Monthly Archives: November 2012

Books With Friends

Posted on 29 November 2012 by Henry Gee

One of the best things about blogs is that you can use them to trumpet the doings of your friends. So as Phil Ball did when he wrote nice things about me, notwithstanding inasmuch as which I shall spread happiness … Continue reading →

Posted in andy west, david bradley, deceived wisdom, ian watson, the waters of destiny, thrillers, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Books With Friends

In which I am not a science cheerleader

Posted on 29 November 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

There is something seductive about the scientific profession: it exerts a gravity so powerful that it can hoover all of the surrounding universe into its warped perspective. If you have your heart set on being a scientist, you set off … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Lablit, Scientific thinking, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Writing | Comments Off on In which I am not a science cheerleader

REF Nightmares

Posted on 29 November 2012 by Athene Donald

In a moment of frivolity I sketched out how a REF committee in a dysfunctional department might pan out. As chair of my own local REF committee, I am delighted to say my own  experiences bear no relationship to this … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of Paintballing Studies, impact, Research, Research Excellence Framework | Comments Off on REF Nightmares

Losing your research funds down the back of the Sof(i)a

Posted on 29 November 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

About 18 months ago, I posted about some accusations of seriously compromised grant review in Bulgaria that were brought to the international community’s attention via a news article in Nature. Several readers commented that they were disappointed to have missed … Continue reading →

Posted in bad people, Politics, science | Comments Off on Losing your research funds down the back of the Sof(i)a

The Febrile Muse, Musing – an interview with Cindy Doran

Posted on 26 November 2012 by Richard Wintle

This interview originally appeared in slightly different form at Scientific American Books/FSG. The book in question. Among the ever-lengthening series of interviews of authors of pieces in this year’s edition of the OpenLab series, The Best Science Writing Online 2012, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, C.M. Doran, Cindy Doran, interview, OpenLab, science, TBSWO, The Best Science Writing Online 2012, The Febrile Muse, Writing | Comments Off on The Febrile Muse, Musing – an interview with Cindy Doran

We need to talk about open access

Posted on 24 November 2012 by Stephen

Last week I spoke on open access at the annual conference of Research Libraries UK (RLUK). I did so at the end of a session that also featured Dame Janet Finch, who had chaired the working group set up by … Continue reading →

Posted in Dame Janet Finch, Mark Thorley, Open Access, RCUK, RLUK | Comments Off on We need to talk about open access

Being Distracted in Paris

Posted on 24 November 2012 by Athene Donald

It’s not so long ago that I wrote about the lack of opportunity one typically has at conferences to appreciate the interesting places one gets to visit. As a counter to that slightly depressed commentary, I should add that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Cassini, ESPCI, History of Science, Paris Observatory, Principia | Comments Off on Being Distracted in Paris

Retreat to the library

Posted on 23 November 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

(I’ve been back from Puerto Rico for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason I’d got it into my head that I had to write a “What I Did On My Vacation” post before I could write anything … Continue reading →

Posted in career, education, food glorious food, personal, Silliness, Vancouver | Comments Off on Retreat to the library

An age-old question

Posted on 22 November 2012 by Steve Caplan

Let me start out by saying “!#%%$#@!!–I’ve been scooped!” It’s bad enough that it happens in science, but for a blog?

Posted in education, Marco Rubio, Republicans, Research, science, young earth creationists | Comments Off on An age-old question

Interpretation

Posted on 22 November 2012 by Henry Gee

It wasn’t just a Presidential Election. When they went to the polls earlier this month, Americans in various nooks and corners around the U. S. and A. voted on a number of propositions, notwithstanding inasmuch as which gay marriage would … Continue reading →

Posted in bible, bishops, church of england, gnosis, Greek, Hebrew, kill the heretic!, kneidlach, Leviticus, marduk, matzo balls, Politicrox, synod, tiamat, Timothy, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Interpretation