New Rule for Science Journalism...

Agreed!



[Hat tip to PZ Myers]

Do Reptiles Hibernate or Brumate?

Nearly everyone knows what hibernation means, but when speaking of reptiles the term brumation seems to reign supreme.  Why? Is one term more correct than the other?  To try make sense of these competing terms, I recently did some digging into the history of the word brumation which brought me to the following conclusions:

1. The term brumation is (mostly) unnecessary jargon.
2. Both hibernation and brumation should be acceptable terms to use in most (if not all) situations, however hibernation is the better term to use in a public forum.

As for why I've arrived at these conclusions, we need to look back a few decades to see where this word "brumation" came from, what we knew about hibernation way back then, and what we've learned about since.

Talk on The Math, Physics of Drag Racing

Thursday (4 Nov) there is a public lecture at COSI in Columbus you don't want to miss.  The talk will be given by Dr. Richard A. Tapia -- a big name in applied mathematics, an entertaining speaker, and long-time "champion of under-represented minorities in the sciences."

Tapia has received numerous professional and community service honors and awards including the annual Blackwell-Tapia Conference being named in his honor (his reason for visiting Columbus) and being inducted into the Texas Science Hall of Fame (yes, such a thing really does exist!).

Here are the details of his talk from the event flier (PDF):

Math at Top Speed: Exploring and Breaking Myths in the Drag Racing Folklore

November 4, 2010; 7:00pm @ COSI (doors open @ 6:00pm) Admission is free

For most of his life, Richard Tapia has been involved in some aspect of drag racing. He has witnessed the birth and growth of many myths concerning dragster speed and acceleration. Some of these myths will be explained and validated in this talk, while others will be destroyed. For example, Dr. Tapia will explain why dragster acceleration can be greater than the acceleration due to gravity, an age-old inconsistency, and he will present his Fundamental Theorem of Drag Racing. Part of this talk will be a historical account of the development of drag racing and several lively videos will accompany this discussion.

Speaker: Richard Tapia
University Professor Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering, Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAAM), Rice University

More about Dr. Tapia can be found here, here, and here.  More on the Blackwell-Tapia Conference can be found by clicking the "Blackwell-Tapia" link on this website.

Alan Alda on communicating science to the public

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has a new paper out on 'Science and the Media' (PDF). Alan Alda wrote chapter 3, and has some good advice for scientists (emphasis mine):

The effort is not to oversimplify science. We need clarity and vividness, but not — please, not — dumbing down. Some of our great science communicators have shown that there are deeply engaging stories in science (science itself is the greatest detective story ever told) and that it’s possible to be personal and passionate about the study of nature without losing respect for the precision and accuracy at the heart of that study. Richard Feynman was both fun to listen to and precise. Even when he explained something in simple terms, he usually let you know that it was often more complicated than that. And when you were ready, he let you in on a little more of the complexity.

Feynman was one of those extraordinary communicators that nature produces from time to time. But they occur by chance. Why should effective, inspiring communication of science be left to chance? Science is rigorous; can’t we be just as rigorous about teaching its communication?

Is it too much to hope that there will be a time when the skills of communicating science will be taught as a regular part of the science curriculum, and not as something added on for a few hours at the end? Isn’t good communication fundamental to science? How else can it be successfully replicated, funded, and taught?

But don’t let my high-flown arguments fool you. This is really a selfish plea. I’m too old to learn all the math and chemistry I need to understand the subtleties of the Higgs particle or the intricacies of reverse transcriptase. Even if I did, I’d only have access to one small part of the whole. I want to stand next to you scientists and gaze out at the entire horizon, while you point out what to look for.

Every scientist reading this has a deep passion for science. I implore you: let your passion out. Share it with us. Warmly, with stories, imagination, even with humor. But most of all, in your own voice.

Should Scientists, Journalists "Take Sides"?

Ed Yong has a great post up on his (excellent) blog Not Exactly Rocket Science, which I hope you'll read. There, he writes (emphasis mine):

It is clear to me that science journalists should not take the side of any particular scientist, of a specific idea, or even of science itself. But it is imperative that we take the side of truth. That may seem obvious but many of the strictures of traditional journalism are incompatible with even that simple goal.

