Can you explain your science using the 1000 most-used words in the English language?
Give it a shot here: http://splasho.com/upgoer5/ (The title Up Goer 5 refers to xkcd’s comic of trying to explain the Saturn 5 rocket blueprint using only those 1000 words.) (From Jim Steenburgh and his student John; Image from xkcd.com.)
Book Review: Fake Science 101
OK, it’s not strictly about communicating science, but this book was so freaking funny, I had to post something about it here. Fake Science 101: A Less-Than-Factual Guide to Our Amazing World. Here are some snapshots of the type of humor this book contains. Scientific fact: In order to save money, the Ivory Tower is … read more
How to Prepare a Really Lousy Submission: Water Resources Research Editorial Team
Sent to me from colleagues at the University of Utah. [PDF]
How NOT to review a paper. The tools and techniques of the adversarial reviewer
A paper by Graham Cormode (2009) [PDF], sent to me by Rene Garreaud. The abstract gives you a flavor of how this paper reads…. There are several useful guides available for how to review a paper in Computer Science. These are soberly presented, carefully reasoned and sensibly argued. As a result, they are not much … read more
Wanted: Copyeditor. Inquire with God.
(From slate.com)
Have you heard the one about PowerPoint?
September 26, 2012 Filed under Blog, Featured, Humor, Presentations
A word about PowerPoint. PowerPoint was released by Microsoft in 1990 as a way to euthanize cattle using a method less cruel than hitting them over the head with iron mallets. After PETA successfully argued in court that PowerPoint actually was more cruel than iron mallets, the program was adopted by corporations for slide show … read more
An unfortunate order of words
A quote from Sports Minister Hugh Robertson, from this article. “The British themselves are pretty stoic; there is a long tradition of watching sport in rain macs or listening to Cliff Richard or whatever.” Come on. Cliff Richard isn’t that bad.
Deep thoughts about editing
Not sure where I found this, but it’s classic!
For want of a font
If you think following the rules isn’t important, then consider the fate of the 203,238 people who signed a Michigan petition to put a referendum on the ballot in November. The two Republicans on the Board of State Canvassers voted against allowing the referendum to proceed to the ballot, deadlocking the Board 2-2. The reason … read more
The importance of proper punctuation
From Steven Colbert’s Twitter feed @StephenAtHome and #igotthetweetslikegrassley.
