Uncategorized
gregladen | June 30, 2009Science steps in and looks at the processes of nature and shows us how to tease apart the secrets of their workings, slowly and carefully and with missteps along the way. The missteps are readily acknowledged and re-examined. The successes are retested to make sure they closely approximate (within a high confidence interval) the truth. Then they are once again examined as new questions arise that cast doubt on the answers.
... Mike Haubrich on Quiche Moraine
gregladen | June 30, 2009Nature has a special ... special thingie ... on science journalism. It appears to be more or less open access so even you, a virtual nobody from the perspective of the pirate publishing companies, can actually see it. There are commentaries and articles on blogs and twitter, on the future of science journalism, and so on.
To mark the 6th World Conference of Science Journalists from 30 June-2 July 2009 in London, Nature is shining a spotlight on the profession in changing times. Science journalism faces an uncertain future. But to what extent should scientists help -- or care?
Looks pretty…
cortex | June 30, 2009It's been a hotly debated scientific question for decades: was Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak a genuine statistical outlier, or is it an expected statistical aberration, given the long history of major league baseball? I'd optimistically assumed, based on the work of Harvard physicist Ed Purcell (as cited by Stephen Jay Gould) that DiMaggio was the real deal. Here's Gould:
Purcell calculated that to make it likely (probability greater than 50 percent) that a run of even fifty games will occur once in the history of baseball up to now (and fifty-six is a lot more than fifty in this kind…
cortex | June 30, 2009Just a quick reminder to watch the season premiere of NOVA tonight on PBS. It features Oliver Sacks and a few of the patients described in Musicophilia, including Tony Cicoria, an orthopedic surgeon who became obsessed with classical piano after being struck by lightning. I found the show quite compelling - NOVA was kind enough to send me a preview DVD - so be sure to tune in. For me, the most affecting story was that of Matt Giordano, who suffers from a severe case of Tourette's syndrome. Matt is hard to watch, if only because his ordinary movements are constantly being interrupted by tics…
grrlscientist | June 29, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 504 - 481 - 180 - 158 - 140 out of 183 candidates registered. I am in second place.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay. Voting ends 30 September and there is one vote allowed per valid email address (registration required).
gregladen | June 29, 2009The best of last June
Note: Since writing this post a year ago, at the time of Scott's talk, I learned something interesting that I think it is OK to share with you. Prior to the talk, Scott has received an injury, which was causing him considerable pain during the talk itself. He left from the podium directly to seek medical attention. In addition, his power point slides and notes were destroyed somehow, so he gave the talk cold. And you could not tell. It was an excellent talk.
The Evolution 2008 conference started out today with a special program for K-12 teachers (mainly life…
gregladen | June 29, 2009
Intermedia Arts Presents
B-GIRL BE
:: A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN HIP-HOP ::
Fourth International Multimedia Festival
Summer Camps -- August 11 - 14, 2009
Mama Said Knock U Out! Exhibition -- August 27 through October 23, 2009
Dance Performances -- September 17 - 20, 2009
B-Girl Be Block Party-- Saturday, September 19, 2009
art . dance . dialogues . dj . fashion . film . graff . history . media . poetry . rap
Minneapolis, MN-- After B-Girl Be's year hiatus and a challenging start to 2009 for Intermedia Arts, the organization and directors of B-Girl Be are proud to announce that the much-…
gregladen | June 29, 2009Eric Michael Johnson has a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and a Masters in Evolutionary Anthropology. He pursued his PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University before joining the University of British Columbia to complete a doctorate in the History and Philosophy of Science.
And he now blogs here.
gregladen | June 29, 2009Following the excellent round of rocket photography by Steve Jurvetson, we now come down to earth with minerals photographed by B. Jefferson Bolender.
cortex | June 29, 2009In the latest Atlantic, Sandra Tsing Loh argues (with her usual panache) that the institution of marriage is passé, and that it's time to cast off the antiquated concept of eternal monogomy:
Sure, it [marriage] made sense to agrarian families before 1900, when to farm the land, one needed two spouses, grandparents, and a raft of children. But now that we have white-collar work and washing machines, and our life expectancy has shot from 47 to 77, isn't the idea of lifelong marriage obsolete?
