Links Dump
drorzel | May 6, 2008
Swans on Tea » Doomed to Fail
"A thought experiment that finds a contradiction has only shown that the transforms have not been properly applied -- the author has made a math error, or made a bad assumption"
(tags: physics relativity science education)
Dark Matter Searches at Colliders - part III « A Quantum Diaries Survivor
"[T]he final part of a long post on the searches for new particles that may be the solution of a long-standing problem in astrophysics today: the missing mass in our Universe."
(tags: physics astronomy science experiment)
Decorum at an Academic Interview…
drorzel | May 5, 2008
Closure in an Ethics Case :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, and Views and Jobs
Common sense prevails, for once
(tags: academia ethics stupid)
Ohmigosh fonts
A big step up from Comic Sans
(tags: comics computing silly language)
Jacks of Science â Using Adobe Photoshop for Research and Profit
"As you can see, Photoshop is such a powerful tool it's no wonder it cost $1000 to purchase!"
(tags: science statistics pictures computing silly)
Déjà Vu Dining - New York Times
""Surprisingly decent" was the consensus among nine reviewers who visited chain restaurants in…
drorzel | May 4, 2008
Open Left:: The Fear Before the Launch
"[T]here's just something weird about putting two years of your life into something - from traveling, to reporting, to editing, to re-editing, to proofing, etc. - and then having it all be in one neat place, all laid out and ready to be consumed by the pu
(tags: writing publishing books)
theweaselking: Monkey teasing a dog
You can't trust primates...
(tags: animals biology silly video)
drorzel | May 3, 2008
Closing the achievement gap in math and science
"The latest results from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program show not only improved proficiency among all elementary and middle school students, but also a closing of the achievement gaps between both African
(tags: science education academia race)
Computational modeling « Confused at a higher level
"That I am 'modeling' nature in my studies was not entirely obvious to me until I spent some time collaborating with Randy Hulet as well as with Barry Dunning when I was at Rice."
(tags: physics…
drorzel | May 2, 2008
The Bohr paradox - physicsworld.com
"Pais also reports a distinguished younger colleague asking with puzzlement and scepticism "What did Bohr really do?"."
(tags: history science physics quantum)
Mind the hack - physicsworld.com
"But are the public and other scientists entitled to know about discoveries like this as soon as possible? Or is it right that research is embargoed, so that all journalists have an equal chance to report on it accurately?"
(tags: science publishing journals journalism society news)
drorzel | May 1, 2008
The Voltage Gate : Why Jurassic Park Is Not a Pro-Science Movie
Because Michael Crichton is a writer of Luddite Fiction
(tags: books literature movies society culture)
A consistent, worldwide association between short sleep duration and obesity
'"[The study] raises the unanswered question yet of whether this is a cause-effect association. Only prospective longitudinal studies will be able to address the outstanding question," said Dr. Cappuccio.'
(tags: medicine science news)
Biologists are from Mars, chemists are from Venus?
"But how do scientists from different disciplines and…
drorzel | April 30, 2008
Dawn of the memristor - physicsworld.com
"In simple terms, a memristor "remembers" the amount of charge that has flowed through it and as a result changes its resistance. "
(tags: physics materials science news)
Where are all the women? - The Planetary Society Blog | The Planetary Society
Venus.
(tags: astronomy planets gender science blogs)
Say Goodbye To The Blockbuster: The A.V. Club's Summer Movie Preview, Part One | The A.V. Club
"Is this the end of the summer blockbuster? For the purposes of hysterical overstatement, let's just say yes."
(tags: movies review stupid)
drorzel | April 29, 2008
Japan, a Brief Pop-Cultural Survey | The A.V. Club
"Japan: land of the rising sun. [...] Home to high-quality electronics, bizarre game shows, and vending machines that dispense beer and used girls' panties (not together...yet)."
(tags: Japan culture society silly)
Confessions of a Community College Dean: Between the Dog and the Fire Hydrant
"Why would a smart person with ethics and a sense of reality support decisions that it seems Satan would endorse?"
(tags: academia politics society ethics economics jobs)
Orangutan attempts to hunt fish with spear | the Daily Mail
Ook!
(tags: animals…
drorzel | April 28, 2008
The Art of the Possible » Blog Archive » Wussy Like a Fox?
"Summing up: Obama risks looking marginally "weak" by "not hitting back" against Clinton's attacks. But hitting back risks making him look like a) an asshole; b) a sexist; c) a scary negro man! "
(tags: politics US race gender)
Solar System Live
See the arrangement of planets on any date you choose.
(tags: astronomy planets space computing internet gadgets)
blarg? » A Clear And Present Danger
"[T]he American national security establishment has stolen my socks."
(tags: war US stupid travel)
What's up in the solar system for…
drorzel | April 27, 2008
Crooked Timber » » Maybe Baby
In which Maria makes a dubious choice of date movies. Then again, the first movie Kate and I went to was "Hrad Rain," so who am I to judge?
(tags: movies nostalgia blogs)
Physics and Physicists: Physics In Action at Theme Parks
On student trips to learn "Like how the gravity and force relates with the loops and stuff."
