Links for 2009-11-04 : Uncertain Principles

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"Uncertain Principles" features the miscellaneous ramblings of a physicist at a small liberal arts college. Physics, politics, pop culture, and occasional conversations with his dog.

You've read the blog, now try the book: How to Teach Physics to Your Dog will be published December 22nd by Scribner.

"Prof. Orzel gives the impression of an everyday guy who just happens to have a vast but hidden knowledge of physics." (anonymous student evaluation comment)

Emmy is a German Shepherd mix, and the Queen of Niskayuna. She likes treats, walks, chasing bunnies, and quantum physics.

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Links for 2009-11-04

Category: Links Dump
Posted on: November 4, 2009 7:57 AM, by Chad Orzel

Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Protecting aircraft from high-powered lasers

Sadly, this does not involve giant laser cannons trying to shoot down planes.

(tags: science physics lasers optics)
Essay - What to Write Next - Picking a Genre for Your Next Novel - NYTimes.com

"Thriller Nothing wrong with putting a little food on the table, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. Recommended for: Those who know only five adjectives, but know them really well."

(tags: writing books literature silly)
slacktivist: TF: Saving Hattie Durham

"Apart from the generally dull pointlessness of these chapters, there's a larger problem with Jenkins' devotion to the idea that one or the other of our heroes must always be standing by when Nicolae does something Antichrist-ish. This problem is that it means our heroes will always and only be doing just exactly that -- standing by. The Tribulation Force can never become any legitimate kind of resistance or underground because that might interfere with their ordained narrative function of being bystanders. And that means, in turn, that our heroes can never be heroes. There's no such thing as a heroic bystander."

(tags: books religion stupid blogs slacktivist)
Confessions of a Community College Dean: Gravity

"Much of the angst cc's experience on a daily basis comes from the effort to fight gravity. Colleges were originally built for the second sons of the aristocracy, and the closer you get to that, the better it all works. Moving to open admissions in a society with increasing class polarization leads to some extremes for which the system wasn't built. As the K-12 systems from which many of our students come continue to founder, we spend more on tutoring and support services to try to make up the difference. Students who need those services notice that we're good at them, so they seek us out. Our graduation rates suffer, and we get flogged for it in the press and the political discourse. Meanwhile, the public four-year college down the street jacks up its standards and all is well."

(tags: academia education class-war economics society culture blogs dean-dad)