“What are you doing?” “Hmm? Oh, I’m trying to think of a Dorky Poll question to post to the blog, because I’m going to be away from the computer for a while.” “Why are they always human polls?” “Um, because the vast majority of my readers are human?” Yeah, but why don’t I ever get… Continue reading Canine Poll: Hot Pursuit
Math Is Hard
The Dean Dad slaps his forehead and asks a question: We have anecdotal evidence that suggests that students who actually take math for all four years of high school do better in math here than those who don’t. We also have anecdotal evidence that bears crap in the woods. Why the hell do the high… Continue reading Math Is Hard
On Accommodationism
Chris Mooney has an explanation of the “accommodationist” position that deserves better than to be buried in a Links Dump: I don’t see a need to pry into how each individual is dealing with these complicated and personal matters of constructing a coherent worldview. Rather, from a political and public perspective, I want them all… Continue reading On Accommodationism
links for 2009-06-26
Technology & Middle Earth : Built on Facts "Why doesn’t anyone just use a telescope or binoculars? Ok sure, it’s ancient middle earth and presumably a Galileo hasn’t been born yet. But I see no reason that this ought to stop them. Middle Earth is not a completely pre-technological environment, there’s science of some sophistication."… Continue reading links for 2009-06-26
Thursday Baby Blogging 062509
SteelyKid is pondering a life as a costumed crime-fighter– she’s got the pseudonym for it, after all– and here we see her trying out a catchphrase to strike fear into the hearts of naughty people: “Spooooon!!!” Actually, that’s lifted from somebody else. Probably needs more work. The traditional Appa-for-scale picture:
Reminder: Enter to Win My Book
Just a quick reminder post to note that you can win an advance proof copy of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog in one of two ways: By captioning pictures of the dog with physics apparatus By writing short poems about dogs and physics Regarding the last one, I’m thinking of adding a second… Continue reading Reminder: Enter to Win My Book
Geniuses Don’t Fail Out
Over at Skulls in the Stars, gg has a very good response to the polemic about the dullness of modern science that I talked about a few days ago. He takes issue with the claim that modern science is “dull” compared to some past Golden Age, and does a good job of it– go read… Continue reading Geniuses Don’t Fail Out
When Press Releases Collide
Consecutive entries in my RSS reader yesterday: Salty ocean in the depths of Enceladus Discovery could have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life An enormous plume of water spurts in giant jets from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. In a report published in the international science journal Nature today (25 June), European… Continue reading When Press Releases Collide
We’re Gonna Build Something This Summer
I’ve been reading a bunch of posts at Infinite summer lately, where they’re planning to spend the summer (re)reading David Foster Wallaces most magnum of opuses, Infinite Jest. In a development that surely nobody could see coming, I’ve decided to spend some of my infinite (hah) free time re-reading it myself. If you’re not familiar… Continue reading We’re Gonna Build Something This Summer
links for 2009-06-25
Confessions of a Community College Dean: An Unmarked Car "[A]t work, I can wear, say, a gray suit, and be both situationally appropriate and utterly impersonal. On dress down days, the alternate uniform of tie-less Oxford and khakis (or a close variant) gets the job done. There’s nothing terribly interesting about either ensemble, but that’s… Continue reading links for 2009-06-25