By Dr. Robert Thorson The “mad scientist” is a staple of American culture. Brilliant, driven and wielding great power, he works in secret laboratories until he launches various nightmares: Dr. Frankenstein’s stitchedtogether monster; Dr. Strangelove’s atomic bomb; and, as some would argue, Dr. Jerry Yang’s three generations of cloned cows, which could have a family […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Someone’s idea of beauty has escaped from a private home, sneaked up behind me, and bit me where it hurts, my wallet. I’m not referring to the 4-foot-long spiked iguana that went missing after escaping from a private home last summer in East Lyme. Instead, I mean the spread of aquatic […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Albert Einstein strengthened science through his contributions, but he may have inadvertently crippled science education through his example. This notion is supported by an editorial, “Redefining Science Education,” published in January by Bruce Alberts, editor in chief of the journal Science. His main concern is that “many college-educated adults in the […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson As the only working scientist writing regularly for The Courant’s Other Opinion page, I feel it’s my responsibility to speak out when another scientist crosses the line between science and racism. I refer to James Watson, the pioneering geneticist and Nobel Prize winner who was recently quoted by London’s The Sunday […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson `Why are there are so many stone walls around New England cemeteries?” That was one of the most challenging questions I’ve ever been asked as a speaker. It wasn’t that I couldn’t come up with an answer. It was because six answers bubbled up into my consciousness, all at once. Sacred […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson When it’s cold, you can argue that global warming isn’t so bad after all. But global drowning? Now that’s a climate-change problem of a different color, a universally negative concept for creatures with lungs like us. That’s what’s now underway, thanks to irreversible trends in ice sheet decay. When you’re looking […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson The true purpose of the New Year’s holiday is to contemplate the flow of time through our lives. Charles Dickens captured this theme in “A Christmas Carol,” arguably the most beloved story about the winter solstice season. Though the pivotal day in the story is Christmas Eve, the pivotal idea parallels […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson The climate-change disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow” is finishing its opening run in the theaters. For most adults, I think it was a pretty neat film, especially the special effects. For schoolteachers, however, it may end up being a bigger disaster than the movie itself. My prediction — one supported […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson My wife often reminds me that I take things too literally. Of course, she’s correct. Nonetheless, the phrase “going green” bugs me like a pebble in my shoe. The naturalist in me knows it’s unethical, the scientist knows it’s inaccurate and the writer laments the ruination of yet another perfectly good […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Earth, air, fire and water: These were Aristotle’s four fundamental elements. Each is associated with specific threat to the safety of underground coal miners: cave-ins, suffocation, incineration and floods. The 12 miners from West Virginia who recently lost their lives were more than just a few guys trying to support their […]