Vaguely philosophical

Speculation somewhere between funny and strange and sometimes bordering on profound. The information in these posts is serious, but the presentation is m ore relaxed. more literary than scientific.

Un succès mondial qui dure: l’école prussienne

  L’école primaire obligatoire telle que nous la connaissons s’est mise en place petit à… read more

Published on 03/25/2016

Updated on 08/14/2022

Troubles du Déficit de l’Attention: les chasseurs sont parmi nous

Les TDAH, Troubles du Déficit de l’Attention (avec ou sans hyperactivité, aussi ATDH) sont en… read more

Published on 03/14/2016

Updated on 08/14/2022

Why are US presidents taller than ordinary Americans?

Many websites, including Wikipedia, compare the height of US presidents with their main contenders and… read more

Published on 09/27/2015

Updated on 08/14/2022

The three rules of crop yield forecasting

When they have been in a business long enough, “experts” often develop a gusto for the more… read more

Published on 07/27/2014

Updated on 08/14/2022

Statistical Vs. agronomic significance in crop monitoring and forecasting

We all develop rules of thumb that help us make operational decisions. One of my… read more

Published on 03/31/2014

Updated on 06/15/2022

The return of the overbite

By Anna-Giulia, Eric, Jacques and Wergosum [First published on 20130217; updated 20130328] The idea for… read more

Published on 02/17/2013

Updated on 06/15/2022

Mixing time series and cross-sectional data

As I was updating a couple of things in another corner of this blog,  I… read more

Published on 01/20/2013

Updated on 06/15/2022

The risky business of forecasting

Forecasting the future is a difficult task, as there are many more ways to be… read more

Published on 10/30/2012

Updated on 06/15/2022

What, if anything, happened during the Neolithic?

First published 20121020 / Last updated 20121028 Bread is one of the most typical products… read more

Published on 10/20/2012

Updated on 06/15/2022

God(s) explained, somehow!

(Published 20100908 / Last updated 20121019) — As a student, I read  an article by… read more

Published on 10/10/2012

Updated on 06/15/2022

The cost of hunger and malnutrition

Malnutrition remains the world’s most serious health problem and the single biggest contributor to child… read more

Published on 07/17/2012

Updated on 06/15/2022

Naming the invisible

Published 20091223/Last updated 20131218 with the quote from Stefan Zweig under “additional information.” … as… read more

Published on 03/15/2012

Updated on 06/15/2022

News from the future

Version française, cliquez ici. After “The risky business of forecasting“, which focused on  natural disasters,… read more

Published on 11/21/2011

Updated on 06/15/2022

Driven into the mountains…

While writing the post on mountain climate(s), I wanted to provide examples for the severity… read more

Published on 11/15/2011

Updated on 06/15/2022

Are all EC and UN languages really needed

An estimate of the percentage of the world population that speaks a UN language, either as a native or a second language. Based on this link.

While writing the “fun” post below on Eurobabel, I collected some data on the actual… read more

Published on 10/15/2011

Updated on 06/15/2022

Climate-crop impacts: some data issues

1. Introduction (*) Crop-climate interactions are of relevance for a number of applications, in food… read more

Published on 05/13/2010

Updated on 06/15/2022

Exegesis of a scary and – therefore – often quoted passage from the second book of AR4 (II AR4, 9.4.4)

Updated 20111007 This post explains how a vague and unsubstantiated statement in a non-peer reviewed… read more

Published on 02/05/2010

Updated on 06/15/2022

How difficult it is to be a climatologist…

Just  before COP-15 took place in Copenhagen in December 2009, unknow people broke into the… read more

Published on 12/10/2009

Updated on 06/15/2022

Tout Service chez nous et disponible

J’ai recu par email, il y a déjà quelque temps, cette publicité du “mage” marocain… read more

Published on 05/24/2009

Updated on 08/14/2022