There’s been a lot of bloggage recently about a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicating bias toward male students on the part of faculty who thought they were evaluating an application for a laboratory manager. Half of the faculty in the study were given an application with “Jennifer” at […]
Author: Nathan
Links for 2012-09-24
In which we look at the real goal for the Giants, how they’ve overspent on running backs over the last twenty years, the capital-S surrealism of Daniel Pinkwater (author of Lizard Music and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death), and an attempt to put the cost of the Large Hadron Collider in perspective. […]
What Your Canadian Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics, Eh
Having been on hiatus for a couple of months has made me forget my obligation for self-promotion via the blog, but I should note one fast approaching public appearance: I’ll be at the University of Waterloo next weekend, where they are celebrating the opening of their shiny new Quantum and Nano Center with an Open […]
Links for 2012-09-19
In which we look at the death of a sports-media pioneer, the settling of the Chicago teachers strike, writing while a parent, why even highly educated people hate school teachers, and a different approach to teaching students not to plagiarize papers. A Positive Solution for Plagiarism – Do Your Job Better – The Chronicle of […]
Science with SteelyKid
There are a bunch of physics stories that I’d sort of like to write about, but don’t have time for, and politics is oscillating between “darkly hilarious” and “indescribably depressing,” so that’s best left alone. So, here’s some cute kid pictures instead. SteelyKid has lately taken to telling all and sundry “This is my daddy. […]
Help Me, Internet Biologists, You’re My Only Hope
For her birthday, SteelyKid got a “Butterfly Keeper” set, which is basically a big mesh cylinder maybe two feet high and a foot in diameter. It came with a coupon for free live caterpillars for “Painted Lady” butterflies, which we duly sent away for. These came in a plastic cup full of caterpillar food, with […]
The “Ballistic” Story
Last week, in the post about fermion conduction, I left a reference hanging: There’s nothing physically blocking the atoms from flying right through the channel– in fact, an atom that enters the channel will always exit the other side without slowing down along the way. This is termed “ballistic,” a term that will always have […]
Links for 2012-09-12
In which we learn about a new science communication service, some history of astronomy, a more complete definition of “one-hit wonder,” and a new science award promoting basic research. ———— Bowler Hat Science Matthew Francis launches his Media Empire, offering a variety of talks (both public lectures and research talks), and more importantly workshops on […]
Links for 2012-09-10
In which we look at Obama’s speaking style, what Bill Clinton wrote vs. what he said, and Gangnam Style. ———— Obama and the Racial Politics of American English – NYTimes.com This ended up being less interesting than it seemed it might be, but I’m not sure why. What Bill Clinton Wrote vs. What Bill Clinton […]