Inside Higher Ed this morning has a story about a mock trial to be held at Northern Kentucky University: The trial centers around the termination of fictitious biology teacher Susan Scott (a traditionally trained evolution adherent), who according to her complaint, encouraged students to “explore creation theories.” Scott, who will be played by Simon Kenton […]
Month: October 2008
links for 2008-10-22
Introduction to the work energy theorem | Dot Physics "I think it is interesting to look at how most textbooks define energy: Energy is the ability to do work This is really a stupid definition. Kind of circular logic, if you ask me. " (tags: physics education science energy academia) Powell Endorses Obama | The […]
Questions for Chris Mooney?
Chris Mooney will be visiting Union tomorrow (I’m picking him up at the airport in a couple of hours). He’ll be speaking to a couple of classes and then giving a presentation about science and politics in the evening. If you have any questions that you’ve been dying to ask Chris, and haven’t been able […]
Cheaper Than Graduate Students
Lots of people talk about “Science 2.0” and “crowdsourcing” and the like. EurekAlert provides a story about taking it to the next level: Nalini Nadkarni of Evergreen State College currently advises a team of researchers who sport shaved heads, tattooed biceps and prison-issued garb rather than the lab coats and khakis typically worn by researchers. […]
SteelyKid Says…
“Donate to my dad’s DonorsChoose challenge, or I will pop you right in the mouth!” “Bang! Zoom! To the Moon!” You don’t want to mess with her– she’s fierce. So please give generously.
links for 2008-10-21
Physics – From atoms to molecules (and back) "Atoms colliding in a magnetic field can form weakly bound states called Feshbach molecules. These states have now been used in combination with advanced laser techniques to create tightly bound ground-state molecules close to quantum degeneracy." (tags: physics molecules atoms experiment science news low-temperature) The Cartoon Lounge: […]
A Word from Our Middle East Correspondant
Checking in from Cairo, Senior Uncertain Principles Middle East Correspondant Paul Schemm, with a wire story titled “Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast”: Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam […]
Meet the Babies
From this weekend’s visit home, a picture of my father and me, with our respective babies: You recognize SteelyKid, I hope. The fuzzy yellow guy is Bodie, my parents’ new Labrador Retriever puppy. Bodie is one day older than SteelyKid, and true to his Labrador breeding, he’s a born experimentalist, running around the house giving […]
Working for the Working Class Vote
the New York Times Magazine has a cover story this week about Barack Obama’s efforts to reach working-class voters. The headline writers did it no favors by tagging it “Will gun-toting, churchgoing white guys pull the lever for Obama?,” which makes it sound like the worst sort of demographic electoral college nonsense. The actual article, […]
links for 2008-10-20
Michael Nielsen » The most remarkable graph in the history of sport "It may not be obvious at first glance, but it’s a remarkable graph, even if you don’t give a fig about cricket" (tags: sports statistics) The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: On Being Skipped Notes from the sausage factory. (tags: books publishing […]