thusspakezuska | July 9, 2007Remember that fascinating study that almost certainly applied to females? Jake at Pure Pedantry has a very interesting analysis to offer on it.
I do like the way he deconstructs the statistics and delineates the difference between statistically significant and practically significant. However, he missed the boat on the gender issue. He, too, talks about eldest children, as if all children were male. This is very annoying.
I would really like it if people would be clear about when they are talking about research that was done only on men and research results that apply only to men.…
thusspakezuska | July 9, 2007One of the perks of being a Scienceblogger is getting a free subscription to Seed Magazine. Last week, issue 11 August 2007 arrived, and I happily began sampling its good stuff. There's a new feature this month called "Incubator" that tries to "capture the multifacted nature of science itself - from the minutia of the bench, to the personalities behind them, to the oversized ideas that propel us forward." One item included in the new feature is Workbench, a photo of a "scientist's natural hangout". The inaugural, and annotated, full-page photo is of the desk of 3rd-year grad student…
thusspakezuska | July 9, 2007I think this is the last announcement for the day.
Do yinz know about Seed magazine? No? You're not reading it?
Well, if you subscribe right now you get a totally cool Scienceblogs mug for FREE!
If you're seeing a similar banner at the top of the page, it's clickable and you can go subscribe right now if you so choose. (The banner at the top of the page, not this one in the post.)
Seed Media Group is the entity we Sciencebloggers affectionately refer to as our benevolent overlords.
So anyway, the free mug only costs you $14.95, and you'll also get six issues of Seed. That's if you…
thusspakezuska | July 9, 2007Perhaps you've noticed something new on the sidebar at right...
ScienceBlogs is conducting its first-ever reader survey. One lucky respondent will win an iPod nano. But the real winner will be, well, ScienceBlogs, since we're going to use what we learn to make the site better.
Or so I was told. But no, the real winner will still be you, since Scienceblogs will be improved for you!
Take a few moments, if you feel motivated, to do the survey. Oh, come on; how many of those silly web surveys have you spent time filling out to find out which science fiction author you are or what your chances…
thusspakezuska | July 9, 2007Bora at A Blog Around the Clock managed to land an interview with presidential candidate Senator John Edwards! You can read it over at his pad here. Eight questions on the senator's views on science and science policy issues - nice work, Bora!
thusspakezuska | July 6, 2007Some time back I saw an announcement in the Chronicle of Higher Education for a new book about Maria Sibylla Merian. The book is Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis by Kim Todd. If you've checked out the most recent Scientiae Carnival (and if not, why not?!?), you'll know that Peggy at Women in Science has included it in a list of recommended reading. It looks like a great book and I'd like to add it to my ever-expanding TBR bookshelf.
Maria Merian has held a special place in my heart for many, many years. I first encountered her nearly twenty years ago (…
thusspakezuska | July 5, 2007The latest Scientiae Carnival is up at Amelie's Welt; the topic is responsibility. In a completely irresponsible move, I missed the deadline for contributions this time around, my first time. I can point to migraines and doctor appointments and MRI scans and whatnot last week but still, I should have put something together. Well, go and read the excellent contributions of the responsible bloggers who didn't let summer's fine weather turn them into slackers. Jokerine's mind map is a thing of beauty to behold, as well as instructive and thought-provoking. Amelie seems to worry that the…
thusspakezuska | June 29, 2007Mr. Zuska came home this evening, tired after a long week of work. We looked at each other and said "Pizza". Which turned out to be a good thing, because when the pizza delivery guy showed up and I went to pay him, I found a package on my front porch from the good folks at Seed (specifically, Jennifer - thanks, Jennifer!) A FREE BOOK! Yay! What's not to love about free books?
And this one turned out to be written by Natalie Angier, whom I adore. Angier, you will recall, is the author of Woman: An Intimate Geography, which was the subject of my first Friday Bookshelf. The new book is…
thusspakezuska | June 29, 2007I've been doing some reading over at Twisty's place this afternoon, and, you know, it's the usual patriarchy-blaming that helps raise your blood pressure. I do admire Twisty's way with a phrase.
Then I came across this post. And it was more than the blood pressure; I wanted to scream in frustration and anger. A precocious 9-year-old girl who's taking classes at a high school, and who has been "singing over her chemistry equations". But then, in an ill-considered move, she turned 10, which apparently was equivalent to posting a sign on her back that read "All males may feel free to…
thusspakezuska | June 29, 2007There's a debate going on among my Sciblings about atheism: is it or is it not a civil rights issue? Matthew at Framing Science is of the opinion that it is not, and apparently thinks people like Richard Dawkins are giving atheists a bad name. Jason at Evolutionblog writes the following:
Atheists don't face a public image problem because of the books of Dawkins and Hitchens. They face a public image problem because of the bigotry and ignorance of so many religious people. Not all religious people, certainly, as the strawman version of their arguments would have you believe. But a much…
thusspakezuska | June 28, 2007Warning: this is an intensely personal piece and I'm not sure why I'm posting it at all, except that some people I know have been encouraging me for awhile to write more about my illness or disability in general. So blame them.
