EurekAlert had a press release yesterday titled Quantum paradox directly observed — a milestone in quantum mechanics, which sounds like it ought to be great. The actual release, though…. For one thing, the description of the actual experiment is so vague as to be completely useless. It’s not easy to quote without copying the whole… Continue reading How Not to Write a Press Release
Author: Chad Orzel
links for 2009-03-05
The Verne Gun â KarlSchroeder.com "I call it the Verne gun because frankly, a name like THE ATOMIC CANNON would just not go over well in certain circles. In any case, the principle is the same as Verne’s original idea, but using modern technology: you set off a nuclear charge underground where the blast, heat,… Continue reading links for 2009-03-05
“Global Warming: Facts and Myths (an All That Jazz)” On the Web
A couple of weeks ago, I moderated a global warming panel at Boskone. The panel was recorded by Richard Amirault, who has now posted the video on his Boston fandom website (Episode 41, if it moves off the front page before you click that link). I haven’t watched the video, but I listened to the… Continue reading “Global Warming: Facts and Myths (an All That Jazz)” On the Web
Best and Worst Interview Questions
I spent a few hours Sunday afternoon interviewing students for positions in the Minerva House program, a student life initiative that I’m involved with. The interviews were don by a panel– me and four students– and we tried to mix in a few oddball interview questions with the serious stuff. The most successful of these… Continue reading Best and Worst Interview Questions
How Do You Teach Critical Thinking?
I went to a panel discussion yesterday on teaching critical thinking skills. It was more of a panel presentation than a panel discussion– the panelist-to-allotted-time ratio was too high to allow much discussion– but it was interesting to see how different disciplines approach the task of teaching students to think critically, and support arguments with… Continue reading How Do You Teach Critical Thinking?
links for 2009-03-04
Science in the open » What is the cost of peer review? Can we afford (not to have) high impact journals? "I believe in post-publication peer review because it reduces the costs and time wasted in bringing work to community view and because it makes the filtering and quality assurance of that published work continuous… Continue reading links for 2009-03-04
Overbye on Kepler
Having complained about the lack of recognition for good physical science writing recently, it would be bad form for me not to note Dennis Overbye’s story about the Kepler spacecraft in today’s New York Times: Presently perched on a Delta 2 rocket at Cape Canaveral is a one-ton spacecraft called Kepler. If all goes well,… Continue reading Overbye on Kepler
Why “Clean Coal” Matters
Back before things went pear-shaped this weekend, Jonathan Zasloff had a good post about why “clean coal” is important: I think it’s terrific that the Coen Brothers are making funny, effective ads against relying on “clean coal” as part of the US energy program. But I worry that the clean energy community is really missing… Continue reading Why “Clean Coal” Matters
links for 2009-03-03
Foodie Politics | The American Prospect "Good food — the sort Waters features at her restaurant — is considered a luxury of the rich rather than a social justice issue. As Waters frequently argues, no one is worse served by our current food policy than a low-income family using food stamps to purchase rotted produce… Continue reading links for 2009-03-03
links for 2009-03-02
The Neon Season – Why I Would Not Have Greenlit Dollhouse "Last night I watched an episode of a show I had been avoiding due to issues I had with the premise, despite the creator having written some of my favorite TV shows. It had every single problem I would have expected it to have… Continue reading links for 2009-03-02