thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: March 2011
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
Wednesday, March 30, 2011. In Japan they call it "Tokai", and here in California we call it the "Big One". It's that massive earthquake that you're waiting for if you live in an earthquake prone region, and in California it would occur on the San Andreas fault. The LA Times has an interesting article. I like this Google map of the San Andreas fault. It’s easy to zoom in and pan around on the fault. It’s right up against the base of the mountain ranges in some areas. Thursday, March 17, 2011. Quake devast...
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: August 2011
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Saturday, August 20, 2011. Building a toolbox for science and math literacy. I'm very excited: an opinion article I wrote about why we need more exposure early on for science and math education is published in the San Diego Union-Tribune today! 1) Science and math can be awesome! 2) Learning math is like investing in a good toolbox to build a house. 3) Having a mentor/having a challenge is invaluable. You can read more about good toolboxes. Wednesday, August 3, 2011. Palm trees threatened by invasive pest.
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: A Story of Trash at the Miramar Landfill
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/p/story-of-trash-at-miramar-landfill.html
A Story of Trash at the Miramar Landfill. A Story of Trash at the Miramar Landfill. February 15, 2010. It is relatively easy to throw things away. You can pop your disposable coffee cup or your soda can into the trash can with a good flick of your wrist, or eat take-out and quickly dump the remains. Eventually it all goes out to the curbside and the next thing you know – poof! 8211; no more trash! It’s so easy you may not think much about it – and who would want to? That is a lot of waste to manage.
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: Science teaching tools that work
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2012/01/science-teaching-tools-that-work.html
Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Science teaching tools that work. When learning physics, you pick up math skills. But there's a problem when students only learn how to choose equations and plug in the right numbers. The “plug and chug” questions you see on physics tests are of the easier variety. The hard questions are qualitative and conceptual. Here is an example of a basic conceptual physics question I saw from NPR. A) Ball B hits the ground first. B) Ball A hits the ground first. According to Mazur, the...
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: Science writing in beautiful Santa Fe
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2012/05/science-writing-in-beautiful-santa-fe.html
Monday, May 7, 2012. Science writing in beautiful Santa Fe. My science writing mentor at UCR has raved about the Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop, and now I'm in Santa Fe to experience it for myself! My plane landed in Albuquerque after lots of turbulence from strong winds. On the ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe the car was swaying from all the wind. Scary! You can imagine how the last person in the circle felt. I'm not one to memorize names, which is part of the appeal of being a physics major...
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The Science Salon: Depressing study shows people are depressed
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2011/09/depressing-study-shows-people-are.html
Monday, September 5, 2011. Depressing study shows people are depressed. Do studies predict the worst? In Nature’s Trend Watch. Last week the prevalence of obesity in the US and the UK is projected to grow from 32% in 2007-08 to 50% in 2030 for men, and from 35% to 45% for women. One obese person out of three people seems high enough as it is. But one out of two people is just…depressing. Another study in Nature. I’ll go be happy now and distract myself on Youtube. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom).
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: January 2012
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html
Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Science teaching tools that work. When learning physics, you pick up math skills. But there's a problem when students only learn how to choose equations and plug in the right numbers. The “plug and chug” questions you see on physics tests are of the easier variety. The hard questions are qualitative and conceptual. Here is an example of a basic conceptual physics question I saw from NPR. A) Ball B hits the ground first. B) Ball A hits the ground first. According to Mazur, the...
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: Illusion of understanding
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2012/05/illusion-of-understanding.html
Monday, May 14, 2012. Do you ever have an 'aha' moment when someone describes to you very well how something works? Sometimes that happens to me. “I get it now! 8221; Then I go back and try to learn/do it for myself and realize I still don't get it. I only thought I did. I still have to go back and do more work for myself to grasp the concept. Is it okay for a science writer to impart an 'illusion of understanding' to the generalist reader? The same is true for describing scientific processes. Someon...
thesciencesalon.blogspot.com
The Science Salon: September 2011
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
Monday, September 5, 2011. Depressing study shows people are depressed. Do studies predict the worst? In Nature’s Trend Watch. Last week the prevalence of obesity in the US and the UK is projected to grow from 32% in 2007-08 to 50% in 2030 for men, and from 35% to 45% for women. One obese person out of three people seems high enough as it is. But one out of two people is just…depressing. Another study in Nature. I’ll go be happy now and distract myself on Youtube. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). The Science ...
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The Science Salon: Dark energy gets attention from Nobel Prize in Physics
http://thesciencesalon.blogspot.com/2011/10/dark-energy-gets-attention-from-nobel.html
Thursday, October 6, 2011. Dark energy gets attention from Nobel Prize in Physics. Three American-born physicists won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize brings attention to the study of a mysterious component of the universe called dark energy. What is dark energy? The difference between dark energy and dark matter. More to come soon. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). Salon - n. a regular gathering of notables (as literary figures, artists, or statesmen) held in a fashionable household.