Archive for February, 2009
More unsolicited science museum advice…
Posted by Grg in Rant/Rave, Science Fandom, Science/Geek, Unsolicited Advice on Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A science museum, indeed every type of museum, is all about stories (human interaction) and stuff (interesting objects and materials.) Working with cool items or seeing interesting objects or devices while having an opportunity to interact with other people is what makes museums special, and incidentally different and more marketable, than on-line experiences or other types of for-profit entertainment centers.
At the end of the day, providing interesting opportunities for visitors and museum staff to interact with “stuff” (and each other) is a sure way for visitors to leave your museum NOT feeling stupid.
And that’s just a smart way to run a museum.
It reminds me of two rules I learned in grad school: 1) if your reader doesn’t understand something, you were probably unclear; and 2) you can please more than one type of reader at a time.
The first is obvious, to me at any rate. Anything that can be said, can be said simply enough to appeal to a person of reasonable intelligence. It really depends on being able to get a concept across without piling on confusing terminology, whether that concept is evolution or celestial physics. I don’t believe you can get someone to completely grok quantum physics in five seconds, but they might get the gist that regular old physics doesn’t work so well in explaining how things atom-sized and smaller behave, which is where quantum mechanics comes in. People tend to understand things when you break them down into digestible chunks (or quanta — ha!) of information.
The second, I think, applies to science museums, in particular. I’m not an exhibit designer — and I know nothing about museum pedagogy — but I would think a good exhibit is like a an old Warner Bros. cartoon: the kids don’t get the dirtier jokes, but the adults do. (Good example here in “An Itch In Time,” at the seven minute mark below. It went over my head as kid.) Likewise, I can see where it would be necessary to design an exhibit — to create an “experience” — that appeals kids, adults and science geeks alike. I think you would do that by engaging people in the process. Like Paul, I was impressed with how interactive the recent Star Wars exhibit was. Even my three year-old got into creating LEGO landspeeders.
Adventures beyond the decimal
Posted by Grg in Science/Geek on Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Well done bit of animation, but it makes you wonder how much of visionary James Cameron was when he came up with the whole Terminator-POV shot. Its become shorthand for how people/machines of the future will see the world, complete with annotations.
Why I don’t go in the water…Reason #1,764
Posted by Grg in Science Fandom, Science/Geek on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
And Louie, Louie Gets Me Hot Just Thinking about It
Posted by Grg in Dumb thoughts, General stuff, PR Guy, Science/Geek, Skeptic, Uninformed Critic on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
In an article published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that teenagers who preferred popular songs with degrading sexual references were more likely to engage in intercourse or in pre-coital activities.
Already, with the euphemisms. What are pre-coital activities? Heavy petting? Badminton?
Writing in the article, Brian A. Primack, MD, EdM, MS, Center for Research on Health Care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, states, “This study demonstrates that, among this sample of young adolescents, high exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex in popular music was independently associated with higher levels of sexual behavior. In fact, exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex was one of the strongest associations with sexual activity…These results provide further support for the need for additional research and educational intervention in this area.”
If I had known this then, I would have taken extra care in putting together mix tapes for the girls I fancied.
Surveys were completed by 711 ninth-grade students at three large urban high schools. These participants were exposed to over 14 hours each week of lyrics describing degrading sex. About one third had previously been sexually active. Compared to those with the least exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex, those with the most exposure were more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourse. The relationship between exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex and sexual experience held equally for both young men and women.
Similarly, among those who had not had sexual intercourse, those in the highest third of exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex were nearly twice as likely to have progressed along a noncoital sexual continuum compared to those in the lowest third. Finally, the relationships between exposure to lyrics describing non-degrading sex and sexual outcomes were not significant.
Students reported the number of hours per day that they listen to music and their favorite musical artists. Through a detailed content analysis, the percentage was calculated of each artist’s most popular songs containing lyrics describing degrading sex. An exposure score for lyrics describing degrading sex was then computed by multiplying each student’s hours of music exposure by the percentage of his or her favorite artists’ songs that contain lyrics describing degrading sex.
