I want to see ample funding for scientific research, or failing that, at least adequate funding for scientific research. Good experiments should not have to go begging for research funding. I want to see funding priorities set on scientific criteria, based on what projects and programs have the best chance of improving our knowledge of… Continue reading Goals
Month: April 2007
Michael Flynn, Eifelheim [Library of Babel]
Since I’m going to be voting for the Hugos this year, I feel obliged to actually read as many of the nominated books as possible, and Michael Flynn’s Eifelheim was readily available, so I picked up a copy and read it a little while back. The novel mixes two plot threads, one in a near-future… Continue reading Michael Flynn, Eifelheim [Library of Babel]
Facing Mars
Via James Nicoll, a post he describes as “someone actively working in a particular field of science talk[ing] about how they went from embracing wingnuttery to more fruitful activities,” in this case regarding the “Face on Mars.” Sadly, other than a couple of passing mentions (he name-checks Richard Hoagland and Carl Sagan, and mentions overdosing… Continue reading Facing Mars
Decision Season
It’s Decision Season in academia. Across the country, high-school students are losing sleep at night worrying about where to go to college next year. We’ve had our annual Accepted Students Open House days (the second was Monday, with the turnout significantly reduced by the bad weather), at which we meet with students who are considering… Continue reading Decision Season
Coming Soon: Laser-Cooled Beer?
One of the things that I always have to explain toward the end of my laser cooling spiel is that the technique only works well for particular atoms. Somewhere on the high side of twenty different elements have been laser cooled and trapped, but the standard techniques don’t generalize well to even simple diatomic molecules,… Continue reading Coming Soon: Laser-Cooled Beer?
Quagmire Arguments
The other night, while ranting to Kate between my posted rants about Virginia Tech (have I mentioned that she’s way too good to me?), I mentioned in passing that the gun control debate is one of the two great brain-sucking quagmire arguments of American politics, where even a passing mention ends up with all the… Continue reading Quagmire Arguments
The Final Word on Framing
Orac is struggling to understand the problem with “framing,” and thinks he has the answer: I’ve concluded that a lot of issues underlying this kerfuffle may be the difference between the “pure” scientists and science teachers (like PZ and Larry Moran, for example), who are not dependent upon selling their science for the continued livelihood… Continue reading The Final Word on Framing
Dorky Poll: Science In Your Lifetime
I’ve got another long lab this afternoon, so I’m stealing an idea for an audience-participation thread from James Nicoll: Name five things we didn’t know in the year that you were born that make the universe a richer place to think about. This is actually a really interesting exercise for showing how rapidly the world… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Science In Your Lifetime
Guess the Movie Keywords: Mellencamp Edition
I’m sick and tired. Not metaphorically, literally. I had two labs today, and the cold I thought I had shaken back when classes started has come back with a vengeance, so I’m all congested and coughing. So here’s something silly to pass the time, via Kate among others: The following are “plot keywords” from IMDB… Continue reading Guess the Movie Keywords: Mellencamp Edition
An Indecorous Plea for Perspective
Mike Dunford didn’t like my previous post, and says that it’s important to talk about gun control right now: But we also cannot forget that people are dead. We cannot forget that people have been murdered. We cannot forget that many – too many – lives have been brought to a sudden, random end. We… Continue reading An Indecorous Plea for Perspective