Archives: Deception

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Never bar graph temperatures

I’ve been going to a graduate class in science communication this semester. Doug taught us the rule that if you’re using a bar graph, the y axis must start at 0. Otherwise you end up with trickery like this: Fox News continues charting excellence. From flowingdata.com In bar graphs, area communicates magnitude. Change the lower... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Cuttlefish strike a pose for 3D camouflage

In the game of hide and seek, cuttlefish have the upper hand. These chameleons of the sea are astonishingly good at disappearing: they can instantaneously change the colour of their skin to blend in with the background, matching even the finicky details like the pattern of coloured rocks on the ocean floor. Divers have long known... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Groupthink

Which animal would use Facebook most, if it could? My poll in class last week was a popular one – a fact that I couldn’t properly enjoy, since Charlie came up with it for me in a fit of brain-dead incapacity. Charlie’s Facebook question elicited chirps of excitement, compliments and even a few drawings... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Wherefore the mustache?

Ears, palms, toes, neck, and nose. In that order. These are the grossest places for humans to have hair, according to Queen’s students. Ok, there were a few others that I didn’t mention. The upper lip, however, did not receive a single vote. Last fall a number of men in the biology department grew competitive... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Science fictions

Fakery is not just for Hollywood films anymore. Nature documentaries are full of it, from elegant narratives to some downright dirty tricks. This tradition goes back a long way: the myth that lemmings commit mass suicide to save their brethren from overpopulation was spread widely as as result of the 1958 Disney film White Wilderness. This is... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Field biology goes to Hollywood

One of the weirder things about my field site is that it is also a Hollywood set. A number of movies, TV shows and commercials have been filmed at the LA Arboretum, going back to Tarzan Escapes in the 1930s. The Arboretum had a regular appearance in the popular 1970s show Fantasy Island. In the opening credits, a... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Masters of illusion

It can be easy to see intelligence in the animals we spend a lot of time with. Everyone has their pet example, one of the most common being dogs who can anticipate the precise time of their owners’ return. But what does this really say about the mental life of dogs? Some birds are... More

Load More →