Scott Eric Kaufman draws my attention to the fact that the New York Times has posted its Notable Books for 2007 list. The list is divided into “Fiction & Poetry” and “Non-Fiction,” and Scott correctly notes that the “Fiction & Poetry” books all have terrible blurbs, but I’d like to point out a much larger… Continue reading Science Is Not Notable
Author: Chad Orzel
links for 2007-11-27
Alliance Announces 2nd Annual High School Essay Contest | Alliance For Science Write about evolution, win money (if you’re a high school student, anyway). (tags: science education biology politics) Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education – Inside Higher Ed :: Benefits for Pets, Not Partners A new low in contemptuous policies towards… Continue reading links for 2007-11-27
Bleg: Physics History
I distinctly recall reading a quote from somebody talking about the debates between Bohr and Einstein, in which Einstein invented ingenious thought experiments to measure two non-commuting observables (position and momentum, or energy and time) and Bohr poked holes in them. The comment was something along the lines of “Of course, Einstein was much smarter… Continue reading Bleg: Physics History
Turtles and Strings: Where Does Science Stop?
The infamous Davies op-ed has been collected together with some responses at edge.org, and one of the responses is by Sean Carroll, who reproduces his response at Cosmic Variance. Sean’s a smart guy, and I basically agree with his argument, but I’m a contrary sort, and want to nitpick one thing about his response. He… Continue reading Turtles and Strings: Where Does Science Stop?
How Do You Falsify Rationality?
I said I wasn’t going to write anything about the Paul Davies thing, but it’s been the hot topic for the last day or two, and I’ve found myself reading a bunch of the responses in blogdom. I basically agree with most of what various science bloggers have said, but being a contrary sort, I… Continue reading How Do You Falsify Rationality?
links for 2007-11-26
outside the (toy) box » Little Man. Watching My Son’s Socialization. or “Gender – it’s wicked constructed” Gender socialization through toys. (tags: gender society toys) Giro.org » The Big Scary Idea A modest proposal for bringing the SF magazines into the Century of the Fruitbat (tags: books SF) Looking for ‘Green’ Lights in the Suburbs… Continue reading links for 2007-11-26
Liquid Turkey
… or, Emmy’s Best Thanksgiving Ever! We did the traditional turkey-and-trimmings dinner Saturday with both sets of parents. Again, we brined the turkey overnight, following the Good Eats recipe, and other than a small glitch with the thermometer placement, everything went very well. The turkey was nicely roasted, moist, and juicy. And that’s where the… Continue reading Liquid Turkey
Been There, Done That
There are two things creating some buzz at the moment on ScienceBlogs that I don’t intend to write about because I’ve already commented on them. They’re oddly similar, too, though they’re being approached in different ways. One is this op-ed by Paul Davies, which is basically a shorter and more contentiously worded version of one… Continue reading Been There, Done That
The Magazine Experiment: Fantasy and Science Fiction October 2007
A couple of months ago, I embarked on an experiment to read some SF magazines, and see if I was really missing out on the wonderful stuff that people are always haranguing con-goers about. I bought paper copies of Analog‘s November issue and the October/ November Asimov’s, and commented on them here. I was unable… Continue reading The Magazine Experiment: Fantasy and Science Fiction October 2007
College Football Wackiness
LSU lost to Arkansas in “overtime” yesterday (scare quotes are because the college overtime system is bizarre), becoming the latest highly-ranked team to lose to an unranked opponent. This throws the BCS championship system into chaos for the Nth time this season– by the end of the weekend, at least three of the top ten… Continue reading College Football Wackiness