education
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: nature, mammals, Antarctica, blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, National Geographic, streaming video
Blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus, have complex calls that can be heard for miles. In this National Geographic video, we meet one scientist is on a mission to uncover the meaning of their songs.
bioephemera | September 20, 2009
Stanley Fish writes a provocative essay in the NYT on whether curiosity is tantamount to "a mental disorder," or even a sin:
Give this indictment of men in love with their own capacities a positive twist and it becomes a description of the scientific project, which includes among its many achievements space travel, a split atom, cloning and the information revolution. It is a project that celebrates the expansion of knowledge's boundaries as an undoubted good, and it is a project that Chairman Leach salutes when he proudly lists the joint efforts by the University of Virginia and the N.E.H…
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, photographed in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 4 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 400. 1/250 f/7.1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: religion, violence, genocide, sexism, fundamentalism, MtlRedAtheist, streaming video
The story of Adam and Eve is full of nonsense that shows the Biblical god to be unfair, sadistic, sexist. He creates women for man's use. He ordains man to rule over women. He cursed women to have painful child birth and damned all humanity to pain and suffering on Earth as well as in Hell, because Adam and Eve did something he considered wrong, even though they had no knowledge of good and evil, as described in the story. How cruel.
If we can all accept this as a myth, the story would be entertaining,…
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, photographed at Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 26 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/1250 sec, f/4 iso 400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
One of the fun things about photographing wild birds and nature are the unexpected encounters. I've learned that the best shots happen only because…
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmic Quandaries, NOVA, PBS, Public Television, streaming video
An out of this world event, Cosmic Quandaries, held at The Palladium in St. Petersburg at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26th drew in an audience of nearly 800! With a one in a million chance of meeting one of only 6,000 astrophysicists in the world, audience members were lined up in order to have the opportunity to ask Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson a question on any and all galactic wonders they may have. This is, without a doubt, the most fascinating hour-and-a-half I've spent watching a youtube video.
drorzel | September 18, 2009Over at Jim Henley's place, Thoreau further justifies his status as an essential academic-physics blogger with a really good post about the problem of introductory labs:
In freshman labs, generally you’re trying to measure something (at least as it’s done at many schools). The measurement is never as clean as the stuff being taught in lecture (or interactive discussion-based peer-involved blah blah whatever). There is nothing wrong with the fact that lab measurements are not as clean as the stuff in lecture! However, it does mean that you aren’t spending those 3 hours thinking about the…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-headed gull, Larus ridibundus, photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]
Photographed with Canon SX100 IS: exposure time: 1/400, F-value: 4.3, ISO: 80, Focal length: 60mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
gregladen | September 18, 2009WPTV.COM has a poll asking "Should educators be fined or jailed for offering prayer in public schools?" and the possible answers are "yes" and "no." Which I guess means they are not really asking an "either/or" question although it is worded that way. Anyway, this relates to THIS STORY about people who work for a school system who are currently in trouble for contempt of court. Contempt of court is a jail-able offense, and it is NOT "offering prayer in public schools."
Of course, it is true that these individuals were originally in trouble for violating the First Amendment Rights of the…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: Planet Earth, nature, animals, BBC, television, streaming video
Martha Holmes, series producer of BBC Earth programs discusses the importance of preserving the planet, along with comments from her colleagues, Neil Nightingale and Dale Templar. This amazing series will air this Sunday, 20 September, from 300-800pm. Yes, I am jealous beyond words of all you people who have televisions.
gregladen | September 17, 2009We know there is a link between education, church going behavior, and the inability or unwillingness to accept that evolution is real and that humans evolved. But what exactly is the relationship? I think the following diagram includes the correct answer, but I'm not sure which one it is:
What am I missing?
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009
Who: Eric Maisel, PhD
What: free public presentation, "Living Well Without Gods"
Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map] 273 Bowery (Bowery & Houston) [map]
When: 730pm, Thursday, 17 September
Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. His latest book is The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods, in which he discusses how to find rich personal meaning in life despite the absence of beneficent gods and the indifference of the universe to human concerns.
In his book, Maisel addresses atheists who don't always…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 31 July 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
This photo pretty much sums up my relationship with these guys. I see them all the time, but whenever I get within 1/4 mile of one, they either fly off, or…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: nature, birds, Antarctica, emperor penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the breeding biology of Antarctica's Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, a bird that nests far inland in the winter months, enduring the worst weather imaginable. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: Planet Earth, nature, animals, BBC, television, streaming video
Neil Nightingale, Head of the BBC Natural History Unit, discusses the impact and variety of BBC Earth expeditions, as well as the passion of the crew members. Martha Holmes and Brian Leith, share their thoughts on these subjects as well. This amazing series will air this Sunday, 20 September, from 300-800pm. Yes, I am jealous beyond words of all you people who have televisions.
drorzel | September 16, 2009Prompted by a discussion in another channel, a question for you all: What is your preferred type of calculator? That is, when you're doing some sort of problem involving math, and reach for a calculator, what do you reach for?
What Kind of Calculator Do You Use?(survey software)
I think I may have used this topic before, but not in a fancy radio-button poll.
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009
Who: Eric Maisel, PhD
What: free public presentation, "Living Well Without Gods"
Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map] 273 Bowery (Bowery & Houston) [map]
When: 730pm, Thursday, 17 September
Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. His latest book is The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods, in which he discusses how to find rich personal meaning in life despite the absence of beneficent gods and the indifference of the universe to human concerns.
In his book, Maisel addresses atheists who don't always…
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] female Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, photographed at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 13 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
gregladen | September 15, 2009There is no racism in America. People are not excluded from jobs or not allowed admission to a school because of the color of the skin. The whole racism thing is over, solved, kaput, no longer an issue. You'all can go home now. Especially if you live in Texas and/or are concerned with Social Studies curriculum. ...
Peter Morrison is on a Texas State Board of Education panel set up to help revise state standards in Social Studies And he's trying to do a lot of work in this position. He's trying to edumicate us all on how racism is pretty much passe, and at the same time, he's trying to…
esiegel | September 15, 2009Yesterday, I read something in international news that made me so mad I needed to share it with you:
That's right; my home country, the United States, will not distribute this film. There was no problem for the movie Expelled, a poorly argued anti-evolution flop that grossed just $7,598,071 despite appearing on more than 1,000 screens. And this new biopic, Creation, is much more about Darwin's life and personal struggles (which were real, by the way) than it is about evolution.
I have no information about the quality of this movie other than that reviews on the internet tell me it's pretty…