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Displaying results 451 - 500 of 854
Marking classes interactive: better learning or just more fun?
One of the newfangled ideas that's popped up in education in the past few years has been notion that more interactive methods of teaching will lead to better results. There's an appealing logic to this notion. Figure 1. A traditional lecture may not be the ideal way to transfer information. Technorati Tags: education, active learning, clickers To quote Eric Mazur (1) quoting D. Huff (2): I once heard someone describe the lecture method as a process whereby the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of students without passing through the brains of either…
Why Mama Bear's Porridge Is Too Cold
Over at Uncertain Principles, Chad frets about committing physics heresy via a reading of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to his young offspring. The story may convey a useful moral message, but it's way off base on the physics. After all, the Papa Bear, being the biggest, presumably has the largest bowl of porridge. Here, the story fits what we know about thermodynamics, as the largest bowl should take the longest time to cool, and thus should be the hottest at any time before the porridge bowls reach thermal equilibrium with their environment. The description provided of the other two bowls…
Undergraduate Research - some examples
Jake, Chad, Rob, Janet, Chad again and Chad again. have already written everything important about today's Buzz topic - the undergraduate research. What I will do is add a few examples and you draw conclusions why this worked (or not) for each one of them. A Self-Starter Kevin Messenger loved snakes all his life. He did his own research in high school, a standard survey of herps in the Sandhills area of North Carolina. He presented that at a meeting of the Herps society while a high-school senior. He went to college to NCSU because he wanted to work with Hal Heathwole. He got his own…
The science pipeline and the overabundance of Ph.D. scientists.
Chad has an interesting post about the scientific job market, in which he notes that his own experience training for and finding a job in academic science has left him with an impression significantly rosier than some circulating through cyberspace. Chad's discussion of the ways your field (and subfield) can influence what your prospects and experiences will be like is a must-read for anyone prepared to talk themselves out of pursuing science on the basis of the aerial view of science as a whole. Chad's assessment: So what's the real situation? Probably somewhere between his hyper-…
Colored folk in science
Small kerfuffle about the fact that ScienceBlogsTM is so white. Some amusement that I am one of the white science bloggers. In any case, this comment caught my attention: Second, it is no secret that minorities of most stripes are seriously underrepresented in science. Bloggers are even more pointedly underrepresented in the pool of scientists. (Hard to categorize the "pool" from which the non-working-scientist SBers are drawn, so let's not even go there). It takes no genius to see that even if minority scientists were more likely to blog that this pool would be pretty dang small. This is…
Everybody Must Get Framed
I guess nobody reads me, and everyone reads PZ, but I am astonished how many people, after my eight lengthy posts on the topic, dozens of posts by others who 'get it' and literally hundreds of comments by people who 'get it', still equate framing with spin. For instance, in his latest post criticizing Michael Ruse - and I agree with every word of the criticism which Ruse totally deserves - Larry sinks low in the last paragraph, conflates what Ruse does with Mooney/Nisbet stuff (I guess equating all your enemies-du-jour is a 'cool' rhetorical technique these days) and ends the otherwise…
Direct and Indirect Heating: Why Don't Power Plants Change Local Climate?
