Links for 2012-10-19

In which we look at commemorating an important anniversary, an unusual way to publish more articles, one of the best discussions of fraternities and sororities I've seen, an article calling for more flexibility in academia, and a bit of political silliness.

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  • Emilio Segrè Visual Archives

    "Niels Bohr’s atomic model has had an immense impact on the history of physics and is an icon of the scientific revolutions of the 20th century. The History Programs of the American Institute of Physics and the Niels Bohr Archive, Denmark, celebrate the model’s 100th anniversary with this calendar of select historical photos from Bohr's career."

  • Opportunity knocks — Crooked Timber

    A unique approach to increasing academic productivity.

  • On Swarthmore’s Sorority | Easily Distracted

    I wish more discussions of fraternities and sororities were conducted with this level of thoughtfulness and respect. Also, the application of these ideas to stuff like "What's the matter with Kansas?" is left as an exercise for the reader.

  • Perspective: Embrace Flexible Work Arrangements - Science Careers - Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers

    I've had this open in a tab for a week now, but between my job and my family, I haven't been able to find time to blog about it. Irony sucks, sometimes.

  • Reince Priebus Forced Back Into Ancient Puzzle Box After Being Tricked Into Saying Name Backwards | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

    Priebus, a wily, mystical creature who has reportedly carried out right-wing political trickery at numerous points throughout recorded history, was said to be delivering a speech on traditional family values when he unthinkingly read the words “Subeirp Ecnier” aloud off the teleprompter, immediately causing the lights in the Omni Hotel to flicker and sending a powerful, chilling wind through the convention hall. Witnesses stated that in the moments after the fateful words were uttered, Priebus reverted to his natural form as a 3-and-a-half-foot-tall wart-covered hobgoblin. As Priebus’ nose grew red and bulbous and the points of his green felt shoes coiled inward, the puzzle box—forged with images of a sword, a skull, and a jackal—shook violently on a nearby tabletop before splitting open and emitting heavy smoke and an eerie purple glow.

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So, yesterday was my big TEDxAlbany talk. I was the first speaker scheduled, probably because I gave them the title "The Exotic Physics of an Ordinary Morning," so it seemed appropriate to have me talking while people were still eating breakfast... The abstract I wrote when I did the proposal…
The following is the approximate text of the talk I gave at TED@NYC last night. Approximate, because I'm somewhat prone to ad-libbing when speaking, and may have changed a few things here and there. I don't really know, because I'm scheduling this post on Tuesday morning, before the actual event,…
Today's equation in our march to Newton's birthday is actually a tiny bit out of order, historically speaking: This is the Rydberg formula for the wavelengths of the spectral lines in hydrogen (and hydrogen-like ions), with R a constant having the appropriate units, and the two n's being two…
The physics vs. philosophy slow-motion blogfight continues, the latest major contribution being Sean Carroll's "Physicists Should Stop Saying silly Things About Philosophy. I've been mostly trying to stay out of this, but when I read through the comments at Sean's post to see if anybody offered any…

Thanks for pointing me to the great post on the debate about the sorority at Swarthmore. I know a little about the school and one anecdote I find amazing about the Greek culture there is that for one large on-campus event where students were drinking, the fraternities were actually tasked with escorting drunk women (and men too) home safely.

That this was considered and universally accepted as a great safety solution (without any trace of irony) really highlights the difference between Greek culture at Swarthmore and at most other schools. It's truly a unique place... but of course it can afford to be with 1600 students and a billion dollar endowment.

Off-topic but not sure where else to post it - are you doing Donors Choose this year?

By fizzchick (not verified) on 23 Oct 2012 #permalink