You can read more details on the topic of objectivity, science journalism, and "taking sides" in his post, here.

Columbus Science Pub off to a GREAT start!

Here's a few photos and thoughts after tonight's inaugural Columbus Science Pub (more on the event here), held at the Hampton's on King near the OSU campus. The first speaker in the monthly event series? Dr. Tara C. Smith, professor of epidemiology and author of the kick-ass ScienceBlog, Aetiology.  Not sure what the organizer(s) thought, but I thought the event was a great success.

Figure 1.  Science education done right: on bed sheet, in a bar.

Tara's talk was titled Science Denial and the Internet, and covered topics ranging from HIV denial, this history of the anti-vaccine movement, and advice for the audience (which included both scientists and non-scientists) on how to weed out misinformation and promote better communication of science to the public.  By my count, there were a little over 50 people in the audience at it's peak.

Figure 2.  Some of the crowd.

So why do I consider this first installment of the Columbus Science Pub a success?

First, we had a good mix of folks in the audience: Non-science folks, science students, researchers and a few bloggers like myself and Richard Hoppe from Panda's Thumb.


Second, Tara's talk was awesome.  I think everyone learned something new and valuable - myself included - and had a great time to boot.


Third, following the talk the organizer Dan Siegal-Gaskins moderated discussions between audience members and the speaker.  Topics included the peer review process, how science gets communicated among scientists, the role of social networks and other digital media in communicating science, the dangers of being a science advocate (yes, they exist!), and challenges of confronting emotionally driven beliefs that run contrary to sound science. 

I'll try and get a copy of her talk to share some of the highlights, but in the mean time I'll share her closing slide which probably sums up the frustration my internet presence causes Dr. Wife™... ;)

For more details on her talk, see this Newsvine article by Brent Jernigan.

A Request From "Urban Science Adventures"

Over at Urban Science Adventures, Danielle Lee has landed a spot among the top 5 finalists in the 2010 Black Weblog Awards for Best Science or Technology Blog (congrats!!).  But why stop there? Wouldn't it be great if she won?

So help her out:  by casting your vote :)

Danielle really does have a wonderful science and nature blog and it deserves more recognition. Plus, it would be fantastic to see her readership grow.

More details from Danielle...

Thanks to you all, this blog has once again made the short list and is a finalist for the 2010 Black Weblog Awards in the Science & Tech Category.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To vote, please visit this link and vote for all of your Black Weblog Favorite Finalists (there are some really great and new blogs) in the 35 categories. Check out all of the nominees. Voting ends August 31st. You will have to provide a valid email address to cast your ballot.  And while you are there, consider makiing a pledge to the 2011 Black Weblog Awards Kickoff campaign.  The award committee is actually trying to create a live award presentation program next year.  So, maybe I could receive my blog award in person. Who knows.

Fire off a few emails, share her post on facebook, tell your friends, then go vote! :)

Monday Mammal #8: Bill Nye the Science Guy?

Oh, come on - he won the 2010 Humanist of the Year award!  I say that totally earns him some spotlight time as a noteworthy mammal (...plus I've been a bit busy lately).

Video of his acceptance speech are up over at Hemant's Blog.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the value of scientific literacy

I've often heard students question the day-to-day value of science: "Yeah, but how is knowing <insert scientific claim> going to impact my life if I'm not a scientist?" In my experience, these individuals almost always confuse a particular scientific claim with the scientific process that lead to acceptance of that claim.

Often times they're right - some scientific facts are simply useless for most people - but any decent response to their question should always bring them back to science as a process, not a fact. 

"Science literacy empowers you to know when someone else is just basically full of it. Because you understand... how the world works and what the limitations are, then you can judge whether someone is trying to exploit your scientific ignorance."

In the clip below, American astrophysicist (and kick-ass public speaker) Neil DeGrasse Tyson explains.

Insane Clown Posse comes to Columbus, OH -- It's a Miracle!

The Insane Clown Posse (comprised of one Violent J and one Shaggy 2 Dope), made news a few weeks ago with their release of Miracles. A religiously motivated song with some overtly anti-science lyrics.

