On the primacy of doubt in an age of illusory certainty

While reading the news, TPP noted that it is rumored that the President will appoint a non-scientist, someone wholly without scientific credentials to be under secretary of the dept. of agriculture and in charge of a great deal of research.  Nothing good ever comes of such appointments.  The title above comes from a blog recently posted by a fellow Field of Science Blogger at the Curious Wavefunction and for a short time it probably appears at the top of this page.
Many people fail to understand science: some thinking  it's just a body of knowledge with no notion that science is really a way of knowing where being skeptical is a useful and necessary attitude.  TPP studies, when time and money allow, rainforest trees, and he well remembers a Lincolnland legislator wonder aloud what good that did the other citizens of our state. Of course, there's the interconnectedness of nature, which tends to pay very little attention to our semi-arbitrary political boundaries. Basically this was interesting research, poking into the unknown, satisfying a primal urge to explore and exercise a curiosity, and that kept you going, kept you at a difficult pursuit, and it grabbed the attention and stimulated a certain number of students to learn science the only way it can be taught, by doing science, and that is what TPP was hired to do. Not "train students for the workforce of Lincolnland", a dreary prospect of a goal for a university.  Not educate, but train. Sit. Speak. Roll over.  So pop over and give Ash's blog a read. 

Spooky place or over-hyped? Duh!

Officially TPP has never ever watched any of the ghost-hunter shows that appear here and there. It's so obvious that they are made up spookiness, and having lived in a old houses most of his life, TPP knows that they have a voices they make noises, but it isn't ghosts. TPP woke up last night to some weird noises and it was 3:30 AM on a cold night, and no cats were on the bed (a clue). An investigation found the mouseketeers, both kitty-girls, playing catch the mouse (the 4th in 2 weeks suggests an open "door" somewhere).  After removing the primary game piece, peace returned. But never did the thought occur that this was spooky (although the cats are black). Here a link to one of those Atlas Obscura entries that TPP happens to be familiar with, the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, a long abandoned orphanage. Sailors here in the upper Midwest?  Never understood that part. What they say about the one remaining empty building is only partly true. Friends live in one rehabbed building and Mrs. Phactor has her business office in another as does a neighbor. Anything spooky?  Anything other than normal, i.e., paranormal? Nah! So definitely over-hyped as a spooky place. As if you had any doubts. These types of things as entertainment should be approached with you skepticism in full on mode. TPP was chided once for being so negative. Skeptical is negative, sorry no, the opposite of skeptical is gullible, not positive. It's always funny that none of this ooooo spooky type stuff ever happens to those of us who might be credible observers.

Skepticism justified

Yes, biologists are confirmed skeptics, meaning that we like to be really convinced, and the 800 year old squash seed story seemed just too good to be completely true.  Turns out to be somewhat more mundane of a story, but common enough for many varieties of food plants.