There once was a dog from Niskayuna… The previous post announced a photo caption contest for a chance to win an advance proof copy of my book, How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, six(-ish) months before it’s available for purchase. I thought I should include something for the less visually inclined, though, and I […]
Month: June 2009
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog Caption Contest
Today is six months to the day from the official release date of my book, How to Teach Physics to Your Dog. It feels like I ought to do something promotion-like to mark this date, and I have a couple of extra bound galley proofs (seen above with Emmy), sooo….. I hereby announce the first […]
Understanding and Enjoyment are Orthogonal
In a comment to Friday’s classical music post, Chris Evo recommended a TED talk by Benjamin Zander that has the goal of convincing his audience that they love classical music: If you’re not able or inclined to watch it, he goes through a Chopin piano piece in detail, and explains how it plays off our […]
links for 2009-06-22
Scientists and Kool-Aid § Unqualified Offerings "In my department weâll often produce documents that have lots of buzzwords, but nobody really takes it seriously. You can always get appreciative chuckles in a department meeting if you poke fun at your own handiwork. Higher on the food chain, they actually believe it." (tags: academia science culture […]
The Myth of the Abrasive Genius
Via Steve Hsu, a lengthy rant by Bruce Charlton about the dullness of modern scientists: Question: why are so many leading modern scientists so dull and lacking in scientific ambition? Answer: because the science selection process ruthlessly weeds-out interesting and imaginative people. At each level in education, training and career progression there is a tendency […]
links for 2009-06-21
Cocktail Party Physics: body heat "I am in Portland for the day, having dragged myself out of bed at an ungodly hour (4 AM) to catch my flight. (On the plus side, there is almost no traffic on LA freeways at that hour.) The reason: to visit the city’s Green Microgym founded by personal trainer […]
Spencer Quinn, Dog On It [Library of Babel]
It’s been a while since I did a straight-up booklog post here, but most of what I’ve been reading lately hasn’t really demanded one. I picked this up the other day after seeing a pile of them in the front of a Barnes & Noble, though, and it does deserve comment. Dog On It is […]
links for 2009-06-20
symmetry breaking » Blog Archive » The science of talking so people want to listen "Connecting science to everyday experiences in jargon free terms is key to science outreach, something Turner excels at doing. He shared his insights and tips from more than a decade worth of talks with scientists at Fermilabâs annual Usersâ Meeting […]
What Is Your Musical Background?
There’s an interesting discussion going on in a place I can’t link to, spinning off a comment to the NEA post from the other day: The point is that the amount of people who see value in or are trained to appreciate more esoteric, more difficult, less accessible music **may** have dropped. The basic idea […]
Answers Matter More than Questions
The smart-people blogosphere is all abuzz about questions from the French college entrance exams, with comments from Matt Yglesias, Dana Goldstein, and Kevin Drum, among others. The general tone of the commentary is summed up by Goldstein’s question: Could you ever imagine the SAT or ACT asking students to write an essay on such complex, […]