Category: Links Dump

World Science Festivities | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine "I’m back from the World Science Festival, which was a rousing success, leaving thousands of smiling attendees chattering excitedly about the mysteries of the universe as they dispersed through the streets of Manhattan. So naturally I want to talk about how it could be improved. Writing… Continue reading links for 2009-06-17

The dark side of animation "To test their hypothesis, the team recorded two versions of a PowerPoint lecture. The presentations differed only in the presence of animation to incrementally present information. They then showed students either the animated or non-animated lecture and then tested the students recall and comprehension of the lecture. The team found… Continue reading links for 2009-06-16

Flying Flux: The Dullness of Details "Short sentences; active voice; keep the audience in mind; draw clear diagrams; minimize jargon; use paragraphs; spell correctly; conjugate verbs; employ diacritics properly; use metric; resist idiomatic speech; avoid overusing semicolons; write in English. All very helpful tips that I’ve gathered over the years, if you want to totally… Continue reading links for 2009-06-15

slacktivist: TF: Skip verse 10 "Be sure to use the King James Version when you bring up Luke 17:34 — "In that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left" — and then argue that a literal interpretation suggests that precisely 50 percent… Continue reading links for 2009-06-13

Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive « alex.moskalyuk "50 scientifically proven ways constitute 50 chapters of the book, longest of which take 7 pages. The authors take the position that persuasion is a science, not art, hence with the right approach anybody can become the master in the skill of persuasion. So, what… Continue reading links for 2009-06-12

Random musings of Lizard Bench Mango – an affirmation? "When I am struggling with something, I sometimes think ‘Damn this is hard for me. I wonder if I am stupid,’ and then I remember I have a degree in astrophysics from Cal Tech; I must not be stupid." (tags: psychology silly academia)

Connecticut District Tosses Algebra Textbooks and Goes Online – NYTimes.com "Westport school officials say their less-is-more approach has already resulted in less review in math classes, higher standardized test scores and more students taking advanced math classes. The percentage of the district’s 10th graders receiving top scores on state exams rose to 86 percent last… Continue reading links for 2009-06-10

You’re Like School in the Summer… « The First Excited State "Summertime is a time to focus on your research, without the distractions of tests, homeworks, and (hopefully) teaching duties. But many grad students, at least in physics, take the summer as an opportunity to attend summer schools, which are short, intense sessions aimed at… Continue reading links for 2009-06-09

Who Underestimates Their Systematic Uncertainties ? "It is a well-known fact that it is much easier to measure a physical quantity than to correctly assess the magnitude of the uncertainty on the measurement: the uncertainty is everything! " (tags: physics particles experiment statistics blogs dorigo science) Acephalous: Photo reference at the National Review "The logic—such… Continue reading links for 2009-06-08

Diary of a Trade Book (Newton and the Counterfeiter) 7.1: Rewards and Bribes « The Inverse Square Blog "[W]hen sheer love of words and sentences and ideas can’t carry you through, what can you fall back on? Bribery." (tags: writing books levenson) Matthew Yglesias » Book Launch 2.0 As someone who created a Facebook page… Continue reading links for 2009-06-06