Well, isn’t this flattering? The Times Online science blog, called Eureka Zone, picked Bad Astronomy as one of its top 30 best science blogs. It’s always nice to get some recognition, even if it doesn’t come with a wheelbarrow full of money and a free trip to Tahiti.
You listening, Times Online? Just a suggestion.
Anyway, I don’t agree with every single blog on that list — I leave it as an exercise to you to figure out which ones — but almost everything else on there is worth your time checking out. If your feed reader is looking a little pale and thin, this should help beef it up. There’s always room for science!
March 12th, 2010 at 11:55 am
lol at WUWT.
tamino.wordpress.com exposes Watts and Co. pretty well.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Is the hammer your … you know what?
March 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Anyway, I don’t agree with every single blog on that list
Pharyngula?
George
March 12th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Dr. Phil has never been one to hide his jealousy of The Tentacled One very well.
Seriously though, I was confused about what he was talking about as I looked down the list, until I got to the end.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
If I encountered you in Tahiti with a wheelbarrow full of money, I’m afraid I would suspect you of something very different than science blogging.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I have no plane tickets or wheelbarrows full of anything to offer, but this is easily my favorite science blog (seriously, PZ is a great and smart guy and all, but you’re blog is more interesting and entertaining by far), thanks Phil!
March 12th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
You know what The Hammer is, right? It’s in Nathan Fillion’s pants.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I’m surprised you didn’t say you were second on the list. It’s alphabetical but still.
OK, “Watts Up With That?” does not belong on that list.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I must admit I’ve viewed the Times’ science coverage with scepticism since the paper was gripped by AIDS denialism several years ago. It might be time to give them a second chance, I guess.
Edit: Oh, maybe not, if they’re recommending a climate change denialist blog.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@George Martin (1):
I suppose, if you’re a theist. Pharyngula, in my opinion, is a fine science blog that courageously exposes what creationism really is.
Phil, I suppose you can do some work on the side to get such amenities.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
But that list doesn’t include the American Association of Faith Healers, the Tarot Coalition, the International Society for Alternative medicine or the Foundation for Prophecy.
It’s all stuff by guys in white coats.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
@jcm
Phil has a long-standing (mock) feud with PZ.
March 12th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
The amusing thing is they include Deltoid, which has (rightly) been laying into their science editor. (See his Leakegate tag.)
March 12th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I agree with #4 and it’s not because we share a name.
March 12th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Oh, great, now he’s going to look at everything like a nail.
J/P=?
March 12th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
At first I thought you were being pedantic in that Boing, Boing technically isn’t a science blog.
And then I thought you were being tongue-in-cheek since Pharyngula was on the list. But then we all knew PZ was going to be on the list and there didn’t appear to be any snark in your comment, so it couldn’t be that.
That’s when I saw Watts Up With That?
*cue projectile vomitting*
There are a few blogs there that I didn’t recognize, so I’ll have to check them out to see if they’re worthwhile or if somehow more than one crackpot managed to get onto that list.
March 12th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
After Tamino at Open Mind showed (see link in website) how Watts’ claims about weather stations are not only false and unscientific but totally based on pure speculation, I’m surprised it made the list of science blogs….
Until I remembered this is the Times of London (or London Times), a paper owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox and the Wall Street Journal and then it all made sense.
March 12th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Its good that IO9 try to get sci-fi people interested in real science, but they do a pretty bad job of it. They usually get it wrong, or at best just copy what everyone else is saying.
March 12th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
For those interested, the blog link below is for Wott’s Up With That, a site that is a response to the climate change disinformation at Watt’s site.
http://wotsupwiththat.wordpress.com/
For the math inclined, or for those who want to learn, Tamino at Open Mind is highly recommended. He also demonstrates that Watts is pretty close to math-illiterate—and that Watts is without honour because he smeared scientists based on a report he coauthored that showed the scientists were wrong–only it turns out Watts and company were wrong and the scientists were right (never saw that coming, did you?). Watts will be apologizing any time now and demonstrating he does indeed possess some integrity and honour……
March 12th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
The Intersection with its Templeton fellow, its accomodationist stance toward theists and emphasis on “framing” has no place on a list of top science blogs.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Congratulations BA you definitely deserve to be there.
So in my view does Watts Up With That – which I think is a far superior science and skepticism blog than any of the pro-AGW paradigm ones. I’d say WUWT is equally definitely worthy of inclusion there too.
Please note that skepticism & critical analysis should *especially* NOT stop when it comes to your pet theories.
I hate to dampen the mood BA but I’m afraid the truth is you have been guilty of allowing your political views to sway you too much into overlooking the very evident flaws and unanswered questions when it comes to the contentious issue of the supposed existence of Anthropogenic Global Warming which, in my view at least, has been scientifically falsified.
Sadly Dr Phil Plait, you have given the climatologist “scientists” Alarmists only club a pass on the tough issues like accountability, disclosure and peer-review (or the warping & abuse thereof) as well as testing against the actual evidence for far too long. On AGW you have very clearly allowed your political and cultural identification with the Left-wing pro-AGW scare Orthodoxy overwhelm your skeptical instincts and plain common sense. Your making of weak excuses for the Climategate scandal – perhaps the worst case of scientific malpractice and outright fraud ever – is saddening, unskeptical, unscientific and something you will one day find yourself bitterly regretting. In My Humble Opinion Naturally – & that of many others too.
On communicating astronomy, science and skepticism outside that one issue though you are brilliant and much appreciated by me.
Love your blog – guess nobody’s perfect, least of all me.
March 13th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Congratulations! You’re in good company, too.
(too bad about the Colgate Twins’ inclusion)
March 14th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
21. pbfp:
Blow much smoke lately, Dude???
OK! I guess we’re supposed to spend several hundred billion($) repeating our climate research, spreading sensors around the globe(because those old sensors must obviously be giving the wrong temp data), train and hire two generations of new climatologists(because obviously, the old guard have been compromised. They have, like, 4o years of their lives invested in global warming), do the peer review process all over again(and, of course, we’ll have to completely re-write the rules of peer review, since all those dad blamed “scientists” have these peculiar rules called “evidence” and, you know, like references, foot notes and other such “inhibiting” qualifiers). I mean, how is a true patriot supposed to make itself heard when the opposition requires real “evidence”?
Gary 7