Kids These Days

New students will be showing up on college campuses all across the country in the next few weeks, which means it’s time for the annual “kids these days” reflections on the character of the new freshmen. Apparently, they don’t know all kinds of important stuff, but they don’t drink as much as they used to:… Continue reading Kids These Days

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Categorized as Academia

Taxonomy of Researchers

Via Arcane Gazebo (who adds a category), an entertainingly snarky taxonomy of lab scientists: Weird and Whacky Consider the “mad scientist” of popular fiction, someone so obsessed with their subject that they forget to dress and show up to the lab in their pyjamas. Without wishing to indulge in stereotypes there are scientists who are… Continue reading Taxonomy of Researchers

Pick a Definition, Already!

This morning’s Times bring a story saying that astronomers are still dithering about Pluto. The latest plan would create a new category of “dwarf planets,” and presumably get the International Astronomical Union eaten by Cthullu. My immediate response is: “Jesus, people, make up your frickin’ minds!” Look, the joke is over, ok? The Pluto story… Continue reading Pick a Definition, Already!

Media Demographics of the Construction Industry

The classroom across the hall from my office is currently being remodeled into interview rooms for the Psychology department (we traded it for some laboratory space in the basement). As a result, my usual office soundtrack of KEXP streaming over the web has been supplemented by, well, whatever the guys doing the remodeling happen to… Continue reading Media Demographics of the Construction Industry

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Categorized as Silliness

Actual Basketball

I want to take a quick moment to echo what Dave Sez about the World Basketball Championships: Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve seen the US play in past years and have been underwhelmed and maybe a bit disgusted. I’m with you. I felt the same way. Ever since the Dream Team in 1992,… Continue reading Actual Basketball

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Relativity and Tiananmen Square

there’s a fascinating article in the TimeS this morning about Chinese physicist Xu Liangying, a man who has led an interesting life, to say the least: The first time he was purged, Xu Liangying was 27, an up-and-coming physicist, philosopher and historian and a veteran of the Communist underground. He had to divorce his wife,… Continue reading Relativity and Tiananmen Square

In the Dark No More

As hinted last week, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has some new results conclusively showing that dark matter is a real, physical thing. This is big news, because the previous evidence for dark matter was all indirect, and based on inferring the mass distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies from looking at their motion. These… Continue reading In the Dark No More