This happens, although don’t click on that link unless you have some tolerance for dark humor. Well, I think it’s funny, and I also think Edward Tufte’s stand on PowerPoint is interesting (if not news at this point): Slideware may help speakers outline their talks, but convenience for the speaker can be punishing to both
To the dismay of linguists everywhere, it is once again National Grammar Day. Yes, you read that right: dismay. As my colleague Gabe explains on his blog Motivated Grammar: My problem with National Grammar Day (and most popular grammarians in general) is that it suggests that the best part of studying language is the heady
The world of Algebraic Geometry (to which I have personal but absolutely no professional ties) is kind of tempest-tossed at the moment. I wouldn’t be suprised but what a number of you would enjoy thinking about and commenting on what’s going on. In brief, lay terms, as I have heard it, there was this brilliant
danah boyd is a researcher specializing in social issues surrounding new technology, particularly social networking. In a recent blog post, she discusses differences in the cultures of Facebook and Twitter status updates. She points out that despite their superificial similarities, these two networks have different norms with respect to the directionality of communication: Facebook’s social
Jessica Hammer ’99 and her research team recently won a grant to design iPhone games that will help people stop smoking. The grant speaks for itself: The game is intended to be an alternative to smoking with the goal of reducing or eliminating tobacco use in players’ lives. The game involves breathing into a microphone
I wonder where I can get one of these? Using the lanthanoids and actinoids as a bench is quite clever. (Yes, I’ll admit, I did have to look up what those rows are called.)
You might remember earlier this year, Kevin Martin’s post about how many a’s people put in Khan. He also mentioned that one might fit an equation to the curve. To a geeky statistician, those are dangerous words. Dangerously appealing words. Before you continue, let me warn you: extreme geekitude follows; performing some analysis of this
I was intrigued but ultimately left unsatisfied by this article on Salon.com. Titled “Why America is flunking science”, the article takes on the question of why so many Americans don’t know basic facts about science. But rather than repeating the same tired claims about the uneducated masses, they consider instead the image of science presented
I expect that most of our readers are familiar with TEDTalks. The TED Conferences takes place annually and “bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).” Their talks are then published on their website, so that we mere mortals can experience
Sense About Science, a UK-based science outreach organization, has launched a campaign to prevent British libel law from being used to stifle scientific debate. The direct motivation for this campaign was a lawsuit brought against Simon Singh by the British Chiropractic Association. Singh holds a PhD in physics and has written bestselling popular science books