Posted inCan We Talk About This Please? Politics & Opinion

Berlin, December 20, 2016

It is now 4:00 p.m. on December 20, 2016—almost exactly 20 hours after the horrific act in which the perpetrator (or perpetrators) drove a truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, killing at least 12 people and injuring 48 others, many of them seriously. Whatever the exact motives behind this act may have been, the deed itself is abhorrent and despicable. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. And yet, if this does turn out to be a terrorist attack—as it sadly appears—then we must all take a step back and resist the all-too-human reaction of anger…
Nerdy Wedding Part 2: Photo Booth
Posted inOnline & Digital

Nerdy Wedding Part 2: Photo Booth

Since my wedding is now two years behind us—and this blog post has been waiting for completion ever since—it was about time! Especially because I’ve been asked several times how we did it. The theme once again is “Nerdy Wedding.” In part one, I wrote about the wedding website we built for our guests and family. This part is about our photobooth. A photobooth, as you can imagine, basically consists of a camera on a tripod. In our case: a Canon EOS DSLR. We didn’t use an external flash, though depending on the location it might make sense. For us, the built-in flash…
Posted inCan We Talk About This Please? Science Matters The Homeopathy Myth

Why I Don’t Believe in Homeopathy

Inspired by a recent discussion, I once again dove into the world of homeopathy. I’ve read a fair bit about it over the years, but every time I revisit the subject, I come across new articles, studies, and examples that make me think. I’ll be honest: I wasn’t sure how to start this piece. So, I’ll simply throw you into the ocean (or maybe just the puddle) of my thoughts and doubts. “But it helped me…” One of the most common things I hear when talking about homeopathy is the statement: “But it helped me!” People often present this as an irrefutable…
Posted inCan We Talk About This Please? Politics & Opinion

Sigmar Gabriel and the Middle Finger

Last Friday, Sigmar Gabriel gave a group of far-right hecklers the middle finger. They had been disrupting his campaign rally with shouts and placards. My first reaction was: “That’s not the right way to respond. A politician of his standing shouldn’t stoop to that level.” But then I asked myself—is that really true? Is a gesture like that ever justified? After thinking about it, I came to a different conclusion: yes, it can be justified—even for the chairman of the SPD. Emotion Versus Argument Of course, flipping the middle finger is no way to engage in political debate. Critics deserve to be answered with…