OK, they dumped the analogy questions ages ago, but for oldsters like myself, those are still the signature SAT questions… Inside Higher Ed has a piece today on the new SAT results, which expresses concern over some declines: Mean scores on the SAT fell this year by more than they have in decades. A five-point… Continue reading Apples : Oranges :: New SAT : Old SAT
Category: Academia
How to Find People to Talk To
So, you’re interested in discussing politics or religion or other Deep Issues with other people. What do you do? You could go on the Internet, but you end up talking to, like, freaky physics professors and stuff, so you’d prefer to talk to real people face to face. You could randomly approach strangers, ask their… Continue reading How to Find People to Talk To
Academic Ambivalence
The start of the new term brings not just new students and qualifying exams, but another round of introspection and soul-searching among the academic set. Which is a good thing for lazy bloggers, because it provokes lots of interesting articles to link to… First up is the always interesting Timothy Burke, who is concerned about… Continue reading Academic Ambivalence
Justifying Science Enrollments in One Sentence
I’ve talked before about the tension between the desire to encourage students to major in physics and the tight job market in academia. Every time I talk about ways to draw more students into physics, it seems that somebody pops up to call me irresponsible for trying to lure them into a dead-end career track,… Continue reading Justifying Science Enrollments in One Sentence
Qualifying Exam Season
Gordon Watts reminds me that the start of a new academic year means more than just the arrivial of a new crop of freshmen. For grad students, it’s qualifying exam season. For those not in the know, “qualifying exams” are a common feature of most Ph.D. programs. These are big, comprehensive tests that all students… Continue reading Qualifying Exam Season
Kids These Days
New students will be showing up on college campuses all across the country in the next few weeks, which means it’s time for the annual “kids these days” reflections on the character of the new freshmen. Apparently, they don’t know all kinds of important stuff, but they don’t drink as much as they used to:… Continue reading Kids These Days
Taxonomy of Researchers
Via Arcane Gazebo (who adds a category), an entertainingly snarky taxonomy of lab scientists: Weird and Whacky Consider the “mad scientist” of popular fiction, someone so obsessed with their subject that they forget to dress and show up to the lab in their pyjamas. Without wishing to indulge in stereotypes there are scientists who are… Continue reading Taxonomy of Researchers
The High Cost of Assigned Reading
Inside Higher Ed has a short news story on a new report on textbook prices that finds the big publishers failing to offer low-cost books: In reviewing the catalogs of each of the publishers, the group looked for 22 frequently assigned textbooks, which had an average cost of $131.44 per book. Of the 22 textbooks,… Continue reading The High Cost of Assigned Reading
How Dumb Are Dumb Jocks?
Over at Cognitive Daily, Dave Munger post about research into the effect of athletics on academics: Achievement can be measured in many ways — grades, homework, attendance, standardized test scores, and enrollment in college. In all of these areas except standardized test scores, even after controlling for economic status, race, and other background variables, athletic… Continue reading How Dumb Are Dumb Jocks?
What I Do for a Living
I’m in the process of putting together my tenure documents (I know I’ve been saying this for weeks. It’s a long process, OK?). Most of these are really not appropriate for reproduction here, but I’ll post a few of the things I’m writing, when it’s reasonable to do so. A major part of the tenure… Continue reading What I Do for a Living