Via FriendFeed, I came across an article by Deepak Singh on attention and science, which spins off a long rant by Kevin Kelly on the idea that Where ever attention flows, money will follow. Deepak writes: Attention can be driven by many mechanisms, marketing being the most effective one. The key is gaining sufficient mindshare,… Continue reading Marketing Science
Month: September 2008
Go, Barney Frank
The House Republicans blame their failure to pass the bailout bill on Mean Nancy Pelosi, and Barney Frank lets them have it: The key bit, for those who don’t want to watch YouTube: “[T]hink about this. ‘Somebody hurt my feelings, so I will punish the country.’ That’s hardly plausible. And there are 12 Republican members… Continue reading Go, Barney Frank
Why So Many Words?
Sometime last week, I was directed to Chris Wilson’s article in Slate, which comes with the provocative subtitle “Why can’t science journalists just tell it like it is when it comes to particle physics?” I flagged this as a good jumping-off point for a blog post about how hard it is to communicate science to… Continue reading Why So Many Words?
Unintentional Irony in “Alternative” Medicine
The New York Times today has an article on scientific studies of “alternative” medicine. Quack-bashing isn’t my usual line, but it seemed to me like there was a good bit of stuff that will torque Orac off. I couldn’t help laughing at the final paragraph, though: “In tight funding times, that’s going to get worse,”… Continue reading Unintentional Irony in “Alternative” Medicine
links for 2008-09-30
A Tribute to Paul Newman | Popdose "What the world will miss most about Paul Newman isn’t his artistry as an actor and a director, both of stage and film, but it is his kindness and all-around stature as a good man." (tags: movies society culture) Study of Standardized Admissions Tests Is Big Draw at… Continue reading links for 2008-09-30
Fixing Science Education
In the comments to last week’s science majors follow-up post, commenter Jim G calls me out: OK, I agree with that 100%, and I’m sure everyone who reads this post has observed the phenomena you mention dozens of times or more. But I wonder whether you have a proposal, or if you’re just pointing out… Continue reading Fixing Science Education
Guess the Nobels, Win a Prize
October is almost upon us, which means that the winners of the 2008 Nobel Prizes will be announced soon. Very soon– the first announcement (for Medicine) is next Monday. The most important announcement– the Nobel in Physics– is next Tuesday, October 7. This is a good excuse for a contest, so: Leave a comment on… Continue reading Guess the Nobels, Win a Prize
Fourth Time’s the Charm
Congratulations to SpaceX for successfully launching a payload into orbit after three failed attempts: The two-stage Falcon 1 rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) lifted off at about 7:15 p.m. EDT (2315 GMT) from the U.S. Army’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Defense Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the about 2,500 miles (4,023 km)… Continue reading Fourth Time’s the Charm
links for 2008-09-29
Cocktail Party Physics: prime time science Why you should stop worrying and learn to love science-themed tv shows. (tags: television science culture society) blarg? » I’m Sorry, Are You From The Past? Standards-compliant Web design, Microsoft style. (tags: computing internet stupid)
Letter Books, or the Benefits of a Digressive Writing Style
I’m currently reading David Foster Wallace’s Everything and More: A Brief History of ∞, because his recent death made me want to read some of his stuff, and I haven’t read this (which turns up on best-science-books lists) before, so it seemed like a good way to go. Reading Wallace does tend to affect my… Continue reading Letter Books, or the Benefits of a Digressive Writing Style