(By the way, you aren't supposed to read this and feel pity for me. Just understand better what it's like to be chronically ill - and maybe experience your own health a little more sweetly, or take comfort if you are ill, too.)
I got up much earlier than usual this morning, so that I could be at the hospital imaging center by 7:45 a.m. I was scheduled to have…
thusspakezuska | June 27, 2007I recently got a notice from the AWIS - Philadelphia chapter about a film in production here in Philadelphia, called "Future Weather". The filmmakers, independent and mostly women, wrote to AWIS as follows:
We...are dedicated to bringing the stories of real women and girls to the big (and small) screen, one little story, one strong-willed girl at a time. We hope you will join us... I'm sure you are aware of the lack of positive female role models in the media, especially those with any interest, much less commitment, to science. We are hoping to change that.
Future Weather is the story of…
thusspakezuska | June 27, 2007Rice University is hosting a workshop called Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position. From an email announcement about the workshop:
At Rice University we are strongly committed to increasing the diversity of science and engineering faculty and students. As part of this goal we are sponsoring an exciting new workshop for senior women graduate students and post-docs who are interested in pursuing an academic career.
The workshop, Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position, is designed to provide participants hands-on experience to enhance their knowledge of and ability to find the right…
thusspakezuska | June 25, 2007It seems all the Science Bloggers are doing it...
...submitting their blogs for rating at this site.
I am so proud to say TSZ came up with an R rating.
Mingle2 - Online Dating
Bora has an NC-17 but he's the only one. He's the only one in lots of ways, though, you know?? (I mean that in a good way, Bora!)
My rating was based on the presence of the following words:
sex (8x) pain (3x) poop (2x) puke (1x)
Now, I am absolutely sure that the word "puke" appears more than one time on this blog, so maybe I really should have an NC-17. But, whatever. I'm no "G" blogger like PZ, Doc…
thusspakezuska | June 24, 2007One year has passed since Denice Denton's untimely death. It's a real understatement to say that Denice was a trailblazer. Here's Jean Bahr's memory of Denice:
I met Denice at a reception at the Women's Studies Center in the fall of 1987 when we were both beginning our tenure track appointments at Madison. There were only a handful of women faculty in the physical sciences, and Denice was the ONLY woman faculty member in the College of Engineering. Someone suggested that the women in physical sciences and engineering should try to get together periodically for mutual support. If my memory is…
thusspakezuska | June 22, 2007I'm going to cheat a little on this week's Friday Bookshelf. Women in Science: Meeting Career Challenges is a book I have reviewed in the past for NWSA Journal (vol. 12, no. 3, 2000). So I'm going to quote my own review. My review was originally combined with a review of a film about women scientists called Asking Different Questions: Women and Science. To understand the end of this review, you need to know something from that film. One of the scientists, Ursula Franklin, offers a metaphor of women as earthworms working to prepare the soil for a better way of doing science. She says…
thusspakezuska | June 22, 2007The New York Times reports today on a study published today in two papers in Science (Science 22 June 2007: Vol. 316. no. 5832, p. 1717) and Intelligence: "Research Finds Firstborns Gain The Higher I.Q."
The study could settle more than half a century of scientific debate! Frank J. Sulloway, psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, says
"I consider these two papers the most important publications to come out in this field in 70 years; it's a dream come true...there was some room for doubt about this effect before, but that room has now been eliminated"
!!!!!
Get this:
The…
thusspakezuska | June 21, 2007I can't tell if this Chronicle piece is behind a paywall or not, because I already logged into my account today so everything opens up in my browser right away...I hope it's not, because I'd love for you to see the picture of Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College, on a skateboard. It's how she commutes from her home to her office! If you can get to the article, then there's a link to an audio slide show, too. From the article:
A video-game enthusiast, marathon runner, juggler, and painter, Ms. Klawe, 55, is a self-described klutz who credits her talents to intense practice. The…
thusspakezuska | June 21, 2007The Chronicle of Higher Education had a great piece this week about A. Van Jordan and his new book of poetry, Quantum Lyrics. Unfortunately, I think you need a subscription to read the article online. It's the June 22, 2007 issue, p. A48, if you have access to the print version.
"Physicists talk in metaphor all the time," says Mr. Jordan, 41, who weaves theories and theorems into his latest poetic examinations of history, race relations, memory, and grief. The centerpiece of Quantum Lyrics is a lengthy cycle of poems about Albert Einstein, but the book is alive with a wide array of…
thusspakezuska | June 21, 2007So, Bora tagged me today with the Eight Random Facts meme. And since it's Bora, I will respond. Here are the rules:
1. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been
tagged.
But I'm sorry, tagging 8 other people is laborious. Plus it begins to feel less meme-ish and more chain-letter-ish (which is what memes are anyway, but meme sounds so much nicer.) So, if you are reading this, and you have a blog, and this sounds nifty to you, and you'd like…