Janet D. Stemwedel
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
jstemwedel
Posts by this author
June 10, 2006
In honor of the arrival of all the new neighbors here at ScienceBlogs Towers, here's a little getting-acquainted meme.
3 reasons you blog about science:
To make the scientific method less scary to non-scientists.
To examine the ways in which behaving ethically really makes for better scientific…
June 9, 2006
It's time for another spin of the "Ask a ScienceBlogger" wheel! The question this time is:
Assuming that time and money were not obstacles, what area of scientific research, outside of your own discipline, would you most like to explore? Why?
You may recall that I chose to leave chemistry for a…
June 9, 2006
As this week's "Friday Sprog Blogging" was going to press:
Younger offspring: Here's another picture for you to use.
Dr. Free-Ride: It's nice, but does it have anything to do with insects?
Younger offspring: No ... but you could still blog about it.
Dr. Free-Ride: I suppose ...
Wallace and Gromit…
June 9, 2006
Ah, the power of the internets! Without them, how would I ever have discovered The Mixilator?
The Mixilator is hosted by The Internet Cocktail Database. It presents you with a form asking you to specify your cocktail variety, hour, strength, level of complexity, and special characteristics. It…
June 9, 2006
Regular readers of this blog know that I periodically muse on the question of why there aren't more women in science. But since I'm not, say, an anthropologist, my musings have been rooted mostly in my own experience and the experiences of people I know.
Well, the Summer 2006 issue of Washington…
June 9, 2006
It's like the blogoverse suddenly got more concentrated or something.
Oh wait, I remember! It's move-in day at the newly completed ScienceBlogs Towers! Look at all those moving vans! Look at all those bloggers! A quick run-down of my new neighbors (and their previous addresses) after the jump…
June 9, 2006
Younger offspring: (Singing, to the tune of "Head and Shoulders") Head and thorax, abdomen, abdomen.
Head and thorax, abdomen, abdome-e-e-en.
Bulgy eyes and antennae.
Head and thorax, abdomen, abdomen!
Dr. Free-Ride: Let me guess: you've been learning about insects?
Younger offspring: Uh huh!
Dr.…
June 8, 2006
From USA Today:
The first vaccine to protect against most cervical cancer won federal approval Thursday.
The vaccine Gardasil, approved for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26, prevents infection by four strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, Merck & Co. Inc. said. The virus is the most…
June 8, 2006
The 36th Skeptics' Circle, now posted at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles, begins with these gripping questions:
To readers who distrust science, knowledge found through experimentation, and the secular truths of reason in favor of simply believing - I ask you - why should affirming belief in…
June 8, 2006
This week, the National Review Online's media blogger revealed the secret identity of dKos blogger Armando, who says that this unwanted decloaking probably means he will no longer blog.
While I'm not heavy into the political end of the blogosphere (until someone can provide me with more than 24…
June 7, 2006
Near the end of the "Ethics in Science" course I teach, we read the novel Cantor's Dilemma by Carl Djerassi. It does a nice job of tying together a lot of different issues we talk about earlier in the term. Plus, it's a novel.
While it's more enjoyable reading than the slew of journal articles…
June 7, 2006
One of the first things that happens when you get a faculty mailbox in a philosophy department is that unsolicited items start appearing in it. There are the late student papers, the book catalogs, the religious tracts -- and occasionally, actual books that, it is hoped, you will like well enough…
June 6, 2006
I want to note three recent articles about science education. They may be dots worth connecting to each other, or they may not. I welcome your hypotheses, well grounded or tentative.
Via Michael Berube: "Women Gaining on Men in Advanced Fields". It seems like we've heard this kind of result…
June 5, 2006
Hey, do you remember that oft cited Newsweek article from 1986 that proclaimed that the chances of a 40-year-old single, white, college educated woman getting married were less than her chances of getting killed in an act of terrorism? It turns out it was wrong. From a recent retraction of that…
June 5, 2006
It's time for the bees in the ScienceBlogs hive to weigh in on another "Ask a ScienceBlogger" question. The question this time:
Do you think there is a brain drain going on (i.e. foreign scientists not coming to work and study in the U.S. like they used to, because of new immigration rules and the…
June 3, 2006
Elder offspring's Spring soccer season ended today. At the start of the season, I nervously volunteered to be the assistant coach for the team, because an assistant coach was needed and I was going to be at all the games and practices anyway. It's not like I had mad coaching skillz; really, I was…
June 2, 2006
Being a fan of the old Tick cartoons, I had to find out which of the Tick's nemeses (nemesises?) I am.
