Failure rate for AP tests climbing – USATODAY.com “The newspaper’s analysis finds that more than two in five students (41.5%) earned a failing score of 1 or 2, up from 36.5% in 1999. In the South, a Census-defined region that spans from Texas to Delaware, nearly half of all tests — 48.4% — earned a… Continue reading Links for 2010-02-05
Thursday Magic Blogging 020410
(A.k.a. “just under the wire Baby Blogging, because Kate forgot she took these pictures.”) In which SteelyKid performs a magic trick: “Watch me make this pretzel disappear, Mom!”
You’re Not Some Kind of Squirrel-Lover Are You?
Despite my best efforts to sleep late and miss my flight, I made it to the airport with plenty of time to get on my flight to DC. Which means that I will, i fact, be giving a talk TODAY at 3:30 pm at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Lecture Hall (room… Continue reading You’re Not Some Kind of Squirrel-Lover Are You?
Airline Poll: Would You Like a Drink?
I’m on the road today, so here’s a poll for you, in honor of the question I will probably be getting asked right around when this posts: Would you like a beverage?(surveys) Please be sure that your comments are stowed beneath the seat in front of you, or in the overhead compartment. Thank you for… Continue reading Airline Poll: Would You Like a Drink?
Links for 2010-02-04
From Fish to Infinity – Opinionator Blog – NYTimes.com I’ll be writing about the elements of mathematics, from pre-school to grad school, for anyone out there who’d like to have a second chance at the subject — but this time from an adult perspective. It’s not intended to be remedial. The goal is to give… Continue reading Links for 2010-02-04
Quantization of Books 5: Decay of Books
It’s been a while since I’ve done a fun with graphs post about the Amazon sales rank of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, but that’s not because I’ve stopped tracking it. It’s getting to be enough data, though, that it’s worthwhile to look on a slightly coarser scale, so here’s the sales rank… Continue reading Quantization of Books 5: Decay of Books
Accelerated Twins: The Answer
Yesterday’s post on a variation of the “Twin Paradox” with both twins accelerating was very successful– 337 people voted in the first poll question, as of a little before 9am, and the comments to the original post are full of lively discussion. That’s awesome. I wish I could take credit for it, but the problem… Continue reading Accelerated Twins: The Answer
Weather Explains Politics
In the wake of recent political developments, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about why Democrats in Congress are so spineless, and have been unable to pass meaningful legislation despite huge majorities. After thinking about my travel plans last night, I think I have the key to the Grand Unified Theory of American politics.… Continue reading Weather Explains Politics
Links for 2010-02-03
Researchers use infrared cameras to determine taste quality of Japanese beef “Imagine going into a local supermarket or butchery, pulling out your cell phone and using its camera to instantly check for the best piece of meat on display. That is one of the applications that some in Japan hope could become possible one day… Continue reading Links for 2010-02-03
Snowpocalypse Contingency Plans?
As mentioned previously, I’m giving a talk at the University of Maryland, College Park this Thursday, Feb 4 at 3:30 pm in the Lecture Hall (room 1110) in the Kim Engineering Building. The title of the talk is “Talking to My Dog About Science: Why Public Communication of Science Matters, and How Weblogs Can Help”–… Continue reading Snowpocalypse Contingency Plans?