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Category Archives: science
The Political Asymmetry of Weather
So, the East Coast is in the middle of a record heat wave. How come we haven’t heard any hyperventilating media types announce that this “proves” global warming is true? After all, when we had a little snow in February, … Continue reading
Shouting in the wind
I know I’m not going to convince anybody, and this is far from the most important place to make this point, but I feel like I have to weigh in: Record snowfall does not “disprove” global warming. To advance the … Continue reading
Posted in politics, science
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Joking about Science
I regret the simple me-too-ism of just posting a link to an article, but this piece over at Project Syndicate is a nice, short reflection on how jokes scientists make (about their own profession) illuminate the two distinct views we … Continue reading
Posted in review, science
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Throwing Out the Textbook (Part II)
(Part I gives the background.) Since the date to order a textbook has long since passed, I’m pretty committed to not going with one for “Space Science & Astrophysics”. I’ve taken the plunge. The problem is, I don’t know exactly … Continue reading
Posted in science, teaching, technology
Tagged assessment, help, lecture, papers, quiz, Space Science & Astrophysics, textbook
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Throwing out the Textbook (Part I)
(You can skip to Part II.) Some of you might remember that this is nominally a blog about education. It’s time again to shunt aside all the personal and political things I like to blog about, and to instead post … Continue reading
Posted in science, teaching, technology
Tagged classes, help, Scientific American, Space Science & Astrophysics, textbooks
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Old nuggets
Anyone checking the frequency of blogging for this site need not be told that I am not a natural diarist. I keep trying to start a regular compilation of my thought but never quite get in the habit. I have … Continue reading
The Mongrel Dogs at Sea (11): Solar Sight
I experienced something today that I’ve heard a lot about but never quite believed in: the infamous green flash. I’d read that, sometimes, during sunsets, just at the moment the Sun sinks below the horizon, it flashes green. However, the … Continue reading
Just pointing the way…
… to a webcomic (“xkcd“) that I just stumbled across. It’s kinda odd but has the occasional math/science bent that endears it to me. (“Dr. Elizabeth? I accidentally took the Fourier transform of my cat” or “Schroedinger’s Comic“) It also … Continue reading
