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Information and Structure in Complex Systems
Eight years ago, I had finished my first year of graduate school in math, and I was at a loss as to what to research. My original focus, differential geometry, was a beautiful subject to learn about,...
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The time the cops pulled their guns on me
This post is not about science.I'm writing this because the horrific news out of Ferguson, Missouri—the killing of an unarmed man and the subsequent assault on the populace and media—has been bringing...
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Regge theory
http://t.co/alaasqcHwl @ulaulaman says #goodbye to #TullioRegge In quantum physics, Regge theory is the study of the analytic properties of scattering as a function of angular momentum, where the...
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The Mighty Limpets
The limpet Nacella concinna on bull kelp Durvillea, copyright David Cothran.I am Clamp the mighty limpet,I am solid, I am stuck.I am welded to the rockfacewith my super-human suck.The hero of Pam...
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17 foods Americans like that furiners find disgusting and much needed commentary
This is one of those mostly stupid www click bait lists, but inquiring minds just had to know. Here they are in no particular order. 1. Grits– TPP finds them to be tasteless fodder. To be fair, other...
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Isaiah Berlin, science and the dangers of certainty
Isaiah Berlin (Image: hannaharendt.org)The essence of science is uncertainty. The scientific process gropes, not finds, its way to the truth. And yet there are those who have sought certainty and...
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Epic battle of wills
An epic battle of wills is shaping up here in the Phactor household. Mrs. Phactor purchased a small throw rug to place at the bottom of the stairs leading to our basement. Every time she goes by she...
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Frankenstein and the monster in an age of NIH funding
Frankenstein and his monster on Broadway(Image: dvdbeaver.com)The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert Laughlin is one of those rare minds who combines a wide-ranging knowledge of many fields with a...
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Bits of Cucumber in the Fossil Record
Aggregation of Eocaudina septaforminalis sclerites from Boczarowski (2001). Scale bar = 200 µm.Echinoderms are a dream group of animals for invertebrate palaeontologists (that's palaeontologists who...
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Very depressing trend - decline of collections based research
The decline in collections-based research at universities has been in decline for some time as hiring decisions attempted to track newer, shinier, more fundable areas of biology. We used to say that...
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Golden rain and fall color
Fall color this year is varied and very good this year, but as always fleeting. The area immediately behind our house is under the canopy of two sugar maple trees, one large and one huge, and the light...
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Creationist Origin Summit at Michigan State University
ORiGiN SuMMiTMichigan State UniversityNovember 1st, 2014Business College Complex, Room N130FREE ADMISSIONwebsite Meet the Speakers Dr. Gerald BergmanNorthwest State Community CollegeDr. Donald...
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What affects acceptance of evolution?
There's a creationist conference coming to Michigan State University this Saturday, so I and others have been thinking and talking about how to respond. The majority think that complete silence on the...
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Schrodinger and Hawking in the Starbucks line
This list of entries entitled 'literary Starbucks' speculates what different well-known writers and fictional characters would order based on their personalities if they were to suddenly turn...
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One more thing to worry about
That's just swell! The universe could end any time, although the odds are rather low really, but still what a thing to stay awake at night worrying about. After figuring out that the universe was...
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The 100 most highly cited papers of all time: Tools, not ideas
A rather obscure paper by biochemistOliver Lowry is the most highly citedscientific paper of all time(Image: beckerarchives)Nature has published a comprehensive list of the top 100 most highly cited...
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Just a bit of blue
http://t.co/hgbABOxUlm by @ulaulaman about #nobelprize2014 on #physics #led #light #semiconductors Created with SketchBookXOne of the first classifications that you learn when you start to study the...
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So long since I've posted...
But here's an update on the RNA-seq saga.We've been struggling to get evidence that our RNA preps are of good enough quality for library preparation and sequencing. Because the Ribo-zero kits that we...
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Wasps in the Sand
Sand wasp Bembix oculata with prey (a bombyliid, I think), copyright Carlos Enrique Hermosilla.The sand wasps of the tribe Bembicini are a diverse group of about 500 species of wasp that get their name...
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How to run a university - value of the blanket C
Back in the good old days when you enrolled in a common curriculum course at university, you stood about a 60% chance of getting a C more or less for just showing up and sort of trying. About 10% of...
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