Why hasn’t the war against terrorism produced any great First Amendment cases? – By Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine “There seems to be no one answer to why there hasn’t been a single important First Amendment protest case in the last decade. It’s certainly not that the court is reluctant to rule on First Amendment… Continue reading Links for 2010-11-27
Author: Chad Orzel
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, Black Friday Edition
Today is “Black Friday,” the semi-ironic name given to the day after Thanksgiving when major retailers roll out Incredible! Deals! to draw shoppers in at an ungodly early hour. Personally, I don’t plan to come within a mile of a mall today, but if that’s what floats your boat… Of course, if you’re thinking of… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, Black Friday Edition
Short Story Club Wrap-Up
The first rule of Short Story Club is that you must talk about Short Story Club… So, the Short Story Club run by Niall Harrison over at Torque Control is finished, and Niall’s asking for concluding thoughts. I meant to write this up last night, but SteelyKid had a major meltdown just before bedtime, so… Continue reading Short Story Club Wrap-Up
Links for 2010-11-26
Gender gap in physics exams reduced by simple writing exercises, says CU-Boulder study “Women are underrepresented and on average perform more poorly than men in introductory physics. But a recent study finds that this gap arises predominantly from differential preparation prior to college and psychological factors, rather than differences in ability. And the effects of… Continue reading Links for 2010-11-26
Thankful Toddler Blogging 112510
Today is Thanksgiving, and while we’re not doing the full glutton thing until Saturday (it’s more convenient for family members to travel up here then), it’s still a good time to reflect on the things we’re thankful for. Right at the top of the list, of course, is SteelyKid, who is bright, curious, generally cheerful,… Continue reading Thankful Toddler Blogging 112510
Dorky Poll: Gratitude
It’s Thanksgiving here in the US, so blogging will be light to nonexistent. For the sake of those looking for a quick escape from the chaos of a family gathering, or, you know, those poor benighted souls in other countries for whom this is just another Thursday, here’s a thematically appropriate poll about science: What… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Gratitude
Links for 2010-11-25
Surviving the World – Lesson 811 – Thanksgiving Parenting “Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to evaluate how well you have done as a parent…” (tags: comics internet silly holiday) John Scalzi – Saying Thanksgiving Grace, the Science-fictional Way – Filmcritic.com Feature “We also thank you for once again not allowing our technology to… Continue reading Links for 2010-11-25
Seeing Exoplanets Sideways
Given that I’m currently working on a book about relativity, I’m spending a lot of time idly thinking about various relativistic effects. Many of these won’t end up in the final book, but they’re fun to think about. One thing that occurred to be earlier, while thinking about something else entirely, is the Doppler shift.… Continue reading Seeing Exoplanets Sideways
Links for 2010-11-24
From the Editor’s Desk: Quantifying Outreach to the Cult of Science | Deep Sea News “Science needs a reality check too. It has tried to exist in an academic vacuum for much of its existence. The OCD nature science needs behavioral therapy, to be forced to confront its discomfort of engaging with non-scientists. Science also… Continue reading Links for 2010-11-24
The Problem of the Humanities
I’ve probably gotten a dozen pointers to Gregory Petsko’s open letter in support of the humanities, addressed to the President of SUNY-Albany, over the last couple of weeks (the link is to a reposting of the letter at Inside Higher Ed; it was originally on Petsko’s own blog). I haven’t linked to it or commented… Continue reading The Problem of the Humanities