The past week was a busy one: judging at the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DRSEF), the Dallas “Icepocalypse” that shut down SMU for 1.5 days and led to a ridiculous amount of work getting done, meetings with my students about their “Grand Challenge Physics Problem,” SMU Research Day, […]
Monthly Archives: February 2015
6 posts
I thought it might be nice to use this blog to . . . you know . . . actually blog. “Blog” is derived from “Web Log,” a journal or log kept by a person but broadcast publicly on the web. So in this week’s inaugural “Anti-Steve” [1], here are […]
“Some scientists say…” “Several studies have shown…” These are weasel phrases indicative of poor science journalism, especially if the studies are not linked to, or referenced in, the story. No journalistic body is immune to this fallacy, including NPR. In a recent story about acupuncture and allergies on their blog, […]
One of my most popular posts in the last few years was a critical, scientific look at Zicam. I wanted to revisit a few things in this short update to the article, and based on information gathered by a commenter revisit the question: by how much is Zicam overcharging for […]
A hot-off-the-press study on risk of death and running is making headlines. What are the headlines? “Light Jogging May Be The Key To Long Life, Study Finds” (In-Depth–Huffington Post–Feb 3, 2015), or “When it comes to jogging, less is more, study argues” (Los Angeles Times–Feb 2, 2015). A study of […]
This semester, I am conducting what is, for me, an experiment in teaching. The seeds of this experiment were planted last semester, and prior to that by a long line of physics education research. This experiment will place an even greater burden for learning on the student, but I believe that it will […]