Blogging
clock | June 12, 2008The article is here, but it is too long for me and my attention span to read through. I got a snippet, though:
But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of…
neurophilosophy | June 12, 2008
The bi-monthly American magazine Psychology Today has launched a network of blogs covering a wide variety of topics, including addiction, cognitive science, sports psychology and psychotherapy.
The network contains more than 80 blogs, many of which are written by researchers who are prominent in their respective fields. I haven't had a look at all of them, but here are a few that caught my eye:
Brainstorm, by the editors of the magazine;
In Practice, by psychiatrist Peter Kramer, author of Listening to Prozac; and
Quirky Little Things, by Jesse Bering, director of the Institute of…
awild | June 11, 2008The computer is still broken.  So here at Myrmecos Blog we're still on vacation. I should be back online within a week or two.
clock | June 9, 2008Remember Chez Sapienza? The guy who was fired from CNN for having the gall to write a blog?
Well, a lot of people with brains got upset about this. And Simon Owens decided to investigate further, to see what is the general attitude about blogging among the Corporate Media control freaks. So he did a survey, and has just posted the results. Check them out.
laelaps | June 7, 2008The 21st edition of the Boneyard snuck up on me (I was planning on putting up some polynomial-eating theropods that I sketched during the breaks in my math class), but Glendon was on the ball and has put together an awesome list of recent posts. Definitely give it a look.
The carnival is now recruiting for a host for June 21st, as well; if you are interested let me know. Also, I feel bad that I have not kept up a home site for the carnival as I should have. Rather than setting it up on another blogging service I've decided to add an info page about the Boneyard on this blog (it will be with…
neurophilosophy | June 5, 2008I've just registered at Research Blogging.org, the initiative by Dave Munger to aggregate academic blog posts about peer- reviewed research. I started using the Research Blogging icon some time ago (and resumed using it on yesterday's post), but have only just gotten round to registering with the site, as I've been busy for past few months with exams. Now that they're over, I've got more time for serious blogging.
As of now, every post on this blog displaying the icon will appear on the front page of Research Blogging, and in the Biology category. The Research Blogging site is very useful for…
aardvarchaeology | June 5, 2008The forty-second Four Stone Hearth blog carnival is on-line at Neuroanthropology. Archaeology and anthropology, and all related to the song "If You Should Try To Kiss Her" by Dressy Bessy.
The next open hosting slot is on 16 July. All bloggers with an interest in the subject are welcome to volunteer to me. No need to be an anthro pro. But you must have "If You Should Try To Kiss Her" playing in your head, like me.
neurophilosophy | June 5, 2008Some old, some new:
The Reflection of Light
Psychedelic Research
Brain Stimulant
Brain Mind & Society
NeuroScene
Neurodisorder
Neurotonics
The Neuroprotective Lifestyle
Giovanna Di Sauro
The Cortical Column
Neurology Minutiae
laelaps | June 5, 2008As I've been working on my book on evolution I've been posting updates about my progress (most of those updates can be found here), and I am certainly pleased to note that reactions have generally been positive. I am truly grateful for all the support I've received from readers, fellow bloggers, writers, and friends, the encouragement definitely motivating me to keep working. I have received some critical comments, however, and I feel that one in particular requires a detailed response. Responding to my last update, commenter James wrote;
Brian, what are you thinking? You don't even have an…
skookumchick | June 4, 2008It has been proposed by the fabulous Pat of FairerScience and other places that the developing genre of "women in science" blogs might be used as a way to recruit girls and young women into science and engineering careers(see a good outline and guidelines here). Women who write about their passion for doing science, their ideas for balancing work and family, their professional desires and challenges may indeed encourage girls who are readers to consider science - I think about it as an online version of seeing women as role-models in science.
I'd like to get your thoughts on the subject, in…
awild | June 3, 2008My main blogging/photography machine has gone down and will be in the shop for a few weeks. I don't think I'll be buying another Gateway desktop- the current failure is not the first time.
In the meantime, you may amuse yourselves with the amazing Spider Dog:
laelaps | June 3, 2008
Jennifer Ouellette is disappointed with the conspicuous lack of science books at Book Expo America. Is science being "put in the corner"?
The brothers Bleiman have an old NSF ad that brings back some memories. Now I'm going to have that tune stuck in my head all day.
Many of us science bloggers (myself included) spend a lot of time complaining that mass media is the suxxors when it comes to science communication. Bora has a few snippets from a study that might suggest that accurate reporting of science stories in mainstream outlets might not be as much of a problem as we say they…
clock | June 1, 2008Yes, there is a new blog around here - The ScienceBlogs Book Club - where the author of a book and invited guest bloggers will discuss the book. You are invited to join the discussion in the comments and we, the rest of the sciencebloggers, may add to the cacophony on our blogs as well.
The first book in this series will be Microcosm by our own Carl Zimmer. The invited bloggers are John Dennehy, PZ Myers and Jessica Snyder Sachs, and all of you, of course....
Fortunately, I recently got my copy of the book, so I may push it to the top of my reading list and join in the discussion myself.
clock | May 31, 2008Bouphonia: The Conservatism to Come.
SciCurious: Weird Science: it's Friday!. Since I do not have time and energy for my Friday Weird Sex Blogging series, I am glad that someone picked up on it. This post is about condoms and why they break.
Echidne: He Loved Horses
Two excellent posts and comment threads - I wish these guys were blogging back when I was in grad school: PhysioProf: Strategic Planning: How To Complete Fascinating Projects And Publish Them In Top Journals and DrugMonkey: Strategic Planning: How to Secure Funding in a Climate of Arbitrary Selection
Anna Kushnir wrote a…
clock | May 31, 2008Have you been to Pandagon lately? Have you seen the brand new look, design and layout? Cool!
Which reminds me that I have read Amanda's book, It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments, on my first 2-3 flights in Europe last month. I left it with my cousin - let's spread the new, fun kind of feminism to the Balkans!
I have been reading Amanda Marcotte online since before she joined the crew at Pandagon and I have to say that, as a white, middle-aged, middle-class man, I learned from her blogging a lot about things I used to take for…
sciencewoman | May 27, 2008It's the day after Memorial Day - time to admit that it's summer. Time to resign myself to well-meaning neighbors who ask: "So, are you teaching this summer or do you have it off?" And it's time to let you all know about my summer plans. No, I don't "have it off" this summer, but you already knew that. (I am, of course, doing research for most of the summer. My goal is to get two papers submitted, a student launched on his/her MS research, and at least one more proposal written and submitted. I also need to write the labs for my new prep.)
With the shift in responsibilities, comes a shift in…
laelaps | May 27, 2008The running for the top three entries of the Boneyard XX contest was extremely close, so close that I really had no idea who was going to win until I could add up all the votes. The winners are;
1st Place: Traumador
2nd Place: Tie! Emile and Scarlet Seraph
3rd Place: Nemo Ramjet
Congratulations to all the winners, and many thanks to everyone who participated in making the Boneyard XX a special event. If the winners would e-mail me I will soon have their prizes on their way to them.