Communication:
This post is standing in for a lecture and class discussion that would be happening today if I knew how to be in two places at once. (Welcome Phil. 133 students! Make yourselves at home in the comments, and feel...
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Posted on May 1, 2008 2:05 PM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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
In the aftermath of a pretty enthusiastic pile-on to a claim that Expelled! had a successful first week of release, Chris Mooney calls for "serious introspection about the massive communication crisis we're facing in the science world". You know I'm...
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Posted on April 21, 2008 2:51 PM • 30 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
I heard a piece by David Kestenbaum on NPR's "Morning Edition" that hasn't been sitting right with me. You, dear readers, get to help me figure out what's bugging me about the story, a profile of 16-year-old climate skeptic Kristen...
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Posted on April 15, 2008 12:50 PM • 89 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
At DrugMonkey, PhysioProf explores the rules of engagement between grad students in journal club and seminar presentations (building off of interesting explorations of this question from A Lady Scientist, Dr. Jekyll & Mrs. Hyde, and Acmegirl -- all of which...
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Posted on April 14, 2008 2:50 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I haven't given up yet. You know I'm still looking for more clarity on the basic premises of framing. I tried to work out what does and does not fall within the framing strategy in a flowcharted example and (again)...
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Posted on April 11, 2008 2:24 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You'll remember that I tried to work out precisely what was being claimed in the premises behind framing set out by Chris Mooney. At the end of this exercise, I was left with the hunch that one's optimal communication strategy...
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Posted on April 5, 2008 4:03 PM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Chris Mooney lays out the argument behind "framing". I give my thoughts, item by item....
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Posted on April 2, 2008 11:40 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In light of all the recent discussion about the "framing" of the Expelled! expulsion, it occurs to me that maybe part of the reason that the argument seems so unproductive is that the parties involved haven't really agreed on what,...
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Posted on March 30, 2008 5:18 PM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
For those who have been following the activities of "animal rights" activists, including their attacks of the homes of researchers -- and the reticence of the public in the face of such violent attacks -- a recent Commentary in Biological...
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Posted on March 26, 2008 4:52 PM • 28 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Maybe you heard the news that PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins went to a screening of the documentary Expelled! in Minneapolis, except that, because he was recognized, PZ Myers was barred from the screening (despite having signed up ahead of...
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Posted on March 24, 2008 2:07 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
With kids who don't seem to be getting any younger, the issue doesn't feel abstract at all.
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Posted on March 4, 2008 11:08 PM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
What is it like to be a scientist while also being a human being?
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Posted on February 16, 2008 3:30 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I'm passing on information about a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation for graduate students. The program, organized by the University of Montana Center for Ethics, is called Debating Science 2008, and here's how it's described on the announcement:...
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Posted on February 11, 2008 12:58 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Why don't advisors and trainees talk about what's involved in being a grown-up scientist?
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Posted on February 7, 2008 4:13 PM • 8 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.
