sheril | May 23, 2008At 2:22 pm tomorrow, I'll have circumnavigated that spectacular star of ours exactly 28 times.
Despite the traditional hullabaloo and fanfare every twelve months, it's easy to argue that counting orbits is rather arbitrary. Our year results from the happenstance masses of earth and the sun, the distance between them, and a few other extraterrestrial considerations in the mix. Given all entities involved came about due to a great big bang billions of years prior to my arrival, birthdays don't seem very significant when you scale out. An individual cameo isn't even a glimmer in the eye of…
sheril | May 22, 2008Fact: According to the National Postdoc Association, between 1972 and 2003, the percent of recent Ph.D. holders hired into full-time faculty positions fell from 74% to 44%.
Fact: During the same period, the number of post docs in science and engineering has increased from 13% to 34%.
Fact: The probability that a Ph.D. recipient under 35 will obtain a tenure-track job has fallen from 10% in 1993 to 7% in 2003.
Unfortunately, these numbers just don't add up to my satisfaction... So what's going on?
Read my full post now up over at Correlations which begins to examine the problem by…
sheril | May 22, 2008Today I begin a series of posts on the tremendous challenges facing graduate students--with some illuminating data that sheds light on what's really going on in the ivory towers during the 21st century. To get started, here's The Simpsons perspective on the pursuit of an academic tenure track position:
(if the video stops, click 'pause/play' to continue)
Check back later today for some troubling statistics...
sheril | May 21, 2008Last week I participated in a panel discussion on 'The Agenda with Steve Paikin.' The evening's show was called The Assault On Science so obviously it wasn't complete sans Chris.
Topics included climate change, the theory of evolution, science in the media, and religion (complete with a clip from 'Expelled'). My co-panelists were nice enough fellows, though I disagreed with climate change denier Lawrence Solomon, and philosphy professor James Robert Brown who believes science and religion are always incompatible. The other guests were science reporter Arthur Allen, author of Vaccine: the…
cmooney | May 21, 2008My latest Science Progress column just went up--it's a reaction to this intriguing proposal, by scholar Jonathan Gottschall, to remake the ailing field of literary studies with a scientific foundation. An excerpt:
Writing in the Boston Globe ideas section, Gottschall describes in detail what his science of literature would look like, something he can do because he and his colleagues have already performed some early experiments. They've crunched data comparing Western and non-Western literatures to determine if one is more sexist than the other (in the sense of constantly describing whether…
sheril | May 20, 2008Over at Correlations, Cifford predicts I'll 'love' his post on these inhabitants of the Macquarie Ridge near New Zealand, adding:
I really hope the scientists said that* when they found this. Really. It's a mountain, underwater, colonized by millions of starfish. Amazing.
[*Pop quiz: Without Google-cheating - Anyone know what the title is a quote from?]
The answer is of course, it's from Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which makes two reasons Clifford is absolutely right about my reaction! After all, Intersection readers know echinoderms are the coolest marine invertebrate around…
sheril | May 19, 2008Buongiorno readers! One revolution ago, I began a journey I certainly didn't anticipate... For a week I was to 'guest host' this Scienceblog called 'The Intersection' while Chris was away in Italy. And so began my first post:
And then something unexpected happened--I never left. And nothing's been the same ever since!
So on this day in May, I'd like to thank readers for contributing to the ongoing discussion, providing thoughtful perspective, and keeping me on my toes as I've wandered down the rabbit hole into cyberland.
Most of all of course, thank you Chris for bringing me here,…
sheril | May 18, 2008It's that special time of year again when high school students around the globe have the opportunity to shine at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Nearly 15,000 students from 47 countries competed in the 2008 competition and the winners are....
So much for the ladies scoring poorly on science, engineering, and mathematics...
