William G. Pullin
@williamgpullin.bsky.social
Critic, Iconoclast, Anti-Theist, Anti-Authoritarian, Skeptical Blogger on the Natural Sciences & the UFO Problem
"The universe is what it is and can’t be changed by jiggery-pokery. It works by exact rules, like a machine. Natural law never takes a holiday. The invariability of natural law is the cornerstone of science."
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) #Science #PhysicalLaws #RobertHeinlein
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) #Science #PhysicalLaws #RobertHeinlein
February 11, 2026 at 12:23 PM
"The universe is what it is and can’t be changed by jiggery-pokery. It works by exact rules, like a machine. Natural law never takes a holiday. The invariability of natural law is the cornerstone of science."
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) #Science #PhysicalLaws #RobertHeinlein
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) #Science #PhysicalLaws #RobertHeinlein
"The successful development of science requires a proper balance to be maintained between the method of building up from observations and the method of deducing by pure reasoning from speculative assumptions."
Paul Dirac Ph.D. (1902-1984) #Science #Observation #PaulDirac
Paul Dirac Ph.D. (1902-1984) #Science #Observation #PaulDirac
February 11, 2026 at 12:44 AM
"The successful development of science requires a proper balance to be maintained between the method of building up from observations and the method of deducing by pure reasoning from speculative assumptions."
Paul Dirac Ph.D. (1902-1984) #Science #Observation #PaulDirac
Paul Dirac Ph.D. (1902-1984) #Science #Observation #PaulDirac
"The public has a distorted view of science because children are taught in school that science is a collection of firmly established truths. In fact, science is not a collection of truths. It is a continuing exploration of mysteries."
Freeman Dyson BA. (1923-2020) #Science #FreemanDyson
Freeman Dyson BA. (1923-2020) #Science #FreemanDyson
February 8, 2026 at 12:21 PM
"The public has a distorted view of science because children are taught in school that science is a collection of firmly established truths. In fact, science is not a collection of truths. It is a continuing exploration of mysteries."
Freeman Dyson BA. (1923-2020) #Science #FreemanDyson
Freeman Dyson BA. (1923-2020) #Science #FreemanDyson
"The noble title of 'dissident' must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Letters to a Young Contrarian," published in 2001. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Letters to a Young Contrarian," published in 2001. #ChristopherHitchens
February 8, 2026 at 2:53 AM
"The noble title of 'dissident' must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Letters to a Young Contrarian," published in 2001. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Letters to a Young Contrarian," published in 2001. #ChristopherHitchens
"Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one."
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) #Reading #Libraries #Bookstores #Knowledge #ArthurCClarke
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) #Reading #Libraries #Bookstores #Knowledge #ArthurCClarke
February 7, 2026 at 8:48 PM
"Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one."
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) #Reading #Libraries #Bookstores #Knowledge #ArthurCClarke
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) #Reading #Libraries #Bookstores #Knowledge #ArthurCClarke
"Fossils are like pieces of a complex puzzle, and we have to put them together to understand the whole picture."
Mary Leakey FBA (1913-1996) #Science #Fossils #MaryLeakey
Mary Leakey FBA (1913-1996) #Science #Fossils #MaryLeakey
February 6, 2026 at 11:10 PM
"Fossils are like pieces of a complex puzzle, and we have to put them together to understand the whole picture."
Mary Leakey FBA (1913-1996) #Science #Fossils #MaryLeakey
Mary Leakey FBA (1913-1996) #Science #Fossils #MaryLeakey
"The history of life is a tale of decimation and later stabilization of few surviving anatomies, not a story of steady expansion and progress."
Stephen Jay Gould Ph.D. (1941-2002) #Science #Evolution #Extinction #StephenJayGould
Stephen Jay Gould Ph.D. (1941-2002) #Science #Evolution #Extinction #StephenJayGould
February 6, 2026 at 4:56 AM
"The history of life is a tale of decimation and later stabilization of few surviving anatomies, not a story of steady expansion and progress."
Stephen Jay Gould Ph.D. (1941-2002) #Science #Evolution #Extinction #StephenJayGould
Stephen Jay Gould Ph.D. (1941-2002) #Science #Evolution #Extinction #StephenJayGould
"Put your trust in evidence, skepticism, and reason instead of those who claim to know the unknowable."
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #Evidence #Skepticism #CriticalThinking #ChristopherHitchens
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #Evidence #Skepticism #CriticalThinking #ChristopherHitchens
February 4, 2026 at 12:42 PM
"Put your trust in evidence, skepticism, and reason instead of those who claim to know the unknowable."
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #Evidence #Skepticism #CriticalThinking #ChristopherHitchens
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #Evidence #Skepticism #CriticalThinking #ChristopherHitchens
The iconic fossilized specimen of Archaeopteryx siemensii, on display at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. The species existed during the Late Jurassic, between 150.8 and 148.5 million years ago. #Science #Paleontology #Archaeopteryx
February 3, 2026 at 5:20 PM
The iconic fossilized specimen of Archaeopteryx siemensii, on display at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. The species existed during the Late Jurassic, between 150.8 and 148.5 million years ago. #Science #Paleontology #Archaeopteryx
"When people have tried everything and have discovered that nothing works, they will tend to revert to what they know best, which will often be the tribe, the totem, or the taboo."
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #ChristopherHitchens
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #ChristopherHitchens
February 2, 2026 at 11:18 PM
"When people have tried everything and have discovered that nothing works, they will tend to revert to what they know best, which will often be the tribe, the totem, or the taboo."
