Biological Rumination

"The summaries were rated for quality, including how “important” and..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:24:29 -0400

“The summaries were rated for quality, including how “important” and “innovative” they were. The study revealed that, overall, the summaries written by men were rated more highly than those with female authors.”

- Work by female scientists gets judged more harshly | Health24

"Think about the difference between a house (Germanic) and a mansion (French), or between starting..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:40:31 -0400

“

Think about the difference between a house (Germanic) and a mansion (French), or between starting something and commencing, between calling something kingly or regal. English has a huge number of close synonyms, where the major difference is the level of formality or prestige. The prestigious form is almost always the Latin one.

The names of animals and meats also reflect this phenomenon. The old story goes that, in English, the animals have Germanic names but the cooked meats have French ones. For example, swine is Germanic but pork is French, sheep is Germanic but mutton is French. Was this because the English speakers worked on the farms whereas the French speakers ate the produce? It’s certainly possible.

”

- Ten things you might not have known about the English language | Oxford University Press (via slantback)

wnyc: Take a trip inside the magical world of….The Book of...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:32:53 -0400

wnyc:

Take a trip inside the magical world of….The Book of Clocks. This guide sits in the control rooms at WNYC and has the standard “clocks” for each show. How long the segments are, where the breaks come, when the network hands off to the local affiliate, etc… Without this, we’d be flying blind. Also makes for great bedtime reading.

-Jody, BL Show-

nezua: blognomi: Yes. And that is precisely why there are...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:56:23 -0400

nezua:

blognomi:

Yes.

And that is precisely why there are moves creeping up here and there, town to town, ordinance by ordinance, direct or indirect, to ban us from doing just this – the most basic and human of rights.

"I’d suggest, just as a conversation starter, that the average American’s deep-seated..."

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:53:17 -0500

“I’d suggest, just as a conversation starter, that the average American’s deep-seated fondness for the idea of farming, coupled with a preference for easier, safer, and more lucrative work, creates exactly the kind of environment where terribile industrial farming can flourish. As a nation, we are seduced by pictures like the ones in the Dodge commercial, and meanwhile the heirs of Earl Butz are busy making anaerobic pigshit lagoons.”

- THE GURGLING COD: On Trucks and Cows

journo-geekery: Girls Lead in Science Exam, but Not in the...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:49:41 -0500

journo-geekery:

Girls Lead in Science Exam, but Not in the United States - Interactive Feature - NYT

For years — and especially since 2005, when Lawrence H. Summers, then president of Harvard, made his notorious comments about women’s aptitude — researchers have been searching for ways to explain why there are so many more men than women in the top ranks of science.

Now comes an intriguing clue, in the form of a test given in 65 developed countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It finds that among a representative sample of 15-year-olds around the world, girls generally outperform boys in science — but not in the United States.

What explains the gap? Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the tests for the O.E.C.D., says different countries offer different incentives for learning science and math. In the United States, he said, boys are more likely than girls to “see science as something that affects their life.” Then there is the “stereotype threat.”

"Teachers are often unaware of the gender distribution of talk in their classrooms. They usually..."

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 23:52:04 -0500

“Teachers are often unaware of the gender distribution of talk in their classrooms. They usually consider that they give equal amounts of attention to girls and boys, and it is only when they make a tape recording that they realize that boys are dominating the interactions.

Dale Spender, an Australian feminist who has been a strong advocate of female rights in this area, noted that teachers who tried to restore the balance by deliberately ‘favouring’ the girls were astounded to find that despite their efforts they continued to devote more time to the boys in their classrooms. Another study reported that a male science teacher who managed to create an atmosphere in which girls and boys contributed more equally to discussion felt that he was devoting 90 per cent of his attention to the girls. And so did his male pupils. They complained vociferously that the girls were getting too much talking time.

In other public contexts, too, such as seminars and debates, when women and men are deliberately given an equal amount of the highly valued talking time, there is often a perception that they are getting more than their fair share. Dale Spender explains this as follows:

The talkativeness of women has been gauged in comparison not with men but with silence. Women have not been judged on the grounds of whether they talk more than men, but of whether they talk more than silent women.

In other words, if women talk at all, this may be perceived as ‘too much’ by men who expect them to provide a silent, decorative background in many social contexts. This may sound outrageous, but think about how you react when precocious children dominate the talk at an adult party. As women begin to make inroads into formerly ‘male’ domains such as business and professional contexts, we should not be surprised to find that their contributions are not always perceived positively or even accurately.”

- [x] (via neighborly)

"What is considered “fair treatment?” It could very well refer to better class times,..."

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:42:09 -0500

“What is considered “fair treatment?” It could very well refer to better class times, larger offices, time allotted for research, maternity leave, and higher salaries, but to the professors I spoke to, the meaning was clear: the burden of service.”

- Being Married Helps Professors Get Ahead, but Only If They’re Male - Alexis Coe - The Atlantic

Very true, I’m spending 20 hours this week on service and have for each of the last 3 weeks. The committee requiring this commitment is primarily composed of women, a 2:1 ratio.

"So three of the five BCS bowls belong on a leash. They’re dogs. This has to be the worst collection..."

