Barry Evans

“Lowell always said that the regularity of the [Martian] canals was an unmistakable sign that they were of intelligent origin. The only unresolved question was which side of the telescope the intelligence was on.”— Carl Sagan, Cosmos “Canals on the Planet Mars,” read the headline of The Times of London of April 13, 1882, in […]

In an ironic turn of history, two of Charles Darwin’s most ardent supporters ended up disagreeing with him. The first was Robert FitzRoy, captain of the HMS Beagle and Darwin’s senior by four years, with whom Darwin had a great relationship during the sloop’s 1831-1836 round-the-world voyage of exploration. At the time, both men hewed […]

We have a friend who is a very good writer, and she suggested that I might write about some of the folks who have influenced me.

I thought that I would begin this Muse by reflecting on a long-time problem which sometimes can have some unanticipated effects – and it is all due to manufacturers.

Although I wrote about this topic quite recently (“Why Two Sexes?” Feb. 15, 2024), I’m revisiting it due to increasing interest — and confusion — around gender politics. While one’s gender can be as fluid as our culture is diverse, biological sex isn’t. Eukaryotes like us are born male or female, depending on the size […]

Columnist Barry Evans reflects on some big days in his life - including his 70th anniversary.

The Old ‘Rope around the Equator” Puzzle You tie a rope tightly around the Earth’s equator then add three feet to its length and raise it evenly as high as possible. Can a cat now get under the rope?

Columnist Barry Evans remembers some vintage automobiles that were in his life.

“[On early Earth] you need to have gone from simple to complex chemistry before jumping to biology, but we don’t know all the steps. Titan allows us to uncover some of them.”— Zibi Turtle, Dragonfly principal investigator “A bizarre Earth” is how one investigator describes icy Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and the target of NASA’s most […]

Based on some feedback, I will continue to discuss cars that I have had. I mentioned that we bought our first new car, which was a 1959 Rambler American with a Continental tire kit on the back.