Today, while getting coffee on my way to help with a science education program in central Ohio, I saw the following in an issue of The Lantern about ICP's Sunday concert in Columbus, Ohio.  It was in a piece titled "No reason to be scared of these clowns." 

Most recently, the duo has been placed in the spotlight thanks to the YouTube sensation its most recent music video has become. The video, based on ICP’s single “Miracles,” features the group rapping about the things it finds to be amazing. The use of the word “miracle” has caused most of the strife the duo have received.

“I know that magnets aren’t magic,” Utsler said in reference to the song’s most beleaguered line: “F------ magnets, how do they work?” as he shrugged off online comments and a Saturday Night Live parody. “The song is about appreciating the little things in life, not that we think science is bulls---.”

The article, however, has it wrong.  The release of Miracles earned ICP some nicely executed mockery...

SNL Does ICP.  The real Miracles video and lyrics can be seen here.

...but not because they said the word "miracle" a few dozen times. It was because the song is anti-science and seems to some to be an ode to the God of the Gaps more than anything else.  Furthermore, it was the lyrics following the mention of magnets in the song that were most objectionable/ridiculous...

Fucking magnets, how do they work?
And I don’t wanna talk to a scientist
Y’all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed
...

I should pause to admit that I like a lot of music that other people find offensive: dramatized violence, vulgarity, insanely loud or raucous noise used as music -- I tend to like it if it's got a solid bass beat, lots of energy, and a catchy chorus. Yes, even some ICP songs. Take for example one of their more popular songs from a while back - one you'd think would be far more objectionable than Miracles...

Anyway, thanks to the Lantern article getting it wrong, I finally realized why Miracles seems to bother people more than Fuck the World -- or at least more than I would have expected.  Over a decade ago, in the late 90s, Spin magazine ran a four page cartoon mocking ICP, and apparently claimed...

"ICP is offensive not for their obscenity, but for their stupidity."

This actually makes some sense: Obscene is tolerable, but willfully ignorant?  Less tolerable.  Miracles seems embrace mystery and ignorance for the sake of mystery alone, and not out of any deeper appreciation for magnets, stars, plants, rainbows, giraffes, crows, feeding pelicans fish, etc. 

Fortunately, the article did get one important thing right: whether you like science or hate obscene music, there's certainly no reason to be scared of these clowns.

BCA Drops Libel Case Against Singh!!

Update:  According to Ben Goldacre, Singh may go after the BCA to recover his legal costs. You can read more on the case and the remaining need for British libel reform in Goldacre's article in the Guardian.

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has dropped is libel case against science journalist Simon Sigh following the recent ruling that Singh could appeal an earlier verdict against him.  Details can be found on the BCA's website here (PDF) via the Sense About Science site here or at the Libel Reform Campaign website here.

BCA V SIMON SINGH - PRESS STATEMENT – 15th APRIL 2010

Having carefully considered its position in the light of the judgment of the Court of Appeal (1st April 2010), the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has decided to discontinue its libel action against Simon Singh.
...
The BCA takes seriously its duty and responsibilities to members and to chiropractic patients. The BCA has considered seeking leave to take this matter to the Supreme Court and has been advised there are strong grounds for appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment. However, while it was right to bring this claim at the outset, the BCA now feels that the time is right for the matter to draw to a close.

Despite this big victory for Singh, it's only a non-loss for free speech.  Libel laws in the UK still need reform to protect free speech and promote open dialog -- and not just in the UK, but world-wide.

I would have preferred the outcome where Simon won his case on appeal, setting legal grounds for future libel cases against journalists. To learn more about libel law reform in the UK, visit the Sense About Science and The Libel Reform Campaign websites.

Small free speech victory: Singh wins right to appeal!

For details, jump on over to this BBC article. While you're there, definitely watch the video and listen to what Singh has to say on the need to reform libel laws in the U.K.

I couldn't find a way to embed that video here, but here's a little more from him after the ruling...

To learn more about what you can do to help reform libel laws in the U.K., visit the Sense About Science and The Libel Reform Campaign websites.

---

Update:

More from the BBC...

Dear scientists: "It's good to blog"

The well known science journal Nature came out with a nice editorial piece last week that affirms my decision to create this blog. The title of the piece says it all: It's good to blog.