Trivia of the day

94 percent of university professors (in US) believe that they are in the top half of their profession. In general, there appears to be a strong tendency to delude oneself towards the positive.

Nuclear landscape

I have been pleased to note that many thoughtful people worried about environment and climate change have changed their opinions about nuclear energy. In my mind the opposition to nuclear energy has always appeared poorly argued and, when placed in the wider context, actively harmful. I probably share this point of view with most of my colleaques. My favorite Guardian columnist George Monbiot is the most recent “convert” and the finnish green politician Osmo Soininvaara is cautiously positive as well. However, I am still amazed at how slowly this shift has been happening. It is not that there has been any fundamental change in the available information. It is only a question of looking at things openly, rather than selectively looking for things which enable one NOT to change opinions.