Blogospheric science:
On April Fool's Day, our local Socrates Café had an interesting discussion around the question of what makes something funny. One observation that came up repeatedly was that most jokes seem aimed at particular audiences -- at people who share...
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Posted on April 26, 2008 2:55 PM • 110 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Dr. Free-Ride: You know I
only work on Fridays, right?
Janet D. Stemwedel: Get your pseudonymous butt in gear and help me have a proper dialogue!
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Posted on April 17, 2008 3:21 PM • 37 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
It's time to unplug from the ScienceBorg....
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Posted on April 1, 2008 12:46 AM • 46 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The experiences of a white woman in science are no more universalizable than those of a white man.
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Posted on March 11, 2008 6:57 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
PZ Myers has another birthday. (Didn't he just have one last year?)...
Posted on March 9, 2008 11:49 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You call yourself a science blogger?
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Posted on February 28, 2008 10:31 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You may have been following the saga of intelligent design proponent Casey Luskin's use of the ResearchBlogging.org "Blogging on Peer-Reviewed Research" icon in a way that didn't conform to the official guidelines for its use. The short description on ResearchBlogging's...
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Posted on February 6, 2008 6:37 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
By way of Abel and DrugMonkey (among others), I see that today is Blogroll Amnesty Day. Jon Swift has the must-read post on the origins of the day and what it means now: The idea that links are the capital...
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Posted on February 3, 2008 6:07 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Science blog readers can help science bloggers figure out their responsibilities.
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Posted on January 23, 2008 5:16 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In the 20/27 December 2007 issue of Nature, there's a fascinating commentary by Cambridge University neuroscientists Barbara Sahakian and Sharon Morein-Zamir. Entitled "Professor's little helper," this commentary explores, among other things, how "cognitive-enhancing drugs" are starting to find their way...
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Posted on December 19, 2007 1:02 PM • 35 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
When I partook of this last year, I thought it was a one time thing. But by golly, John Lynch seems to have established this meme as an annual tradition, and I kind of like traditions. The rule: post the...
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Posted on December 16, 2007 12:08 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Taking a very brief break in the dungeon of grading to partake of this meme, with which I have been hoping to be tagged for months. (Indeed, I wasn't really officially tagged -- Julie was, but she's busy writing papers...
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Posted on December 6, 2007 12:55 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The November 5, 2007 issue of Chemical & Engineering News has an editorial by Rudy M. Baum [UPDATE: notbehind a paywall; apparently all the editorials are freely accessible online] looking at the "Google model" for disseminating information. Baum writes:...
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Posted on November 15, 2007 3:25 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Over at The World's Fair, David Ng dangles another meme before us: ... this meme asks that you come up with your own scientific eponym. What's that exactly? Well, first read this excellent primer by Samuel Arbesman, which basically provides...
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Posted on November 14, 2007 4:34 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
... despite the fact that I'm deeply suspicious of claims that getting the most votes is truly indicative of being the best. Anyhow, the category in which your vote might make a real difference (here at the last minute) is...
Posted on November 8, 2007 2:29 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
If you're a TV watcher in the U.S., you're probably already aware that the Writers' Guild of America is on strike, owing largely to inability to reach agreement with the studios about residuals from DVDs and from internet distribution of...
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Posted on November 6, 2007 12:56 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an assistant professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Email her at dr.freeride@gmail.com.
