Daily Archives: February 27, 2010

Reach out and touch someone

Literally. This recently in the New York Times: Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did Chile’s February 27, 2010 Magnitude-8.8 Earthquake Make the Top Ten Recorded Quakes of All Time?

Yep. According to the AP, it tied for seventh: Saturday’s quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Raw Footage from Chile in the Aftermath of Its Magnitude 8.8 Earthquake

Saturday morning, February 27, 2010, Santiago, Chile (200 miles from the quake’s epicenter):

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More news from Chile in the immediate aftermath of this morning’s magnitude 8.8 quake

This from AP: Candia was visiting his wife’s 92-year-old grandmother in Talca when the quake struck. “Everything was falling — chests of drawers, everything,” he said. “I was sleeping with my 8-year-old son Diego and I managed to cover his … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

News from Chile in the aftermath of its magnitude-8.8 quake

This morning from the BBC: One journalist speaking to Chilean national television from the city of Temuco, 600km south of Santiago, said many people there had left their homes, determined to spend the rest of the night outside. Some people … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Two books for thinking about Chile’s devestating magnitude 8.8 earthquake this morning

See here and here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Chile’s magnitude-8.8 quake the largest that seismologists have ever recorded?

No, but the largest earthquake ever recorded hit the exact same area (central Chile) fifty years ago, on May 22, 1960. It was a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, and here’s how that one was reported in the United States:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Historical perspective on this morning’s magnitude 8.8 quake in central Chile

In the same area a magnitude 9.5 earthquake struck (May 22, 1960): And in 1939 was another large quake:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chile’s earthquake and a simulation from the National Geographic Channel

Chile had a magnitude-8.8 earthquake early this morning (Saturday, February 27, 2010). Here’s a National Geographic simulation of the damage a major earthquake in Chile is capable of causing:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An 8.8 quake hit Chile early this morning (February 27, 2010). Will the damage and loss of life be similar to May 22, 1960 when the largest earthquake ever recorded (9.5 magnitude) hit the same area?

AP early this morning: A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and half and setting off a tsunami. . . . The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jonathan Rauch on the Contemporary GOP: “Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller got into an argument and George Wallace won”

Jonathan Rauch today posted a seminal analysis of the GOP in the light of George Wallace. A taste: Goldwater served for 30 years as a respected insider in Washington’s most exclusive club, the U.S. Senate; he was never interested in cultural and social … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) on Hell Belief and Critical Thinking

In John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography  is a brilliant reflection on hell belief: he argues that belief in hell is made paradoxically both strong and weak by an across the board system failure in critical thinking. Here are the two critical thinking errors that Mill … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment