Steinn asks a provocative question: has science blogging done any good? I can think of science policy issues where blogging has made a contribution, and the general spread of information and communication done by blogs has probably had some impact, but has any actual science been directly impacted by blogs, or discussion on blogs? I… Continue reading What Is the Use of [Academic Discipline] Blogging?
Category: Policy
Questions for Chris Mooney?
Chris Mooney will be visiting Union tomorrow (I’m picking him up at the airport in a couple of hours). He’ll be speaking to a couple of classes and then giving a presentation about science and politics in the evening. If you have any questions that you’ve been dying to ask Chris, and haven’t been able… Continue reading Questions for Chris Mooney?
Marketing Science
Via FriendFeed, I came across an article by Deepak Singh on attention and science, which spins off a long rant by Kevin Kelly on the idea that Where ever attention flows, money will follow. Deepak writes: Attention can be driven by many mechanisms, marketing being the most effective one. The key is gaining sufficient mindshare,… Continue reading Marketing Science
Fixing Science Education
In the comments to last week’s science majors follow-up post, commenter Jim G calls me out: OK, I agree with that 100%, and I’m sure everyone who reads this post has observed the phenomena you mention dozens of times or more. But I wonder whether you have a proposal, or if you’re just pointing out… Continue reading Fixing Science Education
Earmarks and the Ridicule of Science
There’s an interesting exchange over at the Reality-Based Community around the topic of “earmarks” for science, like the grizzly bear DNA study McCain keeps mocking. Michael O’Hare argues that science should not be funded by earmarks: Almost any piece of scientific research, especially in biology, that isn’t called “Cure cancer!” is liable to the kind… Continue reading Earmarks and the Ridicule of Science
Science Bailout Needed
In email this morning from the American Physical Society, a call for a financial bailout: Congress has not passed any FY 2009 appropriations bills and is now finalizing a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will keep the government operating when the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2008. The House is expected to consider the… Continue reading Science Bailout Needed
Science21: Supply and Demand, Booms and Busts
There’s an article in yesterday’s Inside Higher Ed about the supply of scientists and engineers, arguing that there is not, in fact, a shortage: Michael S. Teitelbaum, a demographer at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, looked at what he called five “mysteries” of the STEM work force issue. For example, why do employers claim a… Continue reading Science21: Supply and Demand, Booms and Busts
Science21 Highlights: Peer to Patent and Government 2.0
(Over the course of this week, I’m going to post a handful of things about talks that struck me as particularly interesting at last week’s conference. The order will be chosen based on how much time I think I will have to write them up, given SteelyKid’s demands for attention…) On Thursday, the Science in… Continue reading Science21 Highlights: Peer to Patent and Government 2.0
Virtual Science Debate
As you might have guessed from yesterday’s tease, the folks at ScienceDebate 2008 have now managed to get answers from the McCain campaign (to go with Obama’s froma few weeks ago). Which means that while you may never see them answering science questions on a stage together, you can put them head-to-head on the Web,… Continue reading Virtual Science Debate
Obama on Science
As you have no doubt seen by now, if you read any of the other blogs on ScienceBlogs, the Science Debate 2008 group has gotten Barack Obama to answer their 14 questions on science issues. John McCain has apparently promised answers at some point in the future. The answers are, well, pretty much what you… Continue reading Obama on Science