Thompson: because they lack the ability to think and decide and verify they are best thought of as a tool for humans to leverage. Indeed, while conventional […]

Science: Feeling down? Turn things around quick. Do something kind for someone else.

November 29, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion / Science

Altruism improves happiness and well-being, research finds – The Washington Post: “Finding joy in helping others is fundamental to who we are as a species,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. American volunteering and charitable giving have been on the decline in recent years. But helping others may set up a positive feedback loop: Because doing good feels good, altruism can beget more altruism and better well-being. “If […]

An elegant reason why entanglement must exist

July 30, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion / Science / SOSc

Lovely bit of reasoning at the end of this long, well presented article: Quantum information theorists are shedding light on entanglement, one of the spooky mysteries of quantum mechanics: What my colleagues and I proposed is that this quantum [entanglement] results from the relativity principle, which (again) states the laws of physics are the same for all observers with different orientations in space. If the electron with a vertical spin in the up direction were […]

We need candor in public discourse

February 13, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Current Affairs / Science

There’s a great discussion in this morning NYTimes newsletter on why we’re seeing such a divided and divisive response to vaccination. The short version is that the CDC and public policy issued strict guidelines in what is actually a much more nuanced situation. The piece discusses what it means to US culture that our national guidelines for children’s COVID vaccinations were a global outlier – with the CDC taking a much more aggressive stance than […]

Rewilding the church yards

February 11, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Climate Change / Religion / Science

‘Places of the living’: bishop of Norwich calls for churchyards to be rewilded | Anglicanism | The Guardian: Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich: “My dream is that churchyards will be places of the living, not just the dead.” A paper submitted to the synod meeting in London says there is “noticeable biodiversity potential” within churchyards. However, it adds, “these places carry significance for the communities that surround them … Their significance and primary role […]

Simple Biblical Truth?

February 1, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Religion / Science

Over the years, as I’ve studied the conversation between Science and Theology, it’s been clear that whatever perceived divide there is between the two, the width of that divide varies regionally. And in my experience one form of Applied Philosophy (either Science or Theology) is privileged in the US over the other depending which side the region was on during the Civil War. Essentially one region, the South insisted on a particular hemenuetic (method of […]

New giant structures detected in the sky.

January 12, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Science

Newly discovered cosmic megastructure challenges theories of the universe | Space | The Guardian: Astronomers have discovered a ring-shaped cosmic megastructure, the proportions of which challenge existing theories of the universe. The so-called Big Ring has a diameter of about 1.3bn light years, making it among the largest structures ever observed. At more than 9bn light years from Earth, it is too faint to see directly, but its diameter on the night sky would be […]

Multiple results point to Modified Newtonian Gravity

January 10, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Science

Study of wide binary stars reveals new evidence for modified gravity at low acceleration: Chae concludes, “At least three independent quantitative analyses by two independent groups reveal essentially the same gravitational anomaly. The gravitational anomaly is real, and a new scientific paradigm shift is on its way.” The observed gravitational anomaly is remarkably well consistent with the MOND-type (Milgromian) gravity phenomenology. However, underlying theoretical possibilities encompassing the MOND-type gravity phenomenology are open at present, and […]

Why declare cows sacred?

January 7, 2024
by Nicholas Knisely
Reconciliation / Religion / Science

Cattle in The Earliest European Cities Weren’t Bred as Food : ScienceAlert: Between 4200 and 3650 BCE, animals domesticated by Trypillia societies were prized largely for their poop, not their flesh, according to Schlütz and his team. An analysis of nitrogen isotopes in teeth, bones, and soil from the remains of Tryphillia societies suggests that early farmers in Europe were mostly consuming peas, lentils, and cereal grains, like barley. Cattle, sheep, and goats, which were […]