Having spent the last couple of posts talking (in part) about the need to change academic culture, and de-stigmatize non-academic science jobs, here’s an attempt to step up and do something direct and productive. No, this won’t cost you anything. One of the difficulties with trying to broaden the usual definition of scientists is that… Continue reading Wanted: Non-Academic Scientists
Scientists vs. the Scientific Community
This isn’t actually about a literal or metaphorical smackdown– it’s more about a distinction in language, related to a number of the comments that have been made regarding Unscientific America. (Yeah, I know. I’ll find something else to talk about soon.) The issue is most clearly laid out by Janet, who writes: In addition to… Continue reading Scientists vs. the Scientific Community
Unscientific America on Jobs in Science
The most unfortunate thing about the furor over Unscientific America is that the vast majority of the shouting concerns a relatively small portion of the actual argument of the book. Far too much attention is being spent on the question of whether Chris and Sheril are fair to Myers and Dawkins, and not nearly enough… Continue reading Unscientific America on Jobs in Science
links for 2009-07-16
Bad Boys | Film | A.V. Club "From this rich central dynamic, all manner of hilarity springs. Smith is fastidious about the upkeep of his expensive sports car. Lawrence is a slob who gets his messy hamburger all over its glistening interior! How will they ever be able to work together? My curiosity was piqued!… Continue reading links for 2009-07-16
Rationality Stops on Sunday
I am a fan of the New York Giants. I believe that they can win every game they play. I hope that they will win every game that they play. I get emotionally involved in their games to such a degree that my heart pounds and I get short of breath when they face a… Continue reading Rationality Stops on Sunday
The Loud Bigotry of Blog Conversations
I’ve sometimes seen it said that in order to have a productive discussion, people on both sides need to be willing to change their minds. I think that’s probably slightly overdetermined– you can find examples of cases in which neither side was going to change, but they managed to sustain a mutually beneficial dialogue all… Continue reading The Loud Bigotry of Blog Conversations
Pop Quiz Answer
Yesterday’s Michelson Interferometer quiz was surprisingly popular– as of 8:30 pm Tuesday (when I’m writing this), just under 1500 people have voted in the poll, three and a half times as many as in the next most popular poll I’ve done. Who says there’s no audience for physics? So, what’s the right answer, you ask?
Dreadful Graphics and Health Care Costs
There was a bunch of discussion yesterday about a graph comparing the amount of money spent on veterinary expenses over the last twenty-odd years to the amount spent on human health care over that same span: There were a lot of dumb things said about this, but really, the worst part of the whole thing… Continue reading Dreadful Graphics and Health Care Costs
links for 2009-07-15
funny-pictures-cat-upsets-your-gravity.jpg (JPEG Image, 500×398 pixels) Finally, the problem with quantum gravity is revealed. (tags: pictures silly animals internet physics gravity quantum) Robert Wright: Why the "New Atheists" are Right-Wing on Foreign Policy "It must strike progressive atheists as a stroke of bad luck that Christopher Hitchens, leading atheist spokesperson, happens to have hawkish views on… Continue reading links for 2009-07-15
Book Update: Blurb and Photos
It’s been a while since I posted an update on the status of the book-in-production. Things are moving along– the second (and hopefully final) pass proofs are in the mail now, and assuming those are ok, that’s about it for the text. Then it’s just a matter of waiting. I asked a friend at work… Continue reading Book Update: Blurb and Photos