education
drorzel | June 4, 2008I've written my last lecture for the first-year E&M class, and will be giving it at 10:30 this morning. (Friday's class will be given over to exam review). The spring term, which had felt like it would stretch into July, is basically over.
Oh, and some guy won an election.
pontiff | June 3, 2008Hoisted from the comments, Robin asks:
So, with that in mind, here's a question. What do you think about teaching quantum mechanics as noncommutative probability theory? In other words, by starting with probability theory and alluding to probabilistic mechanics (e.g., distributions on phase space), and then introducing quantum theory as a generalization of probability.
This is how I think of quantum theory all the time now -- and it makes tremendous sense to me. I think it's how I want to teach it. And I'm curious what y'all think.
This is roughly how I like to introduce quantum theory,…
cmooney | June 3, 2008Following a Natalie Angier story about a science and humanities blending curriculum at Binghamton University, Sheril wrote in to the paper--and actually got published. Here's what she had to say:
As the product of an interdisciplinary graduate program, I cannot overemphasize the value of opportunities like Binghamton University's New Humanities Initiative.
Years after receiving my degree, I continue to inhabit the space between the sciences and humanities as a scientist at Duke working on environmental policy and as a science writer.
Experience has taught me neither field can be addressed…
neurophilosophy | June 3, 2008Today sees the launch of UCL's iTunes platform, which can be used to download, among other things, lectures and seminars. There's not much material on there yet, but the university promises that highlights of UCL on iTunes U will include:
first-hand expert accounts of the history of neuroscience, produced by the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL
a weekly audio round-ups of news from UCL [and]
UCL's hugely popular Lunch Hour Lectures, providing the public with a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge research
gregladen | June 3, 2008Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (DIY Science) is a new book by Robert Thompson. The premise is simple. The coolest thing in the world is a home chemistry set like this one from Gilbert, which combined both chemistry and microscopy:
Chemistry Set Combine the sciences of Chemistry and Microscopy in one big laboratory set! Microscope has a magnification of 60 power, plus unique Polaroid device that shows the brilliant colors of specimens under the lens. Set includes "Fun With Gilbert Chemistry", "Gilbert Microscope", "Glass Blowing" manuals and dissecting…
clock | June 2, 2008Whatever happened to recess? I can't imagine a school day without one! This is a crime.
neurophilosophy | June 1, 2008According to the Daily Telegraph, the new chief executive of the Independent Schools Commission, a former Rear Admiral called Chris Parry, believes that "children will learn by downloading information directly into their brains within 30 years."
The article continues that Parry told the Times Educational Supplement: "It's a very short route from wireless technology to actually getting the electrical connections in your brain to absorb that knowledge."
Actually, it is highly unlikely that this will ever be a possibile. Downloading information to the brain, or, conversely, uploading information…
gregladen | May 28, 2008In Boy Scouts, a person must agree to sign a 'Declaration of Religious Belief,' in which he must agree that "only a person who acknowledges his duty to God can be the best kind of citizen".
Freecamp thought is an alternative where you don't have to sell your soul ... which is good, because you don't have a soul...
Camp Quest is crossing the Atlantic to Great Britain next summer.
The residential summer camp for the children of freethinkers, skeptics and humanists, is planning on opening a site in the U.K. in July of 2009. ...
Camp Quest was created in 1996 by the Free Inquiry Group, Inc. (…
sporte | May 28, 2008On-line courses were a still a new phenomenon when I was teaching full-time. Our school was pretty gung-ho about on-line education but many instructors were skeptical, some were still lamenting having to learn how to use a computer and losing the services that used to be provided by departmental secretaries. Other instructors simply distrusted the entire idea, seeing distance learning as the equivalent of an educational scam, a kind of "get rich quick scheme" that would allow the school to collect more tuition dollars without paying instructors.
