Jason Goldman
jgoldman
Posts by this author
March 1, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week.
"Whether it's a raised eyebrow or curl of the lip, we usually think of emotions as conveyed through facial expressions and body language," writes BPS Research Digest's Christian Jarrett. But, how well can we communicate emotions…
February 28, 2011
Lots of animals are well aware that bigger means scarier. In stressful or aggressive situations, for example, the hair or fur of chimpanzees, rats, cats, and even humans stands up on end (in humans, given our lack of fur, this results in goose bumps) in an effort to dissuade a potential attack.…
February 24, 2011
PsychBytes is an experiment: three recent findings in psychology, each explained in three paragraphs or less. Generally, these are papers that I wouldn't have otherwise covered in this blog. Please share your thoughts on this model in the comments. What works, and what doesn't? Would you like more…
February 22, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week:
To start us off, a pair of killer posts by tag-teaming science-blogging super-duo Kate Clancy and Scicurious. First, check out The cerebellum and premenstrual dysphoric disorder at Sci's place, and then read Kate's take on the same…
February 22, 2011
There is a small bit of land, only about a square kilometer, that has added a new wrinkle to the story of animal domestication. This bit of land located in Northern Jordan, just southeast of the Sea of Galilee near the banks of the Jordan River, is home to an archaeological site known as 'Uyun al-…
February 16, 2011
"At home, a young man should be dutiful towards his parents; going outside, he should be respectful towards his elders." -Confucius (Chinese philosopher, 551-479 BCE)
"Your real boss is the one who walks under your hat." -Napoleon Hill (American author, 1883-1970)
Those two quotations reflect a…
February 16, 2011
Yesterday I posted this photo and offered up a prize for the best caption.
"Well, me and Joan been together...oh, 'most forty years now. Eats a lot, but she's been good to me, sure enough! Hey, don't make fun of the uniform... [whispers] Joan kinda' likes a man-in-uniform, servin' her dinners,…
February 15, 2011
This photo, titled "Zookeeper Ernie Bowman and Hippopotamus, Joan, London, 1934" comes to us via The Guardian.
Comment with your best photo caption - as many as you want. Winner will get a limited edition Scienceblogs Thoughtful Animal mug. I will chose a winner in 24 hours.
The photo is © 2011…
February 15, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week:
I believe this is the first time I've featured a cartoon in my weekly editor's selections. Learn all about the Dunning-Kruger effect at Lost in Transcription.
Krystal D'Costa of Anthropology in Practice asks, Is A Kiss Ever Really…
February 14, 2011
Part 2 of the n00b Science Blogging 101 series concerns the big questions of blogging: audience, purpose, and so on. You can find part 1 here, in which I discussed my own experiences with blogging to provide adequate context for this and the remaining posts in the series.
What audience do you have…
February 14, 2011
Painstaking scientific research has identified seven dating tips that could boost your chances on Valentine's Day ... including shouting in his right ear and scaring him witless.
Whether or not you have a Valentine this year, head on over to check out to my latest piece in The Guardian: Valentine'…
February 10, 2011
Earlier today, I had the pleasure of speaking via Skype with Dan Simons's graduate-level science writing class. We talked about the ins and outs of academic blogging, and the nature and ecosystem of science communication online, and the students asked some terrific questions.
I had asked Dan to…
February 8, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week:
Let's start out with something particularly morbid (though potentially the best lede ever): "What effect do thoughts of death have on a typical person's desire for sex?" This fascinating post by Christian Jarrett of BPS Research…
February 7, 2011
Most dog owners think that their dogs can tell what they're thinking. Or at least, in some sense, they will insist that their pet pooches can sense their emotions, and respond accordingly.
Indeed, a man by the name of Karl Krall (say that three times fast) thought that there exist some sort of…
February 1, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week.