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:38:50 -0500

“So three of the five BCS bowls belong on a leash. They’re dogs. This has to be the worst collection of marquee bowl games ever.”

- College football’s bowl season a jumbled mess - Yahoo! Sports

Nice line.

"Why did farmers who settled hilly areas become more liberal than farmers who settled flat parts of..."

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:51:48 -0500

“Why did farmers who settled hilly areas become more liberal than farmers who settled flat parts of eastern Wisconsin? I have no idea. The Appalachian and Ozark regions are far hillier than the Driftless Area, but are strongly red. It’s a mystery. Only God (or Nate Silver) knows the answer.”

- Was the Driftless Area Obama’s Ace in the Hole?

My old favorite and new favorite memes. bundled.

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:43:27 -0400

My old favorite and new favorite memes. bundled.

"What’s in Your Rice? A Lot of Arsenic, Says Consumer Reports"

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:22:46 -0400

“What’s in Your Rice? A Lot of Arsenic, Says Consumer Reports”

- What’s in Your Rice? A Lot of Arsenic, Says Consumer Reports - Forbes

oh no!

"Even if others may find one’s interests abstruse or esoteric, it is a special thing to be paid to..."

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:54:08 -0400

“Even if others may find one’s interests abstruse or esoteric, it is a special thing to be paid to reflect upon and explore what one is interested in.”

- The real end of science | Gene Expression | Discover Magazine

Absolutely the best part of the job.

"Analysis of six decades of data found that top tax rates “have had little association with..."

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:49:18 -0400

“Analysis of six decades of data found that top tax rates “have had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth.” However, the study found that reductions of capital gains taxes and top marginal rate taxes have led to greater income inequality.”

- US Politics | AMERICAblog News: New 65 year study shows tax cuts do not lead to economic growth

"Miyake’s achievement is doubly impressive because the physics course had already tried to introduce..."

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 08:14:32 -0400

“Miyake’s achievement is doubly impressive because the physics course had already tried to introduce ways of reducing the gender gap, including extra tutorials. But all of these methods involved more of the same – more teaching, or more problems to solve. Miyake’s exercise, by contrast, had nothing whatsoever to do with physics; it worked because it improved the environment in which women learn physics. Put it this way: if someone can’t hammer in a tricky nail, it might not be because their arm isn’t strong enough. It might be that they constantly have to look over their shoulders while they work.”

- 15-minute writing exercise closes the gender gap in university-level physics | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

"If I had to distill what bothers me most about what I read this week, it is that much of the..."

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:52:15 -0400

“If I had to distill what bothers me most about what I read this week, it is that much of the coverage was either a villain story (hospital permits deadly infection!) or a hero story (genomic detectives save the day!) But in fact, the story of CRKP is neither. It is a story of systems breaking down. As a topic, systems are deeply undramatic. But unless we start paying more attention to systems — for research funding, for disease surveillance, for drug development; for addressing, in an organized way, the accelerating loss of the antibiotic miracle — the result will be deeply dramatic: more outbreaks, and more deaths.”

- The ‘NIH Superbug’: This Is Happening Every Day | Wired Science | Wired.com

At the hospital with by far the most knowledgeable staff of any hospital in the world. Also the hospital you least want to catch an infection in. Although MRSA can get you anywhere these days.

"In a true partnership, the kind worth striving for, the kind worth insisting on, and even, frankly,..."

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:38:04 -0400

“In a true partnership, the kind worth striving for, the kind worth insisting on, and even, frankly, worth divorcing over, both people try to give as much or even a little more than they get. ‘Deserves’ is not the point. And ‘owes’ is certainly not the point. The point is to make the other person as happy as we can, because their happiness adds to ours. The point is — in the right hands, everything that you give, you get.”

- Amy Bloom

"More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced “birther bills” demanding proof of Obama’s..."

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:27:23 -0400

“More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced “birther bills” demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship as a condition for putting him on the 2012 ballot. Eighteen percent of Republicans believe Obama to be a Muslim. The goal of all this is to delegitimize Obama’s presidency. If Obama is not truly American, then America has still never had a black president.”

- Fear of a Black President - Ta-Nehisi Coates - The Atlantic

There is a lot of good stuff in this article. This is an interesting take on birtherism.

"Harry Harrison, the creator of the Stainless Steel Rat, Bill the Galactic Hero, and the Deathworld..."

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:18:47 -0400

“Harry Harrison, the creator of the Stainless Steel Rat, Bill the Galactic Hero, and the Deathworld trilogy, died today, August 15, aged 87.”

- RIP Harry Harrison « Sci-Fi Bulletin

nezua: redhandsredribbons: TW: State-sanctioned...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:36:01 -0400

nezua:

redhandsredribbons:

TW: State-sanctioned violence

chashmeandaaz:

aheram:

United States’ foreign policy versus Iran’s. And Iran is the threat.

This needs to be seen.

This is what ultimately disappoints me about “my” country, USA. It’s not even the use of might. It’s the skulking, the shamed lying, the pretend games about what it is, has always been, and what it stands for. Stop with the delusional bullshit about liberty and justice, for Christ’s sake. Just say you’re about power and force. If you can’t, then you’re pathetic, ignorant, and weak because you run from your own reflection, and that’s nothing to boast about.