Author Archives: Bob O'H

Prizes Straight from the Pits of Hell

Posted on 8 October 2012 by Bob O'H

This should make predicting this year’s science Nobels easier. Last month, Republican congressman Paul Broun, who also happens to be a member of the US House of Representatives science committee, described evolution, the big bang theory and embryology as ‘lies … Continue reading →

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Altmetrics: what’s the point?

Posted on 25 September 2012 by Bob O'H

A couple of weeks ago Stephen (of this parish) generated a lot of discussion when he complained about the journal impact factor (JIF). I must admit I feel a bit sorry for the JIF. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s … Continue reading →

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A new really old version of The Elements

Posted on 7 September 2012 by Bob O'H

I hope you’re all fans out Tom Lehrer (“Mr. Lehrer’s muse [is] not fettered by such inhibiting factors as taste.” – NYT, apparently). Well, via those Improbable Research (“Mr. Abraham’s muse [is] not fettered by such inhibiting factors as taste.

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Research with impact

Posted on 31 August 2012 by Bob O'H

After Stephen’s posts about impact factors and the like, I have a couple of serious posts brewing. But for now (and because it’s Friday), I want to admit to my reaction today to an advert I got about a journal, … Continue reading →

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lme4: destined to become stable through rounding?

Posted on 17 August 2012 by Bob O'H

(this would have appeared on my blog on Nature Network, but the pulled the plug the day before. Sometimes correlation does not mean causation) Fans of R and mixed models are aware of the lme4 package. This started out as … Continue reading →

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Welcome to The Menagerie

Posted on 12 August 2012 by Bob O'H

In my first OT post I mentioned The Menagerie I live in. So, while GrrlScientist is attending to parts of it I thought I’d introduce some of the residents, including some of the shyer ones The diversity isn’t as taxonomically … Continue reading →

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Stupidity Molecule Identified

Posted on 8 August 2012 by Bob O'H

Researchers at the University of Utrecht have identified a molecule that could play a key role in controlling how stupid headlines develop in scientific press releases. Neurobiologists are trying to understand how titles that are at first sensible differentiate into … Continue reading →

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Helloooo! I’ve moved (again)

Posted on 30 July 2012 by Bob O'H

I started blogging just over 5 years ago (damn, I missed my blogoversary by a month). The following year, I left Blogspot for Nature Network. Well, now the powers that be have decided to close the NN blogs, and shift … Continue reading →

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Abusing a Prior: some slides

Posted on 16 July 2012 by Bob O'H

Here are the slides for my talk today about Bayesian variable selection. It’s mainly of interest to other statisticians, my excuse is that I’m talking at a statistical meeting (and I’m a keynote speaker! Wooo!).

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Fossils, Fun, and Frailities. And Statistics #isec2012

Posted on 4 July 2012 by Bob O'H

If I’ve done everything correctly, then at almost the moment this post appears, I will start talking about some fossils. Not, it’s not a eulogy about defenders of the 4-4-2 formation, but it’s about a bit of work I’ve been … Continue reading →

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