I never did teach an on-line course during…
awild | May 26, 2008
Centruroides sculpturatus - Arizona Bark Scorpion
I have a hard time getting worked up over stuff that happened 25 years ago. But here's something that still angers me every time I think of it.
One of those educational safety movies we were shown back in grade school- you know, the "Stop-Drop-and-Roll" variety- presented the dangers of the Bark Scorpion. The film featured dark tones and a dramatic reenactment of a deadly encounter, complete with screams and fainting.
This was shown in Rochester, New York, mind you. We don't have scorpions anywhere near Rochester. The climate is is far…
drorzel | May 25, 2008Every now and then, I look at the huge list of blogs and news sources in my RSS feeds, and say to myself "You really need to thin these out..." How can I make any progress, though, when there are always great new blogs being created?
The latest new blog to ctach my interest and increment my subscription total is Built On Facts by a grad student named Matt, which was linked to by Tom. It features everything from a discussion of shaky physics in the new Indiana Jones movie to discussions of the physics or marksmanship, to an entire category of worked problems, with equations and everything.
OK…
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...
mikethemadbiologist | May 20, 2008Make teachers take an evolutionary biology course in college. So say the authors of a recent PLoS Biology paper (italics mine):
The majority of teachers, however, see evolution as central and essential to high school biology courses. Yet the amount of time devoted to evolutionary biology varies substantially from teacher to teacher, and a majority either avoid human evolution altogether or devote only one or two class periods to the topic. We showed that some of these differences were due to personal beliefs about human origins. However, an equally important factor is the science education…
clock | May 19, 2008The fourth part of a four-part series on the topic, this one from April 02, 2006....
This being the National Sleep Awareness Week and on the heels of the recent study on sleep of adolescents, it is not surprising that this issue is all over the media, including blogs, these days.
I have written about it recently several times. I present some science and some opinion here and add a little more science and much more opinion here.
You can look at media coverage here and listen to an excellent podcast linked here. Some basic underlying science is covered here.
All of this targets highschoolers…
clock | May 18, 2008This is the third part of the series on the topic, from April 01, 2006...
This being the National Sleep Awareness Week and in the heels of the recent study on sleep of adolescents, it is not surprising that this issue is all over the media, including blogs, these days.
I have covered this issue a couple of times last week, e.g., here, here and here. Recently, Lance Mannion wrote an interesting post on the topic, which reminded me also of an older post by Ezra Klein in which the commenters voiced all the usual arguments heard in this debate.
There are a couple of more details that I have not…
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!
clock | May 17, 2008
Earlier this year, during the National Sleep Awareness Week, I wrote a series of posts about the changes in sleep schedules in adolescents. Over the next 3-4 hours, I will repost them all, starting with this one from March 26, 2006. Also check my more recent posts on the subject here and here...
I am glad to see that there is more and more interest in and awareness of sleep research. Just watch Sanjay Gupta on CNN or listen to the recent segment on Weekend America on NPR.
At the same time, I am often alarmed at the levels of ignorance still rampant in the general population, and even…
clock | May 16, 2008This kind of ignorant bleating makes me froth at the mouth every time - I guess it is because this is my own blogging "turf".
One of the recurring themes of my blog is the disdain I have for people who equate sleep with laziness out of their Puritan core of understanding of the world, their "work ethic" which is a smokescreen for power-play, their vicious disrespect for everyone who is not like them, and the nasty feeling of superiority they have towards the teenagers just because they are older, bigger, stronger and more powerful than the kids. Not to forget the idiotic notions that kids…
drorzel | May 16, 2008We had a colloquium talk yesterday from the very energetic Jessica Clark of the American Physical Society's outreach office who talked about the many things that the APS does to bring positive physics experiences to a wide audience. It was a terrific talk, and brought to my attention a couple of programs I hadn't heard about before, aimed at introducing physics to a younger audience.
One of these, aimed at middle-school students and teachers is the "Physics Quest" puzzle activities:
PhysicsQuest is a middle school competition that consists of four physical science experiments centered on a…