I am cackling with glee to discover:
You think you're a villain, but are you villainous enough? The other villains look down on you and you desperately want their acceptance. In fact, your…
June 2, 2006
Months ago, I wrote about the Department of Homeland Security's concerns about chemistry sets. (You know, for kids.) Well, it seems the push to make the world child-safe (or perhaps not legally actionable?) continues.
Reader Donn Young points me to this story from Wired about government…
June 2, 2006
There's a lot going on in our world that might make you want to gnash your teeth. Some of that stuff, which you've heard about here before, involves the government trying to exert an influence over science -- either in what research gets supported (and who makes that decision) or in how the…
June 2, 2006
A conversation while walking home from school with the elder Free-Ride offspring:
Elder offspring: (Veering off the sidewalk toward a bougainvillea) Hello! How are you today?
Dr. Free-Ride: Hey, what are you doing?
Elder offspring: I'm just talking to the plants.
Dr. Free-Ride: Why are you doing…
June 1, 2006
I must report the following, although the protagonist wants to be left out of it. (I will allow as how the protagonist has a credit card, lives in my house, and isn't me, but I won't divulge any further identifying details.)
Anyway, it starts out as one of those FedEx horror stories -- far too…
May 30, 2006
It's time for this week's installment of "Ask a ScienceBlogger". The question of the day is:
Since they're funded by taxpayer dollars (through the NIH, NSF, and so on), should scientists have to justify their research agendas to the public, rather than just grant-making bodies?
Although in earlier…
May 28, 2006
Sure, John and GrrlScientist and Orac took the quiz first, but I loves me some Edward Gorey, and who doesn't want to know how they'll meet the reaper?
What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
You will perish of fits. Repeat this to yourself: "Things can work out even if I don't get my…
May 28, 2006
Commencement: done.
Grading: not quite.
So, as seen at See Jane Compute, it's time for the guilty pleasures meme. (And for those who feel inclined to use the comments to get accusatory about my responses, I'm already acknowledging my guilt!)
Here we go:
Four Guilty Pleasures in Books/Reading:
This…
May 26, 2006
I have a soft spot for commencements. And, as I get on in years, that spot gets even softer.
Part of it, undoubtedly, is because recognizing the hard work and accomplishments of the new graduates is so much more fun than the grading that immediately precedes it. But for me, part of what grabs me…
May 26, 2006
Dr. Free-Ride: (sidling up to the younger offspring this morning with tape-recorder in hand) Hey, can I ask you about --
Younger offspring: I don't remember them.
Dr. Free-Ride: Huh?
Younger offspring: I don't remember the words to the brontosaurus song, and David won't sing it for me anymore…
May 25, 2006
Blogging has been light because grading has been heavy. But Chad has a post that started me to thinking. (Danger! Danger!) And, since he has stated his desire to avoid a flamewar at this time, it seems only fair that I do that thinking over here so his space can be unscorched.
The question at…
May 24, 2006
I'm marking another stack of papers (because it's May, and the sun is shining, and apparently I was a real bastard in some previous life).
In these papers, the students were supposed to examine an instance where the interests of scientists and the interests of non-scientists (perhaps various…
May 23, 2006
The latest edition of Tangled Bank, the carnival of the blogosphere's best science writing, is now up at Science and Politics. And, Coturnix makes an announcement that readers of Science and Politics, Circadiana, and The Magic School Bus won't want to miss.
May 23, 2006
It's time for anothe installment of "Ask a ScienceBlogger". This week's question:
If you could shake the public and make them understand one scientific idea, what would it be?
Here, because others have already snagged my standard answer to this question, and because I've already embraced…