As noted a little while ago, ScienceBlogs has recently redesigned the channel pages on the front page, and they now include images supplied by the bloggers. For example, the doomsday weapon photo that currently graces the Physical Science page is a picture of my lab. Now, any idiot can take pictures of cute fuzzy animals,… Continue reading Phyiscs Pictures Wanted
Author: Chad Orzel
Concerned About Science
The Union of Concerned Scientists emails me fairly regularly with news items and calls to action– one of the benefits of being a C-list blogger, I guess. This week’s is a “Call your Senator” item opposing Executive Order 13422: Government agencies need to use the best available science to protect our health–setting standards that limit… Continue reading Concerned About Science
links for 2007-10-20
Terra Sigillata : News Flash: Unathletic Kids Unpopular and Lonely Also, bad at sports. (tags: education silly sports) slacktivist: Gay-Hatin’ Gospel (pt. 2) Part two in Fred Clark’s series attempting to explain evangelical gay-bashing (tags: politics US religion) Optical Dilution and Feedback Cooling of a Gram-Scale Oscillator to 6.9 mK Blogged a while back, now… Continue reading links for 2007-10-20
Secrets of Academic Survival: The Secretary
I’m not going to explain exactly what prompted this, but I want to remind my readers of one of the absolute essential rules of life in academia: The most important person in any academic department is the secretary. Naive outsiders often think that the department chair is the most important person, or possibly the most… Continue reading Secrets of Academic Survival: The Secretary
Atheists Are Like a Series of Stupid Analogies
For those keeping score, the DonorsChoose Challenge stands at $3,262 right now. Only hours remain before this week’s incentive deadline, so act quickly: For another $290, I’ll stab myself with a fork. For another $540, I’ll read and respectfully review Richard Dawkins’s book, or some other atheist screed For another $2,737, you’ll get one blissful… Continue reading Atheists Are Like a Series of Stupid Analogies
DonorsChoose Payoff: Homework vs. Google
An anonymous donor cashes in a $30 donation to ask: Homework solutions from intro physics through grad school physics are available online, and while working through Jackson and Goldstein problems can be miserable without some guidance, the temptation is there to plagiarize. When you teach, do you use book-problems or write your own? Do you… Continue reading DonorsChoose Payoff: Homework vs. Google
An Open Letter to the Presidential Candidates
To the men and woman campaigning for the President of the United States: Hey, how’s it going. Boy, I bet it seems like this campaign has been going on forever, huh? All those pancake breakfasts and rubber-chicken dinners… I don’t know how you guys manage it. But here’s the thing: the campaign season is really… Continue reading An Open Letter to the Presidential Candidates
links for 2007-10-19
Mixing Memory : Women in Math, Science, and Engineering, and Playing Video Games The solution to the gender disparity in science: Mandatory first-person shooters for everyone! (tags: gender science psychology) Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education – Inside Higher Ed :: Sweetening the Deal Handing out chocolate boosts teaching evaluation scores. (tags:… Continue reading links for 2007-10-19
James Watson and the Myth of g
I’m not sure whether it was prompted by James Watson’s little outburst (for which he has apologized “unreservedly”) or just serendipity, but Cosma Shalizi offers an exhaustive demolition of the idea of a single general intelligence factor: Anyone who wanders into the bleak and monotonous desert of IQ and the nature-vs-nurture dispute eventually gets trapped… Continue reading James Watson and the Myth of g
Improve Your Word Power, Feed the Hungry
While we’re being all charitable, here’s a link to FreeRice’s charity vocabulary quiz. It’s pretty simple: They give you odd words, you guess the meanings, and for each word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to an international aid agency. Do you have a large vocabulary? Are you looking for an Internet-based… Continue reading Improve Your Word Power, Feed the Hungry