Category: Links Dump

Hacker News | I was a theoretical physicist for 13 years, and struggled a lot with this questi… "One unusual but very useful style was to set a goal like reading 15 papers in 3 hours. I use the term "reading" here in an unusual way. Of course, I don’t mean understanding everything in the… Continue reading links for 2009-06-27

Technology & Middle Earth : Built on Facts "Why doesn’t anyone just use a telescope or binoculars? Ok sure, it’s ancient middle earth and presumably a Galileo hasn’t been born yet. But I see no reason that this ought to stop them. Middle Earth is not a completely pre-technological environment, there’s science of some sophistication."… Continue reading links for 2009-06-26

Confessions of a Community College Dean: An Unmarked Car "[A]t work, I can wear, say, a gray suit, and be both situationally appropriate and utterly impersonal. On dress down days, the alternate uniform of tie-less Oxford and khakis (or a close variant) gets the job done. There’s nothing terribly interesting about either ensemble, but that’s… Continue reading links for 2009-06-25

Video analysis of hammer explosion lifting a guy | Dot Physics Can an exploding hammer lift a guy? Inquiring minds want to know… (tags: science physics video blogs education dot-physics silly) The Last 100 Years: 1950s & The Tragedy of Fred Hoyle : Starts With A Bang "This is the only instance in all of… Continue reading links for 2009-06-24

Cynical-C Blog – » Sign for the Night "Keep being AWESOME!" (tags: silly food internet) Unscientific America "Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum, a journalist-scientist team, offer an updated "two cultures" polemic for America in the 21st century. Just as in Snow’s time, some of our gravest challenges—climate change, the energy crisis, national economic competitiveness—and gravest… Continue reading links for 2009-06-23

Scientists and Kool-Aid § Unqualified Offerings "In my department we’ll often produce documents that have lots of buzzwords, but nobody really takes it seriously. You can always get appreciative chuckles in a department meeting if you poke fun at your own handiwork. Higher on the food chain, they actually believe it." (tags: academia science culture… Continue reading links for 2009-06-22

Cocktail Party Physics: body heat "I am in Portland for the day, having dragged myself out of bed at an ungodly hour (4 AM) to catch my flight. (On the plus side, there is almost no traffic on LA freeways at that hour.) The reason: to visit the city’s Green Microgym founded by personal trainer… Continue reading links for 2009-06-21

symmetry breaking » Blog Archive » The science of talking so people want to listen "Connecting science to everyday experiences in jargon free terms is key to science outreach, something Turner excels at doing. He shared his insights and tips from more than a decade worth of talks with scientists at Fermilab’s annual Users’ Meeting… Continue reading links for 2009-06-20

DNA Evidence Frees Man From Zoo | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source "Shortly after the findings were revealed, Phoenix Zoo staff tranquilized, crated, and transported Panovich by helicopter to his Mesa, AZ home, where he was released into his front yard and reintroduced to his mate and two young." (tags: onion silly animals)… Continue reading links for 2009-06-19

Miracle Diet Through Physics! : Built on Facts "This immediately suggests a tempting diet plan, if not a very lucrative one: drink lots of cold water. Your body burns calories warming up the H2O, you lose weight without much effort. Plausible?" (tags: science food blogs physics built-on-facts) Career Advice: Fast Tracking a Ph.D. – Inside… Continue reading links for 2009-06-18