Some time back, I was a little surprised to hear James Nicoll use Asimov as a touchstone for science popularizers. I only really knew his fiction, and can’t recall hearing his pop-science books cited by anybody who wasn’t also an SF fan. So, when I ran across one of his science books while we were… Continue reading Pop-Science Past: The Collapsing Universe, by Isaac Asimov
Category: Science
Dorky Poll: Favorite Wavelength
I have two labs today, and a lunch meeting, so no time for detailed blogging about science. It’s been a while since I did a Dorky Poll, though, so here’s one to keep people entertained while I’m working: What’s your favorite color? “What’s dorky about that?” you ask. You need to give your answer in… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Favorite Wavelength
Email from Andrei Derevianko
I got email this afternoon from Andrei Derevianko, the leader of the research project badly described by the press release mentioned in the previous post. He sounds a little surprised by the whole thing (though not much more surprised than I am that my griping on the Internet got brought to anybody’s attention), and explains… Continue reading Email from Andrei Derevianko
The LHC Gets Credit for Atomic Theory
A wonderfully incoherent press release came across my EurekAlert feeds yesterday, with the headline “Particle physics study finds new data for extra Z-bosons and potential fifth force of nature.” You can tell it’s going to make no sense at all from the very first sentence: The Large Hadron Collider is an enormous particle accelerator whose… Continue reading The LHC Gets Credit for Atomic Theory
Show Me the Pony
So, the President gave some sort of speech to a bunch of smart people yesterday (video, transcript), and hearts are a-flutter all over the science blogosphere, as President Obama promises great things for science: We double the budget of key agencies, including the National Science Foundation, a primary source of funding for academic research, and… Continue reading Show Me the Pony
Dead Dinosaurs and Denialism
Yesterday, EurekAlert served up a press release titled New blow for dinosaur-killing asteroid theory, reporting on Gerta Keller of Princeton, who says that the Chicxulub crater isn’t really from the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. Keller thinks the crater had nothing to do with the extinction event, and claims to have found evidence that… Continue reading Dead Dinosaurs and Denialism
Advantix Makes Dogs “Ticklish”?
I’d like to interrupt the ongoing discussion of how we’re in the early chapters of The Stand for a quick question about what really matters: the cute behaviors of my dog. There’s probably a technical term for that thing dogs do where their back legs twitch when you scratch them in just the right spot.… Continue reading Advantix Makes Dogs “Ticklish”?
How to Email Your Instructor for Help
Back in the stone ages, when I was a student and walked uphill through the snow to class, if you wanted assistance on a homework assignment, you needed to track the instructor of the class down in person, either by going to their posted office hours, or calling them on the phone to set up… Continue reading How to Email Your Instructor for Help
Women, Fast Cars, and Physics
I’m speaking, of course, about this past weekend’s Bloggingheads conversation between Jennifer Ouellette and Diandra Leslie-Pelecky. They both blog at Cocktail Party Physics, and Diandra has written The Physics of NASCAR. It’s a good Bloggingheads, covering a wide range of topics related to physics, sports, and entertainment. Jennifer talks about the work of the Science… Continue reading Women, Fast Cars, and Physics
Academic Poll: Bribery
No, I’m not talking about students bribing faculty for good grades, but the reverse: faculty bribing students to attend events outside of class. For example, I offered the students in my class five bonus points on tomorrow’s mid-term exam if they attended last night’s Alan Lightman lecture. I’m fairly certain that 12 of the 16… Continue reading Academic Poll: Bribery