This post isn't about whether Loh is right; I've only been married 9 months, so I'm not qualified to…
gregladen | June 29, 2009Skepchickcon is a Track at Convergence 2009. Convergence 2009 is one of those science fiction conventions where everyone dresses up as Klingons and such. I've never been to one but I've sure seen plenty of them on TV and in the movies.
Skepchickcon is a "Track," which means it is a series of panels and stuff integrated with systematic planned partying parallel to other "Tracks" at the convention.
Personally, I'm on three of the panels: Blogging Skeptically; Science Online, and Evolution 101. Plus I'll try to attend some of the parties.
Here is my schedule:
I'm less sure about the…
skookumchick | June 29, 2009
... where the wireless is cheaper than in Amsterdam. W00T! Conference starts tomorrow (really more like a workshop, I think). And I just wanted to share a photo of this cool tile I just bought. It's from the 1940s, and is of a canal and the Oude Kerk (Old Church, that's the one from the 1300s, rather than the Nieuwe Kerk, New Church, from the 1600).
mspringer | June 29, 2009The National Weather Service does a very useful thing for people who live in an area expexted to experience severe weather danger. I have a little Firefox app in my browser that links to the NWS and advises me of the current conditions and forecast for the next few days, and as part of its mechanical duties it advises me of the various severe weather alerts that happen. They're popping up at the rate of several times per week now, when the sky is a beautiful crystal blue. Why? Severe heat. Welcome to the southern summer!
I regret to say that I have an advisory of my own: a travel alert…
gregladen | June 29, 2009Bing, son of blogger and politico Mike Haubrich, has just arrived in Japan where he will spend several months assisting in a linguistic research project in the Greater Tokyo Metro area. And hopefully getting around the country a bit to see some cool stuff.
He's got a web site tracking his trip here.
Please note that there is a little donation button on that site. I think he's short of cash.
gregladen | June 29, 2009UPDATE: grrrrrrrrrr.....
The original story, now retracted, is below the fold.
Somebody is dicking around on the internet. It is possible that the Daily Express article is a "hoax" or a "fiction" ... at least, this is what some are claiming. See the updates here on Bad Astronomy.
I'm not sure if I would use the word "hoax" if this is simply inaccurate reporting. A hoax is different (sort of like the difference between a mugging and a hate crime?).
I also don't like the phrase "it is a fiction." What does that mean exactly? This story has several elements to it, including the…
sb admin | June 29, 2009
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
Crafting a message on swine flu is not easy, and it's easy to make missteps. I think CDC has gotten it pretty much right over the last two months, but not everyone has. We've written here since the beginning (some examples here and here) that describing any flu outbreak as "mild" is inapt. Flu always has the potential to be a serious disease and kill people, even in flu seasons termed "mild" by comparing them to flu seasons that are "bad." Even with virulent flu viruses many people have minimal illness -- in comparison to those who don't. But flu,…
grrlscientist | June 28, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 436 - 377 - 170 - 145 - 138 out of 167 candidates registered.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay. Voting ends 30 September and there is one vote allowed per valid email address (registration required).
jrosenhouse | June 28, 2009For me the big paleontology conference began on Wednesday morning when a group of us gathered to go to the Creation Museum. There were a couple of luminaries in attendence, including Eugenie Scott:
If you look carefully you can make out my reflection in the glass.
I have made several visits to the museum, and it has been crowded each time. But even I was taken aback by the mob scene that greeted us. Things were so clogged it was sometimes hard to work your way through the labyrinth of exhibits. Very depressing.
Even more depressing was the ubiquity of small children from various…
gregladen | June 28, 2009The best of last June
Triatoma infestans, Chagas vector This is the conclusion of a report to be published in the June 2008 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal. The report, by Peter Hotez of George Washington University and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, is a clear indictment of economic disparity in the United States. The bottom line: Many poor Americans are, effectively, living in a poorly managed third world country.
Poor people in the United States are subject to a mostly ignored burden of diseases "caused by a group of chronic and debilitating parasitic, bacterial, and…