Category Archives: science

Our (ScienceOnline) Town

Posted on February 9, 2013 by

This past weekend I went to my favorite conference, Science Online: a yearly gathering of scientists, teachers, science writers,librarians, museum curators, press officers, and many other people interested in the communication of science online. I thought I would have two … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Brief Follow-Up to Poor Smart Kids and College Choice

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

sciseekclaimtoken-4f859adbaca65 Been thinking more on my piece last night on the problems of poor smart kids choosing not to apply to selective colleges. I still think seeing this as an unqualified national crisis is overblown, and a bit elitist. But … Continue reading →

Posted in science | 10 Comments

Don’t Just Click There, DO Something

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

There is a predictable uproar about the latest installment, in Forbes this time, of our national conversation entitled: Golly Aren’t Academics Living Lazy Leisurely Lives (GAALLLL, for short). I don’t have much to say but I want to remind people … Continue reading →

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The Gizooglification of Everything

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

“Take the ball, you KKK motherfucker.” So said one of my many basketball opponents after I made a basket at Hamilton Playground. Violence in his tone, frustration emanating from his adolescent body, he just saw me as some white kid … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Sandy Hook and Useless Common Sense on Guns

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

As a parent and a human being, I am horrified and terrified by the events of last week in Newtown, Connecticut.  I have hugged my kids, I have sat and cried upon reading notes sent by six year old best … Continue reading →

Posted in news, politics, psychology, science | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Deep and Shallow Arguments in Logos, Cursing and Civil War Memory

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

Over the weekend I witnessed several seemingly unrelated conversations that held a common thread. On the surface, these might seem to be shallow conversations about logos, style of language, or word usage. However for many having strong feelings about these … Continue reading →

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Neurobabble: Inflated Credibility Currency

Posted on November 26, 2012 by

My fingers did. Ok, not really, but both are limited views of the complex process of writing this post. It seems that the tide may be turning on neurobabble, and I thought I would contribute a few thoughts. A recent … Continue reading →

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Myths Come From Values, Not From Ignorance

Posted on November 18, 2012 by

Like many interested in how we apply basic cognitive science to education, I was interested in the recent finding that many teachers still endorse many myths and misconceptions about neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Here is the original paper, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in education, psychology, science | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

The Price of Privilege

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

First, welcome to all my new followers, thanks so much for paying me the compliment of signing up to see every blog post. I tend to write about higher education, teaching and education reform, psychology and history of science. Sometimes … Continue reading →

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A Failure of Imagination – Jonah Lehrer is “Nothing more than a schoolteacher”

Posted on November 2, 2012 by

I have followed with morbid fascination the downfall of Jonah Lehrer. I’ll admit to really enjoying Proust was a Neuroscientist, as well as How We Decide. I still see value in each of these books, and I will continue to … Continue reading →

Posted in education, science | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments