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… Continue reading The Myth of the Abrasive Genius
Author: Chad Orzel
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… Continue reading links for 2009-06-21
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… Continue reading Spencer Quinn, Dog On It [Library of Babel]
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… Continue reading links for 2009-06-20
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… Continue reading What Is Your Musical Background?
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,… Continue reading Answers Matter More than Questions
The Dark Art of Blurbing
Tom Levenson’s series about the writing of his Newton and the Counterfeiter continues with a piece on the getting of blurbs for the cover: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Amazon, Powells, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound) is by far my best-blurbed book, boasting enthusiastic and generous praise from a very diverse crew of luminaries — (David Bodanis,… Continue reading The Dark Art of Blurbing
links for 2009-06-19
DNA Evidence Frees Man From Zoo | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source "Shortly after the findings were revealed, Phoenix Zoo staff tranquilized, crated, and transported Panovich by helicopter to his Mesa, AZ home, where he was released into his front yard and reintroduced to his mate and two young." (tags: onion silly animals)… Continue reading links for 2009-06-19
Thursday Baby Blogging, Daddy’s Birthday Edition
Another arbitrary numerical signifier for Daddy! Yay! Not the best Appa-for-scale picture, so here’s one from earlier this morning:
So, About This “Twitter” Thing…
If I were to start using Twitter, what’s the best way to go about that? That is, what interface to the service makes it the least annoying to use? It would be a nice bonus if the package in question could handle multiple accounts, too. I will probably sign up as myself to try things… Continue reading So, About This “Twitter” Thing…