Author Archives: William Hooke

The recent NASEM report on geoengineering prompted some discussion yesterday on our daily AMS Policy Program call. One of my office mates made a couple of observations: Re “geo-engineering-has-always-been-with-us:” Bill, if that’s true, then in addition to looking at solar … Continue reading →

“The U.S. solar geoengineering research program should be all about helping society make more informed decisions.” – Christopher Field Reflection is a uniquely human trait, or nearly so; some might say it is one of our species’ best and most … Continue reading →

“Leaders spend 80% of their time on problems, and 20% of their time on opportunities. They should reverse that ratio.” [1] The Pareto principle (or more informally, “the 80-20 rule”) has been around for a long time, though not always … Continue reading →

Omwana takulila nju emoi – Lunyoro/Bunyoro proverb[1] The February 27th edition of The Economist carried a short article entitled “Covid-19: How British science came to the rescue.” The piece acknowledges Britain’s belated scientific and political response at the pandemic’s onset, … Continue reading →

A week or so ago, had the pleasure to be interviewed as part of a survey conducted by Ioanna Cionea, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma. At the session’s end, when I discovered that professor Cionea did research … Continue reading →

Want to make any scientist you know feel shame and guilt? Ask them about some journal publication or book bearing on their research that they should have read, but haven’t. Scientists are brought up from their earliest experience to know … Continue reading →

Got up early enough this morning (at that time those in the military refer to as “oh-dark hundred”) to collect a daily bit of meteorological data. Here to report: The sun rose in the east. Looks as if we’re headed … Continue reading →

What on earth, or who on earth, are kith? Merriam Webster’s website tells us this: Kith has had many meanings over the years. In its earliest uses it referred to knowledge of something, but that meaning died out in the 1400s. … Continue reading →

“The economy, stupid.” – James Carville. In 1992, James Carville, then a strategist in Bill Clinton’s successful run for the White House that year, coined a pithy catechism for the campaign, to keep the candidate and the workers on message. … Continue reading →

The previous LOTRW post compared innovation to a tractor pull; throughout history, each increment of innovation is made a bit more challenging by the growing accumulation of prior progress that must be accommodated and pulled along. Fortunately, not all innovation … Continue reading →