education
grrlscientist | September 6, 2009tags: nature, natural selection, evolution, The Tree of Life, BBC One, David Attenborough, streaming video
This streaming video is a beautiful animated clip describing the Tree of Life. Evolution shows how life diverged into the myriad life forms that we see today, and that we know existed in eons past. "The Tree of Life" was part of Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, which was broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday 1 February 2009. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough (you lucky, Brits, I am so jealous). [Although, I am told you can supposedly download it for free]. If you can, watch this…
grrlscientist | September 6, 2009tags: conservation, environmentalism, global warming, ocean acidification, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, A Sea Change, film premier
Image: A Sea Change [larger view].
Can you imagine oceans that have been emptied of all fish? What would life be like for other life forms on this planet if there really were no more fish in the sea? This is not science fiction: human-caused ocean acidification is already making its effects known. Sometimes known as the "wet underbelly" or "evil twin" of climate change, ocean acidification is caused by excess carbon dioxide from…
grrlscientist | September 6, 2009tags: Double-barred Finch, Owl Finch, Bicheno, Taeniopygia bichenovii, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-barred (Owl) Finch, Taeniopygia bichenovii, also known as the Bicheno, photographed at Grafton, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 15 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/2000 sec, f/4, iso 200.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes;
Double-barred Finches, aka Owl Finches or Bichenos, are frequently observed in small…
grrlscientist | September 5, 2009tags: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
gregladen | September 4, 2009Dr. Gruver,
I was utterly floored to learn that your school district has expressed (by strong implication) concern over the value and appropriateness of a message from President Obama to the school children of our country.
I am equally flabergasted that you would bend to pressure from what really amounts to a small minority of "astroturfers" and "dittoheads" (as they are called) who scream bloody murder every time our democratically elected president utters a word.
If this was your decision, I question if you are fit to be in your job, and I say that with a heavy heart. It is your place…
ddobbs | September 4, 2009
photo: U.S. Forest Service
Notables of the day:
John Hawks ponders the (bad) art of citing papers you've never read.
Clive Thompson ponders the new literacy spawned of engagement with many keyboards.
A poll on public education shows how much opinion depends on framing, context -- and who else thinks an idea is good. In this case, people liked the idea of merit pay more if told Obama likes it.
Mind Hacks works the placebo circuit.
And Effect Measure weighs in on the weird contrasts and (limited) parallels between swine flu and avian flu.
And for fun, fire lookout towers, from BLDGBLOG. You…
grrlscientist | September 4, 2009tags: Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 4, 2009The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as hemispheres at home,--
And so the night became.
~ Emily Dickinson
This is the cutest event I've heard of for NYC: a night spent counting crickets and katydids.
What: NYC Cricket Crawl (counting 7 species of crickets and katydids in NYC)
Where: New York City area
When: Friday, 11 September 2009 at 7:…
gregladen | September 3, 2009I was shocked to learn only a few minutes ago that the administration of the largest independent school district in the state of Minnesota had no idea until today about the President's intention to speak to the school children of this country next week.
As one teacher said to me, "It is very hard to just add in an activity with no prior warning or knowledge that this is happening. I don't expect a lot of teachers to just buy into this regardless of the politics."
That is interesting, disappointing, and shocking.
It is also remarkable that the event is scheduled for 12:00 EDT. That's lunch…
gregladen | September 3, 2009Dear Dr. Thein,
I am a parent of a child in the Roseville, MN School District. I am very concerned about news reports I've been hearing from elsewhere in Minnesota indicating that there are parents upset about The President of the United States addressing the students in some classrooms next week.
I am primarily concerned with the responses by the school districts to the parents. The responses I've heard have been rather appeasing to these parents. I do not think this is appropriate.
The parents in question are insane.
They are suggesting, perhaps not to school districts directly but…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2009tags: conservation, environmentalism, global warming, ocean acidification, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, A Sea Change, film premier
Image: A Sea Change [larger view].
Can you imagine oceans that have been emptied of all fish? What would life be like for other life forms on this planet if there really were no more fish in the sea? This is not science fiction: human-caused ocean acidification is already making its effects known. Sometimes known as the "wet underbelly" or "evil twin" of climate change, ocean acidification is caused by excess carbon dioxide from…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2009
Who: Toni Van Pelt, director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
What: free public presentation, "Lobbying for Science and Reason on Capitol Hill"
Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map]
When: 730pm, Thursday, 10 September
Toni Van Pelt is the director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. She will talk about her work as a lobbyist, promoting and advancing science and secularism. In her work, she asks our congresscritters to base law and policy on empirical evidence and the scientific…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2009tags: Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, with baby aboard, photographed on Lake Constance, Kontanz, Germany. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joe Byrnes, 14 June 2009 [larger view].
Several people have sent me photographs of birds recently, including one person who sent a penguin mystery bird! The penguin image has mysteriously disappeared, so please do re-send that image. This mystery bird (which is on my life list, thanks to the many pairs I saw in Finland) is the…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that documents the huge colonies of Antarctica's King Penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus. It's amazing to see a giant creche comprised of 50,000 King Penguin chicks, and to watch the courtship behaviors among these birds. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 2, 2009tags: Cut-throat Finch, Ribbon Finch, Amadina fasciata, Kenya Canary, Yellow-crowned Canary, Serinus flavivertex, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Yellow-crowned (Kenya) Canary, Serinus flavivertex (left), Cut-throat (Ribbon) Finch, Amadina fasciata (right), photographed in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 7 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm VR lens at 310 mm. ISO 400 f/5 1/500 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds…
ejohnson | September 1, 2009
Monday marked the first day of the 2009-2010 academic school year for a large number of students and teachers. For many ScienceBloggers, this meant a return to the lectern and for others, a return to their own scholarly pursuits. Wherever ScienceBloggers might find themselves this semester, it is clear school is on the brain. Over on Sciencewomen, Alice Pawley muses on her latest inspiration and urges readers to "take back your education!" Uncertain Principles invites readers to contribute to a discussion on academics' obligations to former students. No school year is ever complete without a…
grrlscientist | September 1, 2009tags: Green Winged Pytilia, Melba Finch, Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Winged Pytilia, also known as the Melba Finch or Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/180 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
drorzel | September 1, 2009It's probably a good thing that I don't have full-text access to Mark Slouka's article in Harper's, with the title "Dehumanized: When math and science rule the school." Just the description in this Columbia Journalism Review piece makes me want to hunt down the author and belt him with a Norton anthology:
According to the article itself, the dehumanizing element of the school system (especially universities) is actually its focus on producing businesspeople and "ensuring that the United States does not fall from its privileged perch in the global economy." But "nothing speaks more clearly to…
razib | August 31, 2009Mike the Mad Biologist points out that Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota and New Hampshire do better on math scores for elementary age students than most of Europe, and are competitive with Asia. Here are Mike's factors for why this might be:
-Low child poverty rates as measured by school lunch subsidies (a common proxy for poverty).
-Low divorce rates.
-Effective public health departments. MA, NJ, and MN have very good public health systems, and NH has some excellent programs (e.g., electronic syndromic surveillance)
-High incomes. Overall, these are healthy state economies (as good as…
grrlscientist | August 31, 2009The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as hemispheres at home,--
And so the night became.
~ Emily Dickinson
This is the cutest event I've heard of for NYC: a night spent counting crickets and katydids.
What: NYC Cricket Crawl (counting 7 species of crickets and katydids in NYC)
Where: New York City area
When: Friday, 11 September 2009 at 7:…