This past weekend, I was at Boskone, where I appeared on a few science-y panels. One of these was on the possibility of beaming power down from space: Energy From Space Beam me down some juice, Scotty? Let's talk about the possibilities -- and practicalities -- of really long-distance power transmission. Tom Easton (M), Jordin T. Kare, Chad Orzel, Jeff Hecht, Joan Slonczewski This was a little odd, as Jordin does this for a living-- he's been working on a proposal to NASA for a solar power generating satellite that would use lasers to beam power down to photovoltaic panels on the ground--…
Religion is Sensible to the Extent That it is Vacuous
This essay by Peter Bebergal is getting some bloggy attention. Chad Orzel liked it. John Wilkins calls it “lovely, lyrical and wistful.” P.Z. is less impressed. I'm with P.Z. Surprise! The essay starts off strong with a condemnation of the Creation Museum. Hard to object to that! Sadly, the essay quickly veers off into an all-too-familiar defense of the allegedly good sort of religion, as opposed to the simplistic kind represented by the fundamentalists. His message can be summed up as follows: “Sure, if you take religious claims seriously then of course you will think religion is…
The Death Penalty And War: The SciBloggers Speak Out
A few days ago, I issued a challenge to my fellow ScienceBloggers: "Are you for or against the death penalty, or (if its conditional), in what cases? Furthermore, do you believe that societies that sanction war are hypocritical for opposing the death penalty?" Quite a few of my esteemed cohort stepped up to the plate and took a swing. If you are interested in my thoughts on the subject, well they are below the fold. Mike Dunford of The Questionable Authority is "more or less opposed" to the death penalty but reserves the right to fry the extra-baddies. Tim Lambert at Deltoid discusses some…
Quick Picks on ScienceBlogs, August 10
"Platensimycin: Putative New Class of Antibiotic Medication" Scientists from Merck report on a previously unknown class of antibiotic. "A Necessary Twist (Values, part IV)" Why can't we picture a fifth dimension? Stretch your mind with the fourth installment in Karmen's series, complete with illustrations by the author. "Debunking the Upper Tail: More on the Gender Disparity" Jake continues his previous discussion of gender differences in cognition: they exist, but are they significant enough to explain anything? "Hillary for President? Not If You're Old." Does Hillary make you feel proud…
Reader Poll: Best Science Movies
About a week ago, ScienceBlogger Randy Olson (documentary filmmaker of "Flock of Dodos" fame) left a comment on Shifting Baselines suggesting that the best way to combat anti-science propaganda like "Expelled" is with a pro-science film festival. "Right now, if a high school kid makes a really great video about evolution, where is he or she supposed to send it?" he asked. "And more importantly, the presence of such a festival becomes an incentive to draw new talent into the subject." Chad agrees, but makes the bold suggestion that bloggers could organize such a festival online. The issue got…
More ideas for geeky gifts
No, you can't have a glow-in-the-dark kitty. But never fear, the SciBlings and I have other ideas for holiday gifts. If you really have your heart set on glowing animals, and you don't live in California, you can get a tankful of lovely glowing fish, genetically engineered with a different version of the protein (GFP) used to make the glow-in-the-dark cats. If you prefer clothing over pets, there's the pathogenic line of formal wear. If you've got a child on your list, Janet wrote about these last year, but hey, building sets are always fun. Or, if your kids like other kinds of toys, Janet…
Most Significant SF Books
Tikistitch, PZ Myers and John Wilkins are going through a list of "Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years". Considering I am a big SF reader, I was surprised as to how few of those I have read (only around 15!). Most of the titles on the list are just around 40-50 years old. I guess my preferences tend to be for either much older stuff or the most recent stuff (and no Fantasy, please). I also tend to latch onto an author and read a lot by the same person. So, growing up I had my Heinlein phase, Bradbury phase, LeGuin phase, etc. More recently, I had a Greg Bear…
Weight Loss - what works, really?
You may remember Dr.Charles whose blog was here on Scienceblogs.com for a while two years ago. He took a hiatus from blogging, but is now back at it with a vengeance at his new site which I warmly recommend you visit. Today's post is interesting - and not just because it is partially about a PLoS ONE paper - Why Exercise is Not the Best Prescription for Weight Loss which fits perfectly within the ongoing discussion about weight-loss and dieting going on a couple of my SciBlings' blogs right now. PalMD is going on a diet and monitoring his progress publicly, on his blog. Dr.Isis tells him he…
Man Sending Fake Anthrax Threats Arrested
Does this sound like the handiwork of a right-wing nutjob to you? A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said. Chad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, is suspected of sending more than a dozen threatening letters to media outlets and the homes of public figures in various cities, the FBI said. According to a federal search warrant, among those who received threatening letters were Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily…
linkedy links xix
Undecidable financial contracts, crowdsourcing nepotism and explaining the Nobel Prize. We got it all... Financial Derivatives - just intractable or formally undecidable? - see comment by "Ken" at 20 Oct 09 11:39 yes, it looks like you can do arithmetic and boolean algebra with financial derivaties, and create undecidable statement. Whose Kid Are You - ever wondered how your boss rose so quickly fromskipped the mailroom and took over? The Y-Ranter is starting a crowdsourced "Whose Kid Are You" - a pedia of nepotism and backscratching. Brilliant. I wonder if we can have one for Iceland. With…
liveblogging theorizationing of bimodal faculty blogging
