- David Ng is Director of the AMBL at the University of British Columbia - fancy speak for a science teacher.
- Benjamin Cohen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. He studies the place of science in environmental history, ethics, and policy. He also writes other stuff.
Somebody recently tweeted the term "transmon qubit" to the Science Scout twitter account, and (for the life of me) I cannot wrap my head around what it is exactly (other than a piece of delicious sounding science jargon).
As far as I can make out, it has something to do with a bit unit in the computation sciences context, which happens to quantum properties. i.e. Not just binary, but more a binary plus this "both, at the same time" option.
Anyway, if anyone can shed some light (a la Bill Nye style) on this term then it would be greatly appreciated.
I realized of late that I am more a fan of Malcolm Galdwell's reviews than his articles. It's possible I've even poked fun of Gladwellian articles in the past ("I Dream in Malcolm Gladwell"). But oh boy did I enjoy his recent review of Chris Anderson's Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Anderson, the editor of Wired, puts forth an economic argument about the digital age -- all information wants to be free; all info in the digital age shall thus be free -- based on an impoverished concept of technology. In "Priced to Sell," Gladwell handily calls him out for it.
Among other things, John Stuart Mill wrote about deliberation in a democratic society. It's the philosophy that a strong democracy is one whose members are actively involved in the functioning of that government. This, as opposed to a passive, distanced, and unreflective citizenry. Engagement and participation into the activity of the society offer benefits in at least two directions: in one way, they make for a stronger democratic society as a whole by demanding connections between the everyday life of the citizens and the everyday operations of the government; this is an advantage that benefits the community, an advantage for "the society." In another direction, deliberation has advantages for the individual. By virtue of that participation, by being involved and active, the individual grows in her or his own right. We become better people, more attentive to those around us, more aware of our own individual identity amidst others. The tendency towards deliberation requires work from the citizenry, it requires labor and effort from the individual. The promise of that deliberation - of taking your time to figure out a problem, to work through a situation, to become part of the process of resolution - is just that, a processual, not static, sense of democracy. It makes us better people and it builds a better society. So says Mill, though in much more profound and compelling language when he says it.
The photographer Jade Doskow is capturing and creating images of the once-grand spectacles called World's Fairs. Her photographs do triple duty: they track down those old sites, in cities across the world (from Brussels to Seville, from New York to Spokane, from Paris to Philadelphia); they call back to the technological grandeur such exhibitions sought to promote; and they put those now-decaying sites into a contemporary landscape, setting up questions about past and present and hoped-for futures and the role of technological throughout.
Caption from TMN: "'The Columbian Exposition,' Site of Manufacture Liberal Arts Building, Grand Peristyle, and Agriculture Building, View 2"
I feel like we have to showcase this set, given it's name and theme. Plus, I like it, the set of images below. A couple of the prior Landscape and Modernity sets were but links to galleries at The Morning News (like the West and trees). So too this one.
Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm is about a half hour from Charlottesville, give or take. His local prominence preceded the Omnivore's Dilemma bump of '06 and continues on after. Jane Black, the food writer for the Washington Post, wrote last year about the Chipotle franchise's decision to use Salatin's pigs as the sole source for their Charlottesville store's carnitas. I use her story in a few of my classes as an entry into the larger topic of local food, infrastructure, distribution, and land use.
One thing they emphasize in the story, or have Salatin emphasizing, is the animal welfare and moral obligation aspect -- that happier pigs are better pigs. They live better, we live better, and the food is better. At the same time, the conditions in which they live are less caustic, so it's not just the pig's welfare and the "pigness of the pig" at stake, but the way we use land and produce and manage pollution from it (as with, by contrast, CAFOs). I'm guessing the new and widely discussed Food, Inc. film has more info on just such a topic.
Just a quick heads up to let you know that the Science Scout website has been completely revamped. It's now capable of accepting comments (anecdotes) of why you feel particularly inclined to deserve certain badges.
As well, there are a few these new badges for you to peruse through:
And the start of an attempt to organize according to locale (separate Facebook group sites for individual cities - starting with Vancouver, New York, and London).
O.K. this song by the Weakerthans is personal because I happened to have used it for my annual family video. Plus, it rocks!
Anyway, I make this family video every year which is essentially pieced together from short home movie clips, but it's cool now, because we actually have about 8 of them or so in total, which when strung together make a nice little 30 minutes of viewing.
Dear Mr. Superman, Mr. Batman, Ms. Wonder Woman, and other esteemed do-gooders,
Although I have been waiting patiently for a few years in the hope that an advertisement would appear, I feel for the sake of my career that now is a good time to approach you. In essence, I am wondering whether you are, or will be, accepting any new members into your fine organization. More specifically, I am inquiring as to whether you need the services of a geneticist, since that is my particular field of expertise.
