Savage Minds, an anthropology blog, had an interesting article about the use of email in academia, with a link to this article from Scitable, a site run by the publishers of Nature. I liked the article, even though there are some fairly obvious tips like the suggestion to avoid texting… Read more“Tips for Scientific Communication”
Tag: science
Watch it, Love it, Watch them All
The Graduate School Experience
While doing research on paleo-osteoarthritis, I came across an essay from the Journal of Cell Science by Martin A. Schwartz titled “The importance of stupidity in scientific research”. It seems to really resonate with me, so it must be true and I must share it. Here’s how it starts: “I… Read more“The Graduate School Experience”
Erectus Disfunction
As I work on my dissertation tonight I’m also viewing some educational Netflix. Tonight’s showing: Before We Ruled the Earth: Hunt or Be Hunted. They had a dramatization of H. erectus failing to hunt elk because their torches (used to scare the elk) went out in the moist air. I… Read more“Erectus Disfunction”
I Knew It!
Why am I writing about agriculture? It’s a long story that started at my first blog, kccomics.com. In May 2002 I was in a sciency mood. I was thinking about evolution. I was taught that group evolution doesn’t exist, natural selection occurs on the individual level and individuals don’t give… Read more“I Knew It!”
A Giant Facepalm for Mankind
Sometimes I think I’m too critical of science news. But I occasionally see an article that irks me so much because it make so many basic scientific mistakes. Take this one for example. First it’s the headline: “Cane toad evolution ‘too fast for bodies.’” How can evolution be too fast?… Read more“A Giant Facepalm for Mankind”
I can’t sleep right now because earlier today I made a kinda-important scientific discovery and now the race is on to get it published. Does that make me a geek?
The High Price of Number Crunching
I do a lot of work in statistics. In fact, almost all of my work involves statistics. I don’t collect data in the field. I don’t do things in a lab. I sit in front of my computer working with data sets and spreadsheets. Lately I’ve been doing a lot… Read more“The High Price of Number Crunching”
How My Dissertation is Going: Part One in a Long Series
The past week has been full of numbers. I’ve been examining the relationship between femur length and stature, hoping to find a sound way to estimate the latter with the former. Regression is the way to go, but what kind? Most studies have settled on linear regression but there is… Read more“How My Dissertation is Going: Part One in a Long Series”
Go #54!
My advisor Robert Benfer made Discover Magazine‘s top 100 science discoveries of 2006! He is number 54 on the list, not a bad showing at all. Bob made the list for finding the oldest known site in the New World that was used for astronomical observations. These observations were important… Read more“Go #54!”