Shelley Batts is a Neuroscience PhD candidate at the University of Michigan. She studies hair cell regeneration in the cochlea, and is trying to finish that quixotic quest called 'thesis.' She lies awake at night pondering how science intersects with politics, culture, policy, money, medicine, and religion in an attempt to be more than just a niche scientist sitting in the oh-so-lovely ivory tower. Follow me and my parrot, Pepper, on our quest to finish my PhD, land a post-doc, and stay sane.
Steve Higgins is a psychology graduate student at an online university. He hopes that the three weeks and $29.95 that he is spending on his Ph.D. will get him a job at a Tier 1 research university. Do online universities have postdocs? Ok...just kidding, Steve is really a Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying high level vision. You know... stuff like scene & object perception.
While not an official contributer to 'Of Two Minds,' Shelley's sidekick is an African Grey parrot named Pepper. His heros are Irene Pepperberg, Alex, and Rachel Carson. He spends his time learning Mandarin and writing the Great American novel.
"Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life." ~Rachel Carson
We love constructive comments! However, we reserve the right to delete comments that abuse this forum. Voicing your opinions is great, just be respectful.
August 26, 2008
Category: Psychology
A classic Candid Camera prank using some social psychology. I'll be posting many more of my Psych 100 videos as I run across them for the rest of the semester :)...
Posted by Steve Higgins at 3:19 PM • 2 Comments •
August 18, 2008
Category: Brains and Stuff
Thanks to a reader, Daniel Keogh, we have a wonderful video detailing what the Imperial March from Star Wars would taste like to one particular synaesthete who has some particularly odd sensation pairings. Check it out: The Professor Funk...
Posted by Steve Higgins at 1:54 PM • 7 Comments •
August 13, 2008
Category: Popular Culture
So... my girlfriend studies categories and concepts and her adviser wanted her to show a video for her first year project. Of course I went out to youtube and tried to find something sensible since I'm procrastinating right now on...
Posted by Steve Higgins at 12:34 PM • 10 Comments •
August 12, 2008
Category: Blog Business
ScienceBlogs wants your help... and is willing to pay. Well sorta... they're giving away some ipod type goodies to some people who complete a short survey. Here's the schtick: Dear Reader, We launched Seed and ScienceBlogs because we believe...
Posted by Steve Higgins at 10:37 AM • 3 Comments •
August 8, 2008
Category: Academia
Oh you crazy non-English speaking people... please please please take the extra effort and get someone like me with a dirty mind to proofread your papers. And Editors... get your mind INTO the gutter and things like this won't...
Posted by Steve Higgins at 4:38 PM • 22 Comments •
YES! Send me a free issue of Seed.
If I like what I see, I'll receive 5 more issues (6 in all) for just $14.95. That's 50% off the cover price! If I'm not completely satisfied, I'll simply write "cancel" on the invoice and owe nothing. The free issue is mine to keep.
(Non-U.S. subscribers, click here.)