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #ChristopherHitchens
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) #ChristopherHitchens
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
Noam Chomsky Ph.D. #NoamChomsky #freedomofspeech
Noam Chomsky Ph.D. #NoamChomsky #freedomofspeech
February 2, 2026 at 12:23 PM
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
Noam Chomsky Ph.D. #NoamChomsky #freedomofspeech
Noam Chomsky Ph.D. #NoamChomsky #freedomofspeech
"Something was recovered near Roswell, and the military and the government no longer wanted people talking about flying saucers. They wanted the problem buried and began to work toward that end."
Quote from 2016's "Roswell in the 21st Century," written by Kevin D. Randle. #ufos #RoswellNewMexico
Quote from 2016's "Roswell in the 21st Century," written by Kevin D. Randle. #ufos #RoswellNewMexico
February 2, 2026 at 5:11 AM
"Something was recovered near Roswell, and the military and the government no longer wanted people talking about flying saucers. They wanted the problem buried and began to work toward that end."
Quote from 2016's "Roswell in the 21st Century," written by Kevin D. Randle. #ufos #RoswellNewMexico
Quote from 2016's "Roswell in the 21st Century," written by Kevin D. Randle. #ufos #RoswellNewMexico
"I'm one of the few women in science. I have pioneered that. One of the things I worry about is what that pioneering has done to me. I have had to fight quite hard most of the way through life."
Jocelyn Bell Burnell Ph.D.#science #astronomy #JocelynBellBurnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell Ph.D.#science #astronomy #JocelynBellBurnell
February 2, 2026 at 4:54 AM
"I'm one of the few women in science. I have pioneered that. One of the things I worry about is what that pioneering has done to me. I have had to fight quite hard most of the way through life."
Jocelyn Bell Burnell Ph.D.#science #astronomy #JocelynBellBurnell
Jocelyn Bell Burnell Ph.D.#science #astronomy #JocelynBellBurnell
"Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think."
Werner Heisenberg Ph.D. (1901-1976) #science #quantummechanics #WernerHeisenberg
Werner Heisenberg Ph.D. (1901-1976) #science #quantummechanics #WernerHeisenberg
February 1, 2026 at 3:06 AM
"Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think."
Werner Heisenberg Ph.D. (1901-1976) #science #quantummechanics #WernerHeisenberg
Werner Heisenberg Ph.D. (1901-1976) #science #quantummechanics #WernerHeisenberg
"It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract."
Alan Shepard MA, Rear Admiral USN (1923-1998) #NASA #AlanShepard #spaceexploration
Alan Shepard MA, Rear Admiral USN (1923-1998) #NASA #AlanShepard #spaceexploration
February 1, 2026 at 12:01 AM
"It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract."
Alan Shepard MA, Rear Admiral USN (1923-1998) #NASA #AlanShepard #spaceexploration
Alan Shepard MA, Rear Admiral USN (1923-1998) #NASA #AlanShepard #spaceexploration
"Nonintervention does not mean that nothing happens. It means that something else happens."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "The Quotable Hitchens from Alcohol to Zionism: The Very Best of Christopher Hitchens," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "The Quotable Hitchens from Alcohol to Zionism: The Very Best of Christopher Hitchens," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
January 31, 2026 at 11:49 PM
"Nonintervention does not mean that nothing happens. It means that something else happens."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "The Quotable Hitchens from Alcohol to Zionism: The Very Best of Christopher Hitchens," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "The Quotable Hitchens from Alcohol to Zionism: The Very Best of Christopher Hitchens," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
"I was an embarrassment to the department when they did research assessment exercises. A message would go round the department: 'Please give a list of your recent publications.' And I would send back a statement: 'None.'"
Peter Higgs Ph.D. (1929-2024) #science #HiggsBoson #PeterHiggs #NobelPrize
Peter Higgs Ph.D. (1929-2024) #science #HiggsBoson #PeterHiggs #NobelPrize
January 31, 2026 at 11:49 PM
"I was an embarrassment to the department when they did research assessment exercises. A message would go round the department: 'Please give a list of your recent publications.' And I would send back a statement: 'None.'"
Peter Higgs Ph.D. (1929-2024) #science #HiggsBoson #PeterHiggs #NobelPrize
Peter Higgs Ph.D. (1929-2024) #science #HiggsBoson #PeterHiggs #NobelPrize
"The observer's role is much more vital if UFOs are not alien spacecraft, for if they were spacecraft, we might expect that eventually they would seek formal contact with our civilization and then the mystery would be quickly solved."
Philip J. Klass (1919-2005) #ufos #ufosighting
Philip J. Klass (1919-2005) #ufos #ufosighting
January 31, 2026 at 12:31 AM
"The observer's role is much more vital if UFOs are not alien spacecraft, for if they were spacecraft, we might expect that eventually they would seek formal contact with our civilization and then the mystery would be quickly solved."
Philip J. Klass (1919-2005) #ufos #ufosighting
Philip J. Klass (1919-2005) #ufos #ufosighting
"I believe that these extra-terrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth."
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) #ufos #GordonCooper
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) #ufos #GordonCooper
January 28, 2026 at 5:57 PM
"I believe that these extra-terrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth."
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) #ufos #GordonCooper
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) #ufos #GordonCooper
"The people who must never have power are the humorless. To impossible certainties of rectitude they ally tedium and uniformity."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Arguably: Selected Essays," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Arguably: Selected Essays," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
January 28, 2026 at 6:02 AM
"The people who must never have power are the humorless. To impossible certainties of rectitude they ally tedium and uniformity."
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Arguably: Selected Essays," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
Quote from Christopher Hitchens' "Arguably: Selected Essays," published in 2011. #ChristopherHitchens
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."
Rachel Carson MS. (1907-1964) #biology #conservation
Rachel Carson MS. (1907-1964) #biology #conservation
January 27, 2026 at 2:52 PM
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."
Rachel Carson MS. (1907-1964) #biology #conservation
Rachel Carson MS. (1907-1964) #biology #conservation