Posted on Apr 1, 2014 | Comments Off on “Darwin, did you ever see a Grampus?”
We often think of April 1st as more of a modern event, because it's sort of stupid and we think of our ancestors as being more serious. Not so. Even the eminent biologist Charles Darwin got pranked by his shipmates on the HMS Beagle, April 1, 1832, as evidenced by his diary. While March 31st only noted a "A fine rattling breeze" the following day had him excited to make a new...
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Posted on Mar 31, 2014 | Comments Off on Twerking The Zeitgeist: Fans Of Science Should Be Worried About Cosmos Ratings
The reboot of Cosmos was on the must-see television list for many; it is a prime-time non-fiction science program, with one of the best hosts in science media, a generous budget, airing on 10 channels, and even had music by the guy who did Captain America. Excitement was high.Then it actually began. It had an alarming non-science gaffe - the story of the likely insane philosopher Bruno...
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Posted on Mar 25, 2014 | Comments Off on Cosmos Suffers Another Ratings Drop – Even Though It’s Getting Better
Who is to blame for the latest weekly decline in Cosmos ratings? The Walking Dead, NCAA basketball games, a mass exodus due to its opening effort to be culturally in-your-face?
There is always going to be competition on TV, just like there will always be competition for a government R01 grant. No point in whining about that. And Cosmos still takes shots at religion, but it isn't devoting 25...
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Posted on Mar 19, 2014 | Comments Off on Sweden’s First College Student Doodled A Lot Too
In the absence of any evidence for why different people perform differently in school - other than that people are different - pundits have invented everything from genetic math anxiety to stereotype threat as an explanation.
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Posted on Mar 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Cosmos Ratings Are Not A ‘Disaster’ For Fox
The Drudge Report is saying that "Cosmos" ratings are a disaster and, I as I discussed in Is "Cosmos" Suffering From Unrealistic Expectations? the overnights showed numbers down from the premiere, but that is hardly a disaster.1) It's a science show. That a science show was on a prime time broadcast network - and took third place in its premiere - I would say is bordering on miraculous.
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Posted on Mar 14, 2014 | Comments Off on Cool Job In Biology: A Day In The Life Of A Beer Taster
I play guitar but I don't play out for money. Aside from a high level of stage fright about playing guitar in public I think doing it for money would take away a lot of the relaxation.That doesn't apply to all things. I write every day and always enjoy that. So at first blush I might be inclined to think a job tasting beer would be a bad thing, but perhaps it is just like writing and if you would...
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