Robert Webb, Author at New ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Science news and science articles from New ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Sat, 21 Dec 1996 00:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 242057827 Review : Are you sitting safely? /article/1842005-review-are-you-sitting-safely/?utm_campaign=RSS|NSNS&utm_content=currents&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=NSNS Sat, 21 Dec 1996 00:00:00 +0000 http://mg15220617.900 WRITING about health and houses provides a perfect opportunity to explore the
overlap between social and environmental issues, technology and architecture.
But Sydney and Joan Baggs show no interest in architecture and are dismissive
about science. They prefer to rely on what they call
“parascience”—activities such as dowsing, which they acknowledge are
“subjective and difficult to measure”, and “protoscience”, a term they use to
refer to “primal or ancient knowledge”.

The Healthy House (Thames & Hudson, ÂŁ19.95, ISBN 0 500
27920 9) is the latest in a “natural house” publishing outbreak that appeals
more to the imagination than the intellect. Illustrated with colour photographs
of private houses in open countryside, and with a whole chapter on “choosing a
healthy location”, it appears to be aimed at those wealthy enough to build their
own houses on greenfield sites. These are the last people in the world to need
advice on “healthy living”.

The book is a bizarre mix of subject matter. There is an idiot’s guide to the
Chinese art of Feng Shui and a discussion of the ideal form for a healthy house.
It’s a pyramid, in case you were wondering: “such a strong roof shape may not
appeal to everyone, though it is an ideal shape for generating a relaxing
atmosphere conducive to alpha and theta brain rhythms”. Non sequiturs and
generalisations litter the text, and its frequent references to termites will
not be of much use to European readers.

“Heal thyself—heal the planet” is the underlying message of The
Healthy House. But this simplistic approach is an active distraction from
the real challenges of achieving sustainability. It is a misdirection of
energy—away from rational understanding, towards simplistic emotional
response.

]]> 1842005 Offices that breathe naturally: The nests of Western Australia’s compass termites have given architects and engineers good ideas about how to keep offices at just the right temperature – naturally. Robert Webb reports /article/1832566-mg14219294-200/?utm_campaign=RSS|NSNS&utm_content=currents&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=NSNS Fri, 10 Jun 1994 23:00:00 +0000 http://mg14219294.200 1832566