Where are the faculty bloggers? asks RPM over at evolgen Er, mostly hiding pseudonymously from rampaging department chairs and deans... but Chad takes up the discussion, standing up for the physicists bloggers, and borrowing a couple of astronomers for the good cause hey, thought I, this is interesting, maybe there is a link with the two cultures - the focused vs the dabblers in academia>?! I know! (I think) Obviously it is us Dabblers who blog, since the Focused Faculty are totally monomanic, in the Lab learning more and more about less and less, as they say. Clearly the Focused don't…
Falcon down
Third Falcon launch failed also. Three satellites lost. From NASAwatch - with launch video - first stage engine performed, but stage separation failed.SpaceX homepage has comments - they have raised capital, have booked customers and plan multiple future launches including the Falcon 9 heavy launcher. I hope they get the bugs shaken out soon. Falcon 1 - 3rd launch attempt press kit - lets just skip over the section on stage separation on page 9... Payloads were Marshall's NANOSail-D - a solar sail demo Ames' PRESat - a biological experimental microsat and DOD's Trailblazer - a Jumpstart…
Shiny
Unlike Orac, I'm happy with the ship I've been assigned; I suspect Chris wouldn't mind ending up on the good ship Serenity, either, although Chad might have some gripes (oddly, I'm less bothered by the wacky physics of the Firefly universe than I am by the abominable biology of Trek). We science bloggers really are a bunch of geeks, aren't we? You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you. Serenity (Firefly) 88% Deep Space Nine (Star…
My Door is A Window To My Soul
Chad of Uncertain Principles asks what's on our office doors. Here in the Paul Allen Center, our doors are too pretty to put things on, but the little square beside our door is perfect for attaching odds and ends. Here is my door in all its glory: A. Quantum computing warning sign. The cat is in a superposition of sleeping and scratching. B. Me jumping off a cornice. Weeee! Mmm, cornices. C. Spherical cow warning sign. This one causes great confusion in a computer science department. D. Villa Sophia in the snow. Our Christmas card. E. M.I.A F. The Clifford group G. Occam warning sign…
Proof by Logical Exhaustion
Uncertain Chad asks "What's your favorite dubious proof technique?" I just don't have one dubious proof technique: I have an entire book of dubious proof techniques! Seriously, I have a book where I write them all down. But if I had to choose a dubious proof technique that was my favorite, it would have to be "proof by logical exhaustion." Now you might think that this means that I logically list all possibilities to prove something, a technique which is perfectly valid and not very dubious at all. No, no. "Proof by logical exhaustion" is where you put forth a chain of logical reasoning…
One-Stop Shopping for the Framing Science Debate
You may be aware that there is a huge discussion about framing science going on in the blogosphere. It has gotten out of hand. But, for those who want to dig in, or want to analyze the posts and comments (that is a lot of data!), here is the comprehensive list of links (excluded are links to Creationists' sites). Most of the posts also have long and interesting comment threads as well, worth reading through: First, the source metarial, i.e., the stuff that appeared in non-blog media, and some background resources (which, if everyone have read them, would have reduced some of the…
Hello, world
Well, I just flew in from DC, and boy, are my arms tired. But seriously, folks.... It's a fine thing to be asked to guestblog by the eminent Dr. Oilcan, and I'll do my best to entertain you sporadically over the next few weeks. Like he said, I first met Chad back in his Usenet days, which was back in my Usenet days as well. That's obvious, yeah, but it's key that we both refer to time on Usenet as long past. I haven't read or posted to a newsgroup in five years, and even then my interest had been pretty much dead for a couple years. I first encountered Usenet as a wide-eyed…
In which I defend Chuck Klosterman and Chad Orzel
Chad posts this interesting comment from Chuck Klosterman IV: It strikes me that every wrongheaded sentiment in society ultimately derives from the culture of inherent, unconditional rightness. As I grow older, I find myself less prone to have an opinion about anything, and to distrust just about everyone who does. Whenever I meet someone who openly identifies themselves as a Republican of a Democrat, my immediate thought is always, Well, this person might be interesting, but they'll never say anything about politics that's remotely useful to me. I refuse to discuss abortion with anyone who…
CNN's Meterologist Doesn't Think Global Warming Is Due to Human Activity
By way of Steve Benen, we read that, in response to Lou Dobbs' question of "What is dominant in terms of influencing weather?", CNN meterologist Chad Myers responds: To think we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant. Mother nature is so big. The world is so big. The oceans are so big. I think we're going to die from a lack of fresh water or die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure. But this is like you said, in your career; my career has been 22 years long. That's a good career in TV. But in talking about climate, it is like having a car for…
DonorsChoose - Classroom Science Around The Clock
As regular readers of Scienceblogs.com already know, October is the month when a bunch of us raises challenges to fund science, math and technology projects in schools. Several of my Sciblings have already set up their challenges and a few more will add theirs soon, I know. There will be a healthy competition with some other blogging networks, of course ;-) You can find my challenges at Classroom Science Around The Clock, look at the projects - all coming from 'High Poverty' schools in North Carolina - and donate whatever you can. If many people pitch in a little bit each, these projects will…
Pay To Work Hard at Science Camp
Chad asks if we could charge grown-ups for fantasy science camps... I suppose idle millionaire trips to the International Space Station don't count, because, er, they don't actually do any science up there... but, as always astronomy leads the way: I happen to know that the Carnegie Institute (west coast edition), as part of their centennial function, had an auction of various astronomy related things, and one was to accompany a senior researcher (and I hope some postdocs to, like, actually do the work) on an observing run to Hawaii (I want to say Keck, but I'm not sure); it sold, for a lot…
Piecing together what happened in New York last weekend.
