Critical Thinking Web

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May 15, 2015 (Vol. 35, No. 10)

Critical Thinking Web

URL:philosophy.hku.hk/think/sci/hd.php
  • Lots of content, easy to understand

Critical thinking, logic, and creativity are three important traits for scientists (and anyone, really) to possess. The Critical Thinking Web, hosted by the philosophy department at the University of Hong Kong, is an online resource composed of tutorials covering various aspects of “thinking skills.” For example, visitors to the site will find tutorials about logic, scientific reasoning, strategic thinking, and fallacies, among many other topics. The tutorials are largely presented as text descriptions and case studies, and are sometimes accompanied by diagrams or other visual aids. Beyond the tutorials, the “resources” page includes a few downloadable documents such as critical thinking exercises, and there are also book recommendations and a link to an online directory of critical thinking web resources.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions have increased based on data from 32 global energy providers

US “Thomson Reuters releases greenhouse gas emissions data on Global Energy Providers – 21 May 2015

Thomson Reuters has released a new research Global 500 Greenhouse Gas Report: The Fossil Fuel Energy Sector, revealing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from 32 global energy companies, a key subset of the world’s largest publically traded businesses. The report, written in collaboration with global sustainability consultancy BSD Consulting, is the second in a series of GHG reports designed to create transparency and enable sound management of global GHG emissions.

Building on the previous report, the new report includes data around consumers’ use of a company’s products, called Scope 3 data, to present a fuller view of the business’s overall contribution to GHG emissions. Among the data included in the report, 31 percent of GHG emitted globally on an annual basis comes from 32 global energy companies and the population’s use of their products.

From 2010 to 2013, GHG emissions from the 32 energy companies and use of their products increased by 1.3 percent, a sharp contrast to the 2014 United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report, which recommended a 4.2 percent reduction of GHG emissions over the same time period to keep global temperatures within manageable limits.

In addition to contributions from the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Climate Accountability Institute, self-reported GHG emissions data was gathered from energy sector businesses and combined with estimates pulled from Thomson Reuters ASSET4, a provider of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) data. ASSET4 gathers standardised, objective, quantitative and qualitative ESG data on more than 4,800 publicly listed companies.”

Knowledgespeak Newsletter 21 May, 2015

Astrophysicists offer proof that famous image shows forming planets

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“This image sparked scientific debate when it was released last year, with researchers arguing over whether newly forming planets were responsible for gaps in the dust and gas swirling around the young star.”
Credit: Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
“University of Toronto, May 5, 2015.  Summary: A recent and famous image from deep space marks the first time we’ve seen a forming planetary system, according to a study by astrophysicists. The team found that circular gaps in a disk of dust and gas swirling around the young star HL Tau are in fact made by forming planets.”
Daniel Tamayo, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Kristen Menou, Hanno Rein. Dynamical Stability of Imaged Planetary Systems in Formation: Application to HL Tau. Astrophysical Journal, 2015 [link]
University of Toronto. “Astrophysicists offer proof that famous image shows forming planets.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 May 2015.

arXiv hits 1 million submissions

From the “Cornell Chronicle”, Jan. 15, 2015, and seen in the “Fast Facts” column of “College & Research Libraries News”, Vol. 76(2)  p. 108, Feb., 2015,

“As an open-access service, it allows scientists from disciplines encompassing physics, statistics, computer science and others to share research before it’s formally published. One million papers have now been uploaded to the repository.”

“arXiv received more than 97,000 new submissions in 2014. More than 150 subject experts from around the world evaluate and categorize every article posted on arXiv.”

http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/01/research-repository-arxiv-hits-1-million-submissions

 

Black holes gorging at excessive rates

Date:May 3, 2015  Science Daily

Source:NASA

Summary: A group of unusual giant black holes may be consuming excessive amounts of matter, according to a new study. This finding may help astronomers understand how the largest black holes were able to grow so rapidly in the early Universe.”

Illustration of an extremely ravenous black hole devouring material.
Credit: Illustration: CXC/M. Weiss; X-ray images: NASA/CXC/Penn State/B. Luo et al.

A group of unusual giant black holes may be consuming excessive amounts of matter, according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This finding may help astronomers understand how the largest black holes were able to grow so rapidly in the early Universe.

Journal Reference:

  1. B. Luo, W. N. Brandt, P. B. Hall, Jianfeng Wu, S. F. Anderson, G. P. Garmire, R. R. Gibson, R. M. Plotkin, G. T. Richards, D. P. Schneider, O. Shemmer, Yue Shen. X-ray Insights into the Nature of PHL 1811 Analogs and Weak Emission-Line Quasars: Unification with a Geometrically Thick Accretion Disk? The Astrophysical Journal, 2015 [link]