(tags: physics education science academia)
Physicists quantify the 'coefficient of inefficiency' - physicsworld.com
"Parkinson found that committees with more than about 20 members are much more ineffectual at making decisions than smaller…
drorzel | April 26, 2008
Seed: "So"
A look at the most common verbal tic of scientists.
(tags: science language academia education)
drorzel | April 25, 2008
Easily Distracted » Blog Archive » What's Wrong With "Social Justice"?
"If you really mean it, however, you have to seriously leave room for, even encourage, someone to answer the question, "Should we pursue social justice or be socially responsible" by saying, "No"."
(tags: academia education society culture ethics politics)
Dynamics of Cats : string theology
Strategic choice of heresy is critical to education.
(tags: physics theory silly religion education academia astronomy)
Cognitive Daily: Casual Fridays: What does it take to be rich -- and can we change your opinion?
What do blog…
drorzel | April 24, 2008
Princeton scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter
"Writing in the April 24 issue of Nature, the scientists report that they have recorded [the quantum Hall effect] in a bulk crystal of bismuth-antimony without any external magnetic field being present."
(tags: physics experiment materials news science)
'Buckypaper' stretches in a strange way - physicsworld.com
"[R]esearchers in the US have discovered that some types of buckypaper -- sheets made of woven carbon nanotubes -- increase in width when they are stretched"
(tags: physics materials science experiment news)
immlass:…
drorzel | April 23, 2008
Acephalous: Interview with a Candidate for Many Jobs (but Winner of None)
"So your advice to candidates is to take consolation in the fact that the entire planet isn't being devoured by The Eater of Worlds?"
(tags: academia jobs blogs silly)
nanoscale views: Career comments
There's really no end to the number of people willing to give sensible advice to tenure-track faculty.
(tags: academia jobs physics science)
Cocktail Party Physics: let me explain
"When I mis-speak, it's usually assumed I am ignorant. Or sloppy. Or both. At least by men. "
(tags: gender science physics society culture…
drorzel | April 22, 2008
james_nicoll: Welcome to the Harlan Ellison Memorial Personal Boundaries Club
The title is really all the commentary you need on the "Open-Source Boob Project."
(tags: SF stupid gender ethics society culture)
Confessions of a Community College Dean: The Pre-Ninja Program
"75 percent of the graduates we contacted indicated satisfaction with the program, though many threatened to kill us in our sleep for daring to call them at home."
(tags: academia education silly)
Ecstatic Days » Blog Archive » Evil Monkey's Guide to Kosher Imaginary Animals
"Horses are not kosher, no matter how…
drorzel | April 21, 2008
Cognitive Daily: What's better for heating a mug of water: The stove or the microwave?
Dave watches pots boil so you don't have to.
(tags: physics science energy environment silly)
PETA's Latest Tactic: $1 Million for Fake Meat - New York Times
Shockingly, they've stumbled across a halfway decent idea. I think this is mentioned in Revelations somewhere...
(tags: animals food science)
The Ethical Werewolf: In which the werewolf is admitted to paradise
"I said, "If someone asks a question, and it's a good question, I'm going to dance.""
(tags: academia education jobs society culture…
drorzel | April 19, 2008
Jacks of Science â Super Slow Motion is the New Slow Motion
"[A]s frames per second increase (speed of video decreases), coolness approaches infinity, a value infinitely cooler than the speed of normal life. Moving past this discontinuity, boringness surpasses coolness and we observe exponential decay as speed of
(tags: video youtube silly science gadgets movies)
Phil Gordon Answers Your Poker Questions - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog
"Randomness, otherwise known as "variance" at the poker table is much bigger and more important than most poker players realize. I have a…
drorzel | April 18, 2008
Preliminary thermal modeling accounts for some (but not all) of the Pioneer Anomaly - The Planetary Society Blog | The Planetary Society
Some of the mysterious extra acceleration may just be uneven heating.
(tags: science space physics astronomy thermo theory computing)
Car Talk
"Coming April 22, PBS's NOVA presents a very special program. The topic? 'Car of the Future ...' Now, here's the downside: '...with hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi.'"
(tags: television science silly)
Atoms in a Radio-Frequency-Dressed Optical Lattice
Using lasers and RF fields to make a lattice of ring-shaped…
drorzel | April 17, 2008
The Scientific Activist: Why Are Veins Blue?
It's all about optics.
(tags: social-science medicine biology optics physics blogs)
100 Greatest Novelty Songs
Feel the pain.
(tags: music silly stupid culture)
drorzel | April 16, 2008
Confessions of a Community College Dean: Science Fairs and School Boards
"From looking at the other projects, this year's theme was baking soda volcanoes. " This year, and every year.
(tags: education science kid-stuff)
Physicists Claim to Have Found 'Dark Matter' Again - New York Times
"Juan Collar of the University of Chicago said people were excited about the new results. "You wouldn't put your hand on fire that this is wimps," he said, but agreed that some kinds of wimps were still among many possibilities, including that the e
(tags: physics astronomy precision-measurement quantum…