Category: Links Dump

In which we learn about a new science communication service, some history of astronomy, a more complete definition of “one-hit wonder,” and a new science award promoting basic research. ———— Bowler Hat Science Matthew Francis launches his Media Empire, offering a variety of talks (both public lectures and research talks), and more importantly workshops on… Continue reading Links for 2012-09-12

In which we look at Obama’s speaking style, what Bill Clinton wrote vs. what he said, and Gangnam Style. ———— Obama and the Racial Politics of American English – NYTimes.com This ended up being less interesting than it seemed it might be, but I’m not sure why. What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton… Continue reading Links for 2012-09-10

In which science shows the FAA is full of crap, Slate takes on the question of science grad school, NFL team logos get redesigned to make them honest, the Joint Quantum Institute invites your Nobel guesses, and experimentalists are more sought after than theorists. Do Our Gadgets Really Threaten Planes? – WSJ.com “The odds that… Continue reading Links for 2012-09-08

Confessions of a Community College Dean: Kermit How Kermit the Frog is the perfect model for an academic administrator. Chester A. Arthur: Sasquatch Trainer : Filmmaking Frenzy: Commander-in-Chief From the people who brought you “Rutherford B. Hayes, Urban Vigilante,” a movie about the only Union alumnus (so far) to be US President. In a Mass… Continue reading Links for 2012-09-05

Physics after accelerators, the need for more athletic thinking, a call for more phenomenological thinking in physics, and a goofy phenomenological model for politics. —— More things in heaven than earth § Unqualified Offerings A vision of a post-accelerator world for fundamental physics. Fit for Physics – Dynamics of Cats An argument that we need… Continue reading Links for 2012-09-02

In which we look at the history of lunch, the breathtaking inanity of the NYTimes’s Style section, what kills us then and now, the latest tempest in the blogging teapot, and some of the best songs from one of my favorite bands. ———— Lunch: An Urban Invention As late as 1755, according to Samuel Johnson’s… Continue reading Links for 2012-06-25

In which we look at the failure of elites, and the international language of bad dancing. ———— Why Elites Fail | The Nation A pure functioning meritocracy would produce a society with growing inequality, but that inequality would come along with a correlated increase in social mobility. As the educational system and business world got… Continue reading Links for 2012-06-21

In which we look at failures of academic collegiality, the allocation of resources in the liberal arts, teaching as a big grey area, advice for new teachers, common misconceptions about education, an ambitious plan to reform jury duty, and a former member of Fred Phelps’s hateful Westboro Baptist Church. ———— Confessions of a Community College… Continue reading Links for 2012-06-20

In which we look at an impassioned plea from a gay seminarian, a satirical video about the Singularity, and two more dispatches from the imminent death of traditional publishing. ———— Letter from a gay Christian classmate « Mercy not Sacrifice I am asking you to set aside your quiet whispers for a potent disquietude; I’m… Continue reading Links for 2012-06-19

In which we look at basketball analytics, complaints about ancient Rome, the latest dispatch from the imminent death of publishing, and the optics of spy satellites. ———— Where the Heat and the Thunder Hit Their Shots – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com The shooting patterns for the players on the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City… Continue reading Links for 2012-06-18