Tag Archives: science

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich–no, no, in my life

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Steve Caplan

For the record, I had actually planned this blog for some time, but for one reason or another, never got around to writing and posting it. With the furor over scientists’ approach to work in the lab still fresh from … Continue reading →

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Science Education Then and Now

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Steve Caplan

I can still vividly remember being taught lab safety in 7th or 8th grade chemistry at school. The old way: being given a long list of rules, reading them and being tested on them. No eating, drinking, chewing gum etc. … Continue reading →

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Advice on taking advice

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Steve Caplan

Last week I pontificated wrote about my views on the traits that are necessary for a scientist to survive and indeed thrive in today’s world. And while there seems to be agreement that “luck” “fate” and “opportunity” are certainly useful … Continue reading →

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Where have all the good times gone?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Steve Caplan

I recently spent a wonderful vacation in Washington, DC–replacing a planned driving trip to Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado and some of the nearby parks in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. All because of a pain in the neck, that … Continue reading →

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Mr. President, can you save science, please?

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Steve Caplan

Scientists love to complain. That is not to say that they enjoy the situation that they are complaining about, but to me it seems as though in the US there is a level of fatalism that translates into inertia. And … Continue reading →

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A sense of entitlement

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Steve Caplan

Some years ago when I was looking for a job, I had an interview at a university on the East Coast of the US. One of the search committee members picked me up, and on the way we had a … Continue reading →

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Money and the perversion of science

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Steve Caplan

Having just returned the grant review session at the NIH I thought that this would be a particularly good time to bring up something that has been bothering me for a number of years. It’s quite sad, but I’ve slowly … Continue reading →

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Postdocs treadmilling in science careers

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Steve Caplan

I recently read Jenny’s outstanding and insightful commentary entitled “Give postdocs a career, not empty promises” published on March 2 (in your nth favorite weekly science journal beginning with the letter N). First, I want to voice my absolute support, … Continue reading →

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I’d rather be blasting homeopathy…

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Steve Caplan

Although Austin has been doing such a great job in this area, and Cath’s defrocking of “horror-scopes” made a nice contribution, I would like to get my own claws on this matter. But alas, sadly, I have my own agenda … Continue reading →

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Regression to the “mean”

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Steve Caplan

They say that Steve Caplan is a mild-mannered scientist. But he pops into a phone-booth–no wait–that’s a thing of the past–he pops into the darkroom, and out comes Dr. Mean… Well, I do have a temper. Perhaps it’s slow to … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, research, science | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments