Category: Science Writing

Warped Passages by Lisa Randall

I have nothing useful or interesting to say about electoral politics, but I suspect that’s all people will want to read about today. So here’s a book post that’s been backlogged for quite a while. Lisa Randall’s Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions dates from 2005, and was, I think, part… Continue reading Warped Passages by Lisa Randall

Science Is More Like Sumo Than Soccer

There’s a blog post making the rounds of the science blogosphere titled If Sports Got Reported Like Science, which imagines the effect of applying the perceived restriction on scientific terminology to sports reporting: HOST: In sports news, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti today heavily criticised a controversial offside decision which denied Didier Drogba a late equaliser,… Continue reading Science Is More Like Sumo Than Soccer

Poll: What Do Students Need to Learn About Technical Writing?

I am currently on a committee looking to set some standards for technical writing in the introductory engineering sequence (which means the first two terms of physics, as they constitute 50-67% of the classes common to all first-year engineers). One of our jobs is to come up with a list of skills that we want… Continue reading Poll: What Do Students Need to Learn About Technical Writing?

So You’d Like to Learn Some Physics…

Via Twitter, Michael Barton is looking for some good books about physics. I was Twitter-less for a few days around the period of his request, and this is a more-than-140-characters topic if ever there was one, so I’m turning it into a blog post. The reason for the request is that he’s going to be… Continue reading So You’d Like to Learn Some Physics…

Continuity, Discretion, and the Perils of Popularization

Last week’s Seven Essential Elements of Quantum Physics post sparked a fair bit of discussion, though most of it was at the expert level, well above the level of the intended audience. such is life in the physics blogosphere. I think it’s worth a little time to unpack some of the disagreement, though, as it… Continue reading Continuity, Discretion, and the Perils of Popularization

You Don’t Really Understand a Subject Until You Teach It To Your Dog

I’m typing this from the local Barnes and Noble, waiting for the dealership next door to finish changing my oil and inspecting my car. Sadly, they don’t have How to Teach Physics to Your Dog on the shelves in their (rather small) science section. Grump, grump, grump. The disappointment at not immediately finding it on… Continue reading You Don’t Really Understand a Subject Until You Teach It To Your Dog

Communicating Science in the 21st Century

My panel on “Communicating Science in the 21st Century” was last night at the Quantum to Cosmos Festival at the Perimeter Institute. I haven’t watched the video yet– Canadian telecommunications technology hates me, and I’m lucky to get a wireless connection to stay up for more than ten minutes– but if the video feeds I’ve… Continue reading Communicating Science in the 21st Century

Taking Off for the Great White North

I’m heading to the airport right after my second class today (I’m doing two weeks of our first-year seminar class), to appear at the Quantum to Cosmos Festival at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo. This promises to be a good event– I had a great time at the Science in the 21st Century workshop last… Continue reading Taking Off for the Great White North

Don’t Be Such a Scientist by Randy Olson

This book is, in some ways, a complement to Unscientific America. Subtitled “Talking Substance in an Age of Style,” this is a book talking about what scientists need to do to improve the communication of science to the general public. This is not likely to make as big a splash in blogdom as Unscientific America,… Continue reading Don’t Be Such a Scientist by Randy Olson