Category: Links Dump

Optics basics: Polarization « Skulls in the Stars What you need to know about light polarization. (tags: physics optics blogs science education) “Plutoids”: the new name for Pluto-like dwarf planets – physicsworld.com When, oh, when will the IAU stop jerking Pluto around? (tags: astronomy planets science news) PhotoshopDisasters: Washington Post: Unlikely From the MC Escher… Continue reading links for 2008-06-14

xkcd – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language – By Randall Munroe They forgot the philosophers, or maybe ran out of room in the right margin… (tags: biology chemistry physics psychology science math comics)

Do We Really Need a Few Billion Locavores? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog “To eat locally grown food or, even better, food that you’ve grown yourself, seems as if it should be 1) more delicious; 2) more nutritious; 3) cheaper; and 4) better for the environment. But is it?” (tags: blogs… Continue reading links for 2008-06-11

‘When We Left Earth’ Shows When Man Stretched to Reach the Moon – NYTimes.com “Like many gadget-happy Americans, NASA took lots and lots of home movies. For this series it threw open the doors of its film and video archives, which have been transferred to stunning high-definition format.” (tags: television space science history) Physics of… Continue reading links for 2008-06-07

Asking the Wrong Questions: Braaaaaaains “I’ve been on the lookout for other works which, like Proof, feature characters whose lives are lived primarily in the mind, and who view the world, and interact with it most fully, through their intellect.” (tags: books literature science culture society) Everyday Scientist » Plaigiarise an American? The French would… Continue reading links for 2008-06-06

Christian Demand: Inflated phrases – signandsight “Texts on art rarely explain what they profess to explain; they simply simulate the explainability of their theories.” (tags: art culture humanities) Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2006; Graduation Rates, 2000 and 2003 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2006 “This First Look presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary… Continue reading links for 2008-06-05

Confessions of a Community College Dean: Citibank to CC’s: Drop Dead A plea for a single-payer education system. (tags: academia economics US society class-war culture)

xkcd – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language – By Randall Munroe “Six more weeks of winter.” (tags: kid-stuff silly comics) Stanford Law Drops Letter Grades :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education’s Source for News, Views and Jobs “Those who support the change at Stanford argue that shifting from the precision of… Continue reading links for 2008-06-03

The gallery of failed atomic models, 1903-1913 « Skulls in the Stars ” Most people in physics are taught Thomson’s ‘plum pudding’ model of the atom, but a little investigating* turned up no less than eight distinct pictures of atomic structure.” (tags: physics science atoms history blogs) Fafblog! the whole world’s only source for Fafblog.… Continue reading links for 2008-06-02

Confessions of a Community College Dean: Academe and Parenting “Part of the problem, I think, is the potentially infinite demands of the job. How much time does it take, per week, to prep and grade a typical class?” (tags: academia kid-stuff society culture education) The Traveling Taps Brigade – washingtonpost.com “”[F]aking taps just isn’t good… Continue reading links for 2008-05-28