Actually, my memories of the semi-spontaneous confluence of ScienceBlogs sciblings in the vicinity of the Seed mothership this past weekend are quite vivid, and I'll put up a proper post on that later today. But in the event that I hadn't remembered things so clearly, and had to piece it all together from what came home on my digital camera, my reflections on the last few day might be distorted. I might end up with something like this: Rob: You know what this place needs? Chad: More physical science bloggers? Rob: Mmm-hmm. There're lots of biologists, but they're small enough that I think…
WOC Update: Wiccans Advance in Green Bay
The uneasy alliance between Atheists and Wiccans in the War on Christmas paid off this week as a skirmish unfolded in Green Pay, Wisconsin. A Wiccan symbol now stands alongside the Christmas manger scene above Green Bay City Hall's northwest entrance. The new display is an evergreen wreath, about 3 feet in diameter, around a five-pointed star. It's called a pentacle, and it is a symbol in the Wiccan religion, which is associated with witchcraft. Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons. The wreath and star are mounted on an easel…
Not as Serene as I might be ...
... or as some of my fellow ScienceBlogs bloggers are. Nay, it would appear I would be slightly more at home on Babylon 5 (although it required a tie-breaker to make that determination). I trust the good folks at the Seed Spaceshipyards will find a way to make a craft that will suit all of us (including other outliers like Orac and Chad). You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5). The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn't matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you'll do the right thing. In the end…
Some Sunday Links
Here are some weekend links for you. First, the science: The WHO gets some things right: measles. Mark's post on the World's Evilist Programming Language makes me laugh. Revere discusses a case of Tamiflu-resistant H5N1 influenza. The view of global warming from Mount Thor. Kent Hovind is going to jail for tax fraud. Apparently, while everything we have ultimately belongs to God, in a proximal sense, the U.S. government wants its cut. Mark H. writes about oyster drills. He focuses on Urosalphinx, but I'm a Nucella fan myself. Don't forget the most recent edition of Tangled Bank. In case…
Eating Sb Pi
Jane over at Ethics and Science tags the New Kids on the block with a Neighbourhood Pi mem We obey, and please mam, may we have some more? 3 reasons you blog about science: I know some. I like it. I think it is important. Point at which you would stop blogging: Real life catches up with me. 1 thing you frequently blog besides science: NASA politics 4 words that describe your blogging style: Rambling Cryptic Occasionally strident Casual 1 aspect of blogging you find difficult: Keeping current with what is interesting. 5 ScienceBlogs blogs that are new to you: Framing Science The Loom…
We Are Scientists - House Band
Apparently the SciBlings have determined that we need a House Band... World's Fair advocates Phish, or Wilco, and Chad likes someone I've never heard of (so they must be trendy or something). Now, I like Wilco, but mostly as Billy Bragg's backup band. You could go with the classics, like Rush, or even Bowie or (really reaching) Pink Floyd. Heck, why not Holst. And They Might Be Giants is always a safe choice. Boring. I originally thought maybe Green Day: surprisingly successful, little bit of attitude, but really just nice middle class boys with a bit of angst about the whole thing. And…
linkedy links xvii
yes, it is linkedy link time, because it has been a while, because I can, and... because linking is an intrinsic good, ain't it? Sometimes it is what is not said that matter. (It all goes back to this). why yes, yes it does e-Astronomer on a roll: University Challenge - don't get me going about the good old days, when Universities were Real Universities... and, Sex Lives of Famous Astronomers. Between these you will find Obama Bicycle Sneakers The Female Science Professor is on a graduate roll:Playing FavouritesAdviser with BenefitsUnintentional Bad Advisers and Moving Grads Chad goes all…
Wheel Turns