So much good stuff this week, it was hard to choose. But choose I must:
To start us out, Dr. Sharma of his eponymous blog discusses a new finding in neuroscience: is there a gene that's associated with the so-called sweet tooth?…
January 31, 2011
It's like a scene out of Romeo and Juliet, or perhaps the Rapunzel story. A wild bald eagle has taken up residence on a tree just adjacent to a bald eagle enclosure at the Orange County Zoo in Irvine, near Los Angeles. In fact, the wild bird has shown particular interest in the zoo's 6-year-old…
January 31, 2011
Production on Open Lab 2010 is proceeding apace, thanks to the valiant assistance of Blake Stacey. While we put the finishing touches on it, though, it is time to announce the sixth anthology.*
The submission form for the 2011 edition of Open Lab is now open. Any blog post written since December 1…
January 28, 2011
If you're plugged into the science blogtwitosphere, then you surely know that the topic of women science bloggers has been written about extensively. Rather than re-hash what many others have said, I'll direct you to these posts by Kate Clancy and Daniel Lende. Then, late last night, Ed Yong wrote…
January 26, 2011
What's the best way for a lonely guy to get a date? If you're a Splendid Fairy-Wren (Malurus splendens, native to Australia), your best bet might be to frighten the object of your affection.
You've learned all about the birds and the bees; now it's time to learn from them.
Lots of research has…
January 25, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week:
A new post by Scicurious recommends, "If you're trying to quit smoking, it's best to stay away from movies or TV shows depicting smoking, which might induce craving and cause you to relapse." Easier said than done, perhaps. Movies…
January 19, 2011
The first proper session I attended at Science Online was I-wish-my-science-teachers-had-been-like Stacy Baker's workshop on Prezi. Despite some issues with the hotel wifi, it was a fantastic session, and I learned quite a bit. Clearly, there are some things better suited to Keynote/Powerpoint,…
January 19, 2011
Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week:
Christian Jarrett of BPS Research Digest starts us off with a big cup of coffee. Coffee helps women cope with stressful meetings but has the opposite effect on men.
What's the point of music? Steven Pinker once famously remarked that…
January 18, 2011
I'm not sure exactly how, but somewhere between the lemurs, the books, the dinners, and the ridiculously short sleep sessions that I encountered at Science Online, I managed to learn quite a bit from many of those science writers to whose level of awesomeness I aspire, and am consequently left…
January 13, 2011
Just now, attendees of Science Online 2011 are getting their #scio11 Swag Bags as they register and prepare for the Keynote. And in those swag bags are postcards revealing the cover of Open Lab!
But even if you're not at Science Online, you, too, can revel in the awesomeness of the brand-spankin'-…
January 12, 2011
Behold! The second installment of the Science Online Lemur Cognition series. If you missed the first installment, you should check out the cyborg lemurs of the Duke Lemur Center.
There's some pretty good evidence that numerical cognition emerged fairly early in the primate lineage, at least, if not…
January 11, 2011
Greetings! After emerging from the Cave of Open Lab (have you seen all the awesome posts that were chosen?), I'm back with the best in psychology and neuroscience research blogging from the past week.
Over at Games With Words, we learn that "If Microsoft Word had its way, passive verbs would be…
January 10, 2011
In honor of Science Online, which begins on Thursday night, I will be writing about lemurs this week. Why lemurs? Because on Friday morning, as a part of Science Online, I will be taking a tour of the Duke Lemur Center.
It is common among animals - especially primates - to orient their gaze…
January 7, 2011
It's here! After more than a month of reviewing, I am pleased to announce the list of posts that will be included in this year's edition - the fifth - of The Open Laboratory!
In no particular order:
Givin' props to hybrids by DeLene Beeland
The decade the clones came: Beware the mighty Marmokrebs…
January 5, 2011
If this doesn't tug on the heartstrings, at least a little bit, you may not be quite human.
As with yesterday's post, I don't know where this came from or who wrote it. If you do, please let me know so I can properly attribute it. It is again, a very "tall" image, so I've placed it behind the fold…
January 4, 2011
I'm not sure where this is from, or who made it (if you do, though, please let me know so I can give it proper attribution). But I think its hilarious and awesome. The image is particularly large, though, so I've placed it behind the fold.
Click to enlarge: