I don’t know if Dijon the giraffe has made a Toddler Blogging appearance yet, but in case she hasn’t, here she is: SteelyKid is in the process of explaining that Dijon is her giraffe (“My graph!”). Which she is, being a gift from Aunt Erin and Aunt ‘Stasia. She’s a rather heavy knit giraffe, and… Continue reading Thursday Toddler Blogging 072910
Two Cultures Defining Research
I was initially puzzled by the headline “Research-Assignment Handouts Give Students Meager Guidance, Survey Finds,” and the opening sentences didn’t help much: Most research-assignment handouts given to undergraduates fail to guide the students toward a comprehensive strategy for completing the work, according to two researchers at the University of Washington who are studying how students… Continue reading Two Cultures Defining Research
What Physics Topics Would You Like to Read About?
I had intended to write up a recent paper for ResearchBlogging today, but I cleverly forgot to bring either the hard copy of the PDF home last night, which wrecked that plan. And I’ve got real lab work to do today, so it’s not happening at work. This seems like a good opportunity, though, to… Continue reading What Physics Topics Would You Like to Read About?
Dorky Poll: Experimental Hazing
I’m going to be spending a good chunk of the rest of my day scrounging up adapters to connect two different classes of plumbing fittings. In honor of that, here’s a poll question based on something that one research group used to do: Sending a new graduate student to the lab down the hall to… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Experimental Hazing
Twitter in Business Schools
My initial reaction to the financial meltdown caused by the housing bubble was “Are our business leaders really that stupid?” Things like this news squib from Inside Higher Ed make me suspect the answer is “yes, they are that stupid”: Business schools — including such prestigious ones as those of Columbia and Harvard Universities —… Continue reading Twitter in Business Schools
Links for 2010-07-29
Meet the real victims of Bush-era lawlessness: his lawyers. – By Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine “Those who distorted and upended the legal rules during the Bush era have hermetically sealed themselves inside a legal tautology that provides that lawyers cannot be held accountable for merely offering legal advice, and nonlawyers cannot be held accountable… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-29
When Should You Open Your Car Windows? An Experiment
Back at the start of the summer, I asked a question about automotive thermodynamics: On a hot day, is it better to open your car windows a crack when making a short stop, or leave them closed? For a long term– say, leaving your car parked outside all day– I hope everyone will agree that… Continue reading When Should You Open Your Car Windows? An Experiment
String Theory in Complete Sentences
On Twitter, I saw Graham Farmelo link to this Physics World blog post about Ed Witten’s Newton lecture, describing it as “Edward Witten’s clearest-ever overview of string theory for laypeople (i.e. most others).” Witten’s a name to conjure with, so I thought “That might be worth a look.” So I went to the blog post,… Continue reading String Theory in Complete Sentences
Links for 2010-07-28
The Art of Sleeping in Seminars | Department of Physics at the U of I “Through long years of experience, we have accumulated the following useful set of rules. These should be helpful to beginning research students. However, we have also observed seasoned veterans making some of these simple errors. For advanced students, these rules… Continue reading Links for 2010-07-28
Presentation Poll: Outline or No Outline?
We have a summer student seminar series in the science and engineering departments here, running two days a week at lunchtime with three students each day giving 15 minute presentations on their summer research projects to other students and faculty. The student talks are split almost 50/50 overall on whether to provide an outline at… Continue reading Presentation Poll: Outline or No Outline?