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More on using appropriate scientific terminology: “Super moon”

June 24, 2013  Filed under Blog, Featured, Potpourri, Writing 

I’ve talked about the importance of choosing appropriate words when you need to introduce new scientific terminology here and here and (loosely) here. With the full moon in its orbit being closer to the Earth than normal, the media has been fixated on the “super moon” being 14% larger and 30% brighter than it normally […]

The “secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!”

June 21, 2013  Filed under Blog, Featured, Humor, Potpourri, Writing 

The lyrics from sing365.com. For many years now, Mr. Danny Kaye, who has been my particular idol since childbirth, has been doing a routine about the great Russian director Stanislavsky and the secret of success in the acting profession. And I thought it would be interesting to stea… to adapt this idea to the field […]

Eloquent Science: Chapter 11 Figures

June 21, 2013  Filed under Blog, Excerpts, Featured, Potpourri, Resources, Writing 

I received a request from a professor who uses Eloquent Science in the classroom. He wanted the figures from Chapter 11: Figures and Tables, so that he could adapt them into his own presentations. In response to that request, here they are, in a single PowerPoint file: Eloquent Science: Figures from Chapter 11

Junk the Jargon Interview on Public Engagement

June 14, 2013  Filed under Blog, Featured, Potpourri, Presentations, Uncategorized 

An oldie, but goodie. Here is an interview (Junkcast) I did for the University of Manchester Junk the Jargon competition. I talk about my own experiences good and bad with public engagement, tips for connecting with the audience, and the origins of Eloquent Science.

Would it surprise you that the thesaurus was written by an obsessive person?

June 12, 2013  Filed under Blog, Featured, Potpourri, Writing 

Peter Roget, who wrote Roget’s Thesaurus, came from a family of mental instability: “His grandmother was mentally unstable, his mother was nearly psychotic and his sister and daughter had suffered severe mental breakdowns (Cracked.com, 2012)” But, he loved to make lists. After 12 years of making lists of all words and their relationship to each […]

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