Robert Jordan, author of the "Wheel of Time" fantasy series, and assorted Conan novels, died I am not much of a fantasy reader, although I went through a phase of reading all the Conan novels (originals by Robert Howard, then the later sequels by de Camp and Carter and then Jordan, haven't looked at the third wave of graphic novels and movie tie-ins). Occasionally, some friends would recommend a fantasy series, some of which I read (like anything by Guy Gavriel Kay) and others not so much (I may yet forgive the friend who recommended the Illearth series, maybe, but the "Bio of a Space Tyrant…
Femtosecond Lasers at Uncertain Principles
Hey, I just wanted to draw some attention to this great post of Chad's about femtosecond lasers and laser bandwidth in physics and chemistry. Those lasers are near and dear to my heart, as they're one of the main focuses of my research group. And just so you have some original content, here's the Crazy Matt Opinion Of The Day: I like the Seinfeld Microsoft ads. They don't make me want to buy Windows, and they're not very dramatic or even interesting. I like them because they have Bill Gates doing the robot and reading a programming manual as a little kid's bedtime story. I like the idea…
DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge 2008: progress toward big incentives.
What would the Blogger Challenge be without hand-drawn bar-graphs? You'll see that Chad is about 80% of the way to a "monkey dance". In less than $1300 in contributions to his challenge, he will be dancing for the amusement of his readers. As for the big incentives I'm offering, my challenge has received a mere 10% of the $4000 goal that will result in my adorning my left ankular region with a philosophy of science tattoo. The overall ScienceBlogs donations (currently creeping up toward $16,000) put us a little closer (about 17% of the way) to the $90,000 threshold for my getting the Sb…
Hug a Laser
It is my duty as a blogger to mention lasers in this time of international laser celebration. This May is the 50th anniversary of the first lasers. Everyone knows a laser that they love, right? We all use them. So, instead of talking about lasers, I am going to post some great links to other laser stuff (including some of my stuff). the history of the first lasers (AIP) The above is the American Institute of Physics's presentation of the history of the laser. Really, this does a great job of giving all the details you would want. I highly recommend it. Uncertain Principle's Laser…
Miles of smiles
In case you've been wondering, "Where've you been for the last month, Josh?," the photo above gives a pretty good hint. Miles Nikola was born on May 4th, a healthy and beautiful 8 pounds 12 ounces. For the last month, he and his mama and I have been at home getting used to each other. It's truly uncanny how different he is from day to day. His cheeks seem to grow exponentially, for instance. Also, he just figured out that he can bend anyone to his will through sustained eye contact and cuteness, a dangerous precedent indeed. Once he fully masters the smile, I think we're doomed. I don't…
Science is not hard enough, and that is why they leave
Chad has kicked off a thematically linked discussion: A response to Jonah on why science is so much work and, Why they're leaving a pointer to an InsideHigherEd article My very personal response: poor math prep, lack of professional opportunities, acute labour shortages, and It Is Not A Lot of Hard Work, but it is Difficult To Do. Chad and Jonah respond from the perspective of experimental work, which, to be fair, is the bulk of work in science; but, the same problem exists, arguably to a greater extent, in theory. People who ought to be able and eager to do science walk out on it, and it is…
Where's the science?
Around this time last year the New York Times listed 100 "Notable Books of 2007." Chad was upset that there were no science books on the list, and so was I. I penned a rant about this sad state of affairs, but Carl Zimmer (an occasional contributor to the NYT) made a point that made me eat my words. This subject has come up once again now that the 2008 list from the NYT is out, which Chad still feels is sorely lacking in science titles despite there being several science books on this year's list; I firmly believe that this is a big part of why we're messed up as a society-- the most…
Does specifying one's guilty pleasures require an analysis of 'guilt' and 'pleasure'?
Sean, Chad, and Steinn ponder the lameness of academics in self-reporting their "guilty pleasures". Quoth Sean: I immediately felt bad that I couldn't come up with a more salacious, or at least quirky and eccentric, guilty pleasure. I chose going to Vegas, a very unique and daring pastime that is shared by millions of people every week. I was sure that, once the roundup appeared in print, I would be shown up as the milquetoast I truly am, my pretensions to edgy hipness once again roundly flogged for the enjoyment of others. But no. As it turns out, compared to my colleagues I'm some sort of…
Brief remarks on 'physics first' and high school science.
Chad and Rob have already noted this piece of news about soon-to-be-published research indicating that the order in which high school students are taught physics, chemistry, and biology makes very little difference to their performance in science classes at the college level, while a rigorous math curriculum in high school gives their college science performance a significant boost. I have a few things to say about this. Good math instruction is good for students. As Chad points out, it helps you build problem solving skills and think systematically. To the extent that these skills are…
Can blogging raise your SAT scores?
Don't know, but we can test this hypothesis. Go to Cognitive Daily and/or Uncertain Principles and take the test (and read what they have to say about it, each from his own perspective). It is just the essay part of the test. You get the prompt. You write. After 20 minutes (you are typing - kids who write with pencils get 25 minutes), it is over. You can choose to submit your essay or not once you are done. Dave and Chad will score the results and have the essays graded by professionals (English teachers, hopefully some real-life SAT scorers), as well as blog-readers. Then, they…
Call for action!
Previously unopposed, "...the most notorious creationist on the Ohio State Board of Education, Deborah Owens Fink, has a challenger in the Novemeber 7th election." The election is non-partisan and the serious challenger is Tom Sawyer. You can get all of the details from Ed Brayton (as well as additional views by Chad, John and Kevin). Ed writes: "Sawyer is the former mayor of Akron, a former state legislator and an 8 term US congressman from Ohio. Sawyer's bonafides for a board of education seat are impressive. He is a former school teacher, and husband of a school teacher. He was the…
Crunch Time
Just a couple of quick notes on the run. Busy, busy, busy these days. The conference is next week. Everything is falling nicely into place - the program is taking its final shape, the swag is growing and we have 160 people registered so far - only a couple of more spots left. Lots of things to do over the next few days to make sure that everything goes well. The anthology is in its final proofreading phase - watch this place for the Big Announcement! I also have to clean the house as we are having guests on Sunday, and the kids are both at home sick today (and there is no school on…
Everything you wanted to know about microbiology and epidemiology, but were afraid to ask
As Chad mentioned, in our super-triple-secret Scienceblogs hidey hole, we've been kicking around the idea of writing posts on some basic concepts in our respective fields of expertise. However, after studying this stuff for years and years and years, it's not always easy for us (well, OK, for me at least) to figure out what "basic concepts" would be interesting and useful to discuss here. I've written a bit previously on the difference between "infectious" and "contagious" disease, for example, but I can get much more basic than that. From those of you who commented here (and thank you for…
SuperReaders
DrugMonkey, Nick, Afarensis, Chad and John explain it better, but in short, each SciBling needs to pick two regular readers who will, over a longish period of time in the future, tag (in delicious, with a special tag) three site-wide scienceblogs.com posts of their interest. These posts will be included into a special reader-generated feed to which you can subscribe, and it will be visible on the front page. I am not sure, but I think the final list will be secret and I do not know for how long it will be valid, i.e., at what time intervals we need to pick new two people (every six months,…
Basic concepts
On our backchannel discussion forum, we ScienceBloggers have been discussing a rather interesting idea that we could use to provide extra value to our readers. The idea is to do short articles about basic concepts in science. It's an intriguing idea, and, while I could try my hand at posts about a number of basic concepts in science, I think that, given my background, my strongest contribution would be basic concepts in my areas of expertise. These could include questions such as: What is cancer? What is a randomized clinical trial? How does chemotherapy work? (Certainly The Cheerful…
Strange Travels, Part 7: Beer Friday and Gratuitous Panda Play
My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Afternoon Bloggers converge on Seed HQ. I finally get the chance to meet many of my sciblings, some who I met previously, and many new, friendly faces. Among those who I haven’t mentioned elsewhere are Grrlscientist, Tara, Orli, Jennifer, James, Josh, Jake and Kara, Greta and Dave Munger, Mike, Mark, Mo, Evil Monkey, Carl, Orac, Steve, and our fearless leaders, Ginny and Katherine. We are served copious amounts of wine and beer, so what follows seems a little stranger than usual. I am quickly spotted by Dr. Steve Steve, who must have heard about my…
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