We took SteelyKid to the playground at one of the local elementary schools on Sunday morning. this one includes an odd sort of slide, made of dozens of rollers that are 1-2 inches in diameter (they’re all the same size– the range is just because I didn’t measure them carefully). They’re on really good bearings,… Continue reading Playground Physics: Roller Slide Mystery
Author: Chad Orzel
Links for 2011-07-11
Thoughts on Cheating « Cooperative Catalyst “Don’t tell teachers, “whatever it takes,” and then act surprised when they follow that advice to its logical extreme. Don’t tell the principal, “you’ll lose your job and we’ll shut down the school if it doesn’t make AYP,” and then act surprised when the leadership finds ways to cheat.… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-11
Great Moments in Deceptive Graphs
This morning, via Twitter, I ran across one of the most spectacular examples of deceptive data presentation that I’ve ever seen. The graph in question is reproduced in this blog post by Bryan Caplan, and comes from this econ paper about benefits of education. The plot looks like this: This is one panel clipped out… Continue reading Great Moments in Deceptive Graphs
Links for 2011-07-10
Lisa Bloom: How to Talk to Little Girls “”Maya,” I said, crouching down at her level, looking into her eyes, “very nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too,” she said, in that trained, polite, talking-to-adults good girl voice. “Hey, what are you reading?” I asked, a twinkle in my eyes. I love books.… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-10
Daniel Abraham and Bizarre Quirks of Publishing
A little while back, I bought The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham. Abraham is the author of the highly-regarded but not all that highly sold Long Price Quartet. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this, but I couldn’t get through the first book, for reasons that are entirely personal and no reflection on the… Continue reading Daniel Abraham and Bizarre Quirks of Publishing
Links for 2011-07-09
Ironic Effects of Anti-Prejudice Messages The authors conducted two experiments which looked at the effect of two different types of motivational intervention – a controlled form (telling people what they should do) and a more personal form (explaining why being non-prejudiced is enjoyable and personally valuable).In experiment one; participants were randomly assigned one of two… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-09
What’s So Interesting About Precision Measurement?
The final content area from my DAMOP overview is Precision Measurement. This is also the smallest area, with only one invited session on the topic on Fundamental Symmetry Tests, though two of the “Hot Topics” talks (by Zheng-Tian Lu and Ed Hinds) were precision measurement talks. You might be able to make an argument that… Continue reading What’s So Interesting About Precision Measurement?
At Least He’s Honest?
The topic sucking up all blogospheric oxygen at the moment is the great elevator incident. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can find lots of good summaries and explanations, including from Phil Plait and Josh Rosenau. The core of the story is that Rebecca Watson was propositioned in an elevator by a… Continue reading At Least He’s Honest?
Links for 2011-07-08
Evil and Riddles: The Grey King | Tor.com I don’t need to re-read this, really I don’t. And yet… (tags: books sf review blogs tor nostalgia literature) Cheryl’s Mewsings » Blog Archive » Anthologies: Some Data “On Saturday I mentioned that I had been sent some data about gender splits in anthologies. I have since… Continue reading Links for 2011-07-08
Thursday Firefighter Blogging 070711
This week’s Toddler Blogging is a cell-phone picture in slightly dim light, but it’s too cute not to use: This is particularly noteworthy because the fire truck was bought by Grandma and Grandpa last year, while the fire hat was bought by Grandma and Grandpa before they were grandparents. In 1974 or thereabouts, I would… Continue reading Thursday Firefighter Blogging 070711