Sciencewoman served as a judge at this years competition so go visit her for comprehensive coverage!
cmooney | May 16, 2008The Intersection just got an email from Oxfam America, asking for our help getting the word out about the urgent need to help cyclone survivors in Myanmar. To quote in brief: "In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis - which struck Myanmar on May 3, washing away entire communities - conditions remain dire for millions of people. Food and water shortages are rapidly increasing risk of disease, and more bad weather threatens those who have survived....With death tolls climbing - the latest count puts deaths above 120,000, with 500,000 homeless - we are urgently looking for support from outlets like…
cmooney | May 15, 2008...about, like, things people don't want to hear. But if you do want to hear, listen to this Skepticality podcast. I'll quote a particularly poignant part of it, from Olson discussing how little the science world does to support innovative attempts at communication (around minute 40):
What if there's some sixteen year old kid right now that is making great short films about evolution. How can that person get any sort of recognition and support, how can somebody guide them to the place where they can get a hundred thousand dollars to make a documentary film about some aspect of evolution. It…
sheril | May 15, 2008One week ago I left for the 33rd Annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy...So what went on over two days in our nation's capitol? LOTS!
The event was fantastic! In fact, with so many wonderful contributions, there's no way I could possibly do it justice with a single post, so I'll highlight some of the details of my session here and encourage readers to check out the presentations, listen to talks, read transcripts, and view photos as they're posted throughout the week.
My panel was on 'Science and the New Media' along with Seed's Adam Bly and Dr. Anthony Crider, who teaches…
cmooney | May 14, 2008Okay, so....I got sick of this new wave of conservative science punditry, which dismisses the "war on science" argument without even bothering to show it's wrong, and then goes on to claim that we liberals are "new eugenicists" and that our embrace of science is going to lead us off a political cliff. The result is my latest Science Progress column, readable here. It starts out like this:
I hate to confess it, but lately I've been feeling a bit wistful for the arguments of conservative science pundit Tom Bethell, author of the 2005 polemic The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science. Granted…
sheril | May 14, 2008A couple months ago, we learned that the Vatican named pollution a new sin and now it seems they like astronomy too...
Funes [Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory] said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion... The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.
sheril | May 13, 2008I'm pleased to make my first cameo appearance in the Scientiae Carnival, the 'best blogging on women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics!'
This month's collection is hosted by FlickaMawa of A Cat Nap and the theme is career paths, perspective, and changing self-image. Go check it out...
sheril | May 12, 2008Democrats, Republicans agree on need, disagree on issues; health care tops list
WASHINGTON--May 12, 2008-- A new poll shows that 85% of U.S. adults agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate on how science can be used to tackle America's major challenges. The poll found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question. A majority (84%) also agree that scientific innovations are improving our standard of living.
Among the most serious long-term issues facing the country, 76% rate health care the most serious, followed by alternative energy sources (…
sheril | May 12, 2008No, this is not my leg (I plan to stay ink-free), but the appendage belongs to a favorite girlfriend and former bandmate. She's a soil scientist with a passion for the lovable preying mantis and I suspect I've just witnessed the creation of the coolest science tattoo this millennium...
Check out my full post over at Correlations for a full photo of the 8-inch fella, antennae to abdomen!
sheril | May 10, 2008I'm back from the AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, which brought together an incredible group of speakers and moderators. I remain humbled and honored to have been involved and will have details on this spectacular event next week.
In the mean time, I must figure out what to do without my Air, which sadly didn't make it back from the District.
sheril | May 9, 2008Over at Island of Doubt, you'll find Carnival of the Blue 12, 'A celebration of all things wet and wonderful'. This month features contributions from both The Intersection and Correlations.
I especially enjoyed reading Jame's take on my April 28th post that explained NOAA's never been authorized by Congress:
WTF? No wonder we're running out of fish. And whales. And coral...
cmooney | May 8, 2008Look, folks. It's this simple. Carl Zimmer is one of our very best science writers. If not the absolute best bar none.
So if you like reading about science, go buy his newest, Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life.
And don't wait--the book is just out, and if you buy now you drive up the Amazon.com numbers, which every writer loves....
cmooney | May 8, 2008Props to my brother, who has been "noticed." From the New York Times Artsbeat blog, covering the New Orleans Jazz Fest:
This year's Monk Institute class has only been working together since the start of the fall term, but already there's a noticeable chemistry among the students, judging by their Jazzfest performance on Sunday morning. The group didn't sound quite like a full-fledged band yet - there were still some tentative moments - but it wasn't hard to detect much promise.
Based on the set I heard, the most advanced musicians in the group are Davy Mooney, a guitarist from here in New…