Chuck Klosterman: How an obscure junior college basketball game in North Dakota made history – Grantland “[S]omething crazy happened in this particular game. In this particular game, a team won with only three players on the floor. And this was not a “metaphorical” victory or a “moral” victory: They literally won the game, 84-81, finishing… Continue reading Links for 2011-06-10
Month: June 2011
Thursday Toddler Blogging 060911
SteelyKid is in an intermittently shy phase right at the moment. Sometimes, she’s really outgoing and shamelessly mugs for the camera, other times, well… Of course, two minutes after hiding behind Appa and insisting that I not take pictures of her, she marched over and demanded to see the pictures on the camera. We’ve had… Continue reading Thursday Toddler Blogging 060911
Child of Scientist-Approved Beach Reading
While it is not yet officially summer, according to astronomers and horologists, it was approximately the temperature of the Sun here in Niskayuna yesterday, so de facto summer has begun. Accordingly, we have acquired a pool: Of course, one of the main things you do with a pool is to sit next to it and… Continue reading Child of Scientist-Approved Beach Reading
Undergraduate Institutions at DAMOP Reception
One of the many things I’ve been occupied with the last few weeks has been arranging a reception at next week’s Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (DAMOP) meeting. I was late in asking about the possibilities for this, so it won’t make it to the printed program, which means I need to advertise… Continue reading Undergraduate Institutions at DAMOP Reception
Another Reason Why I’ve Been Preoccupied Lately
Practice Matters: “The effect of curriculum on Force Concept Inventory performance: A five thousand student study”
A few years ago, we switched to the Matter & Interactions curriculum for our introductory classes. This has not been without its hiccups, among them the fact that there has been a small decline in the conceptual learning gains measured by the Force Concept Inventory, the oldest and most widely used of the conceptual tests… Continue reading Practice Matters: “The effect of curriculum on Force Concept Inventory performance: A five thousand student study”
Links for 2011-06-08
What is morally off-limits in pop culture? | Music | The Big Questions | The A.V. Club “What I can’t relate to as I read the defenses written by Powers and Barthel is the implicit denial that anything might offend them. This is where the argument that morality always should (or can) be kept separate… Continue reading Links for 2011-06-08
Commanding the Power of Thor…ium: “Wigner Crystals of 229Th for Optical Excitation of the Nuclear Isomer”
I have to admit, I’m writing this one up partly because it lets me use the title reference. It’s a cool little paper, though, demonstrating the lengths that physicists will go to in pursuit of precision measurements. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see that dorky post title, and ask what this is about.… Continue reading Commanding the Power of Thor…ium: “Wigner Crystals of 229Th for Optical Excitation of the Nuclear Isomer”
The Central Conundrum of Physics Education
Over at Dynamics of Cats, chief herding theorist Steinn has a post on what we know about how to teach physics: To teach physics well, you provide an intensive, mathematically rigorous in-sequence series of classes. You need at least two different parallel classes per term, each class a prerequisite for the succeeding class and coordinated… Continue reading The Central Conundrum of Physics Education
Links for 2011-06-07
Career Advice: Advice for Grad Students – Inside Higher Ed “Some of the greatest catastrophes in graduate education could have been avoided by a little intelligent foresight. Be cynical. Assume that your proposed research might not work, and that one of your faculty advisers might become unsupportive — or even hostile. Plan for alternatives.” (tags:… Continue reading Links for 2011-06-07