links for 2009-04-01

"To me, the worst players to run with (aside from the belligerent and insane) are those with drastically inflated self-images. You know these players. They're the ones who think that they're the best on the court, the ones who think they know how the game should be played and how you should be playing it."

"Moses has taken the Which god are you? quiz. Moses is Osiris, God of the Dead. Dressed in white flannel gown, Osiris ruled over the Egyptians and taught them farming."
"God Note to self: This is getting really annoying. I have got to add a Commandment outlawing this stupid Which God Are You Quiz. I think I'll word it broadly so that no one can possibly misunderstand my intentions, and I'll put it right up front where they can't possibly miss it."

A good summary of an interminable argument.

"[I]n journalism, titling is often divorced from the writing process - as a writer, you can suggest titles, but they will likely be changed by editors or other staff. This is not unique to science journalism, but it may disproportionately affect science pieces, simply because it is so challenging to briefly and accurately summarize a study's outcomes and relevance without resorting to jargon. Titles inevitably oversimplify the science. That's not a problem as long as the article builds on the title to clarify and explain further. But when the editors responsible for titling pieces don't understand the science or its context, the title can end up not merely simplified, but misleading, inaccurate, or just plain creepy. "