SteelyKid’s kindergarten teacher is big on incentives and prizes– there are a number of reward bags that get sent home with kids who excel in some particular area. I’m not entirely sure what’s in these, because SteelyKid hasn’t gotten any yet. This isn’t because she misbehaves– from all reports, she’s very good– but she’s in… Continue reading On Corrective Incentives
On Fear of Parental Perception
I almost killed the Pip last week. By accident, of course, but I do mean that literally. His day care was closed for the day, so I took him out to the store to avoid a freakout when Mommy left. I was heading into the store with him in one arm and a hot cup… Continue reading On Fear of Parental Perception
(Not-so-)Ancient History of Physics: Monte Carlo Simulation in 1960
We cleared a bunch of space in our deep storage area over the summer, and one of the things we found was a box full of old student theses from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The library already had copies of them, but I thought it was sort of cool to have a look into the… Continue reading (Not-so-)Ancient History of Physics: Monte Carlo Simulation in 1960
On Public Speaking Across Disciplines
We had a faculty meeting yesterday, at which one colleague suggested that in addition to our “Writing Across the Curriculum” requirement, we should have a “Speaking Across the Curriculum” requirement to teach students oral presentation skills. This provoked a bit of tittering about the possible acronym, but it’s not an obviously awful idea. The basic… Continue reading On Public Speaking Across Disciplines
Sheldon Cooper and Alfred Nobel
Last week, before we headed out for the weekend, I had a brief exchange with Ben Lillie on Twitter, prompted by the following set of tweets: OK, here's a thing. I'll often hear people complain that Hollywood gets science wrong because there's *1* scientist who does everything 1/3 — Ben Lillie (@BenLillie) September 27, 2013… Continue reading Sheldon Cooper and Alfred Nobel
Louis de Broglie is Mildly Amused by Your Ideas
After a nice, relaxing weekend in Ithaca without the kids, I’ve returned to a crazy hectic Monday, with no free time to blog, despite a couple of things that I vaguely need to post. Lacking time, though, I’ll just give you this image of Condescending Louis de Broglie, an idea that sprang to mind when… Continue reading Louis de Broglie is Mildly Amused by Your Ideas
Nobel Prize Betting Pool 2013
Another year, another fall, another disbursement of dynamite money from our friends in Scandawegia. The 2013 Nobel Prize announcements are almost upon us. Which means it’s time for the game everyone loves to tolerate: the Uncertain Principles Nobel Prize Betting Pool. As always, the core rules are simple: Leave a comment to this post predicting… Continue reading Nobel Prize Betting Pool 2013
TED@NYC: Impostor Syndrome, Activate!
As I alluded to a while back, I’ve been accepted to speak at TED@NYC, which serves as a “talent search” for TED– the top talks from the event a week from Monday in The City will get a spot talking at the 2014 TED conference in Vancouver. I’ve got six minutes to wow them with… Continue reading TED@NYC: Impostor Syndrome, Activate!
Things I’ve Never Quite Understood: Microscopic Picture of Blackbody Radiation
I’m putting together slides for a TED audition talk in a couple of weeks, about how the history of quantum mechanics is like a crossword puzzle. This involves talking about black-body radiation, which is the problem that kicked off QM– to explain the spectrum of light emitted by hot objects, Max Planck had to resort… Continue reading Things I’ve Never Quite Understood: Microscopic Picture of Blackbody Radiation
On Class and Skills and Education
In a comment to yesterday’s post about the liberal arts, Eric Lund makes a good point: The best argument I have ever heard for doing scholarship in literature and other such fields is that some people find it fun. I single this out as a good point not because I want to sneer at the… Continue reading On Class and Skills and Education