Oh, OK, I think I found the problem here. They surveyed “711 ninth-grade students at three large urban high schools”…now, I’m no expert on youth culture, but I think you’d be hard pressed to find a song popular among urban high schoolers that wasn’t about degrading sex. Of course kids listen to songs about sex.
When I was a kid, I’d hover over any material, in print, on video or sketched by a 17th c. Dutch Master in the often vain hopes that there would be some sort of sexual content in it. A kid would no sooner pass up a song about deviant sex than they would a Trader Joe’s Vanilla Joe-Joe (Crom, I love them). On the surface, there seems to be some correlation/causation confusion.
And that’s the danger of it. For all I know, this is probably good, legitimate science and there are factors here that just aren’t coming across in a press release. Mark my words, this press release will picked up unedited and regurgitated in news outlets across the land.
It doesn’t help to use phrases like “noncoital sexual continuum” as if that’s a normal everyday figure of speech. What does that mean? It sounds like the leading cause of blindness in teenage Borg. I’m assuming “noncoital sexual continuum” is how we round the bases in science-speak. Does that make it degrading? If so, I don’t know what’s normal.
How do you quantify degrading sexual lyrics, anyway?
“I’m sorry, son, that hip-hop song rates a 6.5 on the Ludacris scale and, well, that’s logarithmic and the logarithm is going to get you. Your mother and I don’t want that sort of thing in the house. You understand? Good, now here’s $20, go see American Pie 7 while your mother and I get our freak on…Gladys, where’s the butter and the Lil Wayne?”
Eggs are awesome, says new scientific report from the egg board
Posted by Grg in Grg's Reference, PR Guy, Science/Geek on Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A research review published recently in Nutrition Today(1) affirms that the high-quality protein in eggs makes a valuable contribution to muscle strength, provides a source of sustained energy and promotes satiety. High-quality protein is an important nutrient for active individuals at all life stages, and while most Americans consume the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein, additional research suggests that some Americans are not consuming enough high-quality protein to achieve and maintain optimal health.(2,3,4)
Eat more eggs! Eggggggs!
One wonders why they can’t bother to name this “all-natural, high-quality protein” (as if we might think eggs might contain entirely unnatural, low-quality proteins) in the press release. And by one, I guess I mean me, really. It is my blog, after all.
“While many Americans may be getting enough protein, they need to focus on consuming sources of higher-quality protein. Our review of the science suggests that eggs are an ideal protein choice, plus, they are very affordable,” says Donald K. Layman, Ph.D., co-author of the research review and professor emeritus at the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois. “In addition, individuals should focus on when they consume high-quality protein. Most protein consumption occurs in the evening, even though there are significant benefits to consuming more protein at breakfast, such as stimulation of muscle protein synthesis and long-lasting satiety.”
Egggs! Mystery Protein! EGGGGS!
To be fair, I haven’t read the Nutrition Today article, and the journal is peer-reviewed. So, my default skepticism aside, I can reasonably assume everything is on the up and up. It is a review article, after all, so I’d be curious if there were any anti-egg articles published in 2008 (when many of these studies were referenced).
Is the era of worrying about science funding over?
Posted by Grg in General stuff, Science Fandom, Science/Geek on Monday, February 16, 2009
The NIH is slated to get $10 Billion. That’s American dollars and, roughly, three times what they were originally slated to get in the stimulus bill. Thanks to Arlen Specter, that’s not a problem anymore. (Go Arlen, I told all my hyper-Dem friends that he was worth keeping around, for the sake of Pennsyltucky, at least!)
The NIH famously doubled its budget a few years back, but then the budget stabilized and, in fact, failed to keep up with inflation. I have heard said that it would have been better if the doubling hadn’t happened, since so many institutions invested heavily in new programs and infrastructure that a level NIH budget just couldn’t sustain.
So now the question is, I guess, what the hell will they do with all this money? How much of this will go to fulfilling research grants? How sustainable will this be…or should the scientific community just take this and run with it best they can knowing that this will be a one-time respite from their regularly scheduled budget woes?
New wallet
Posted by Grg in General stuff, Grg's Reference on Wednesday, February 11, 2009
My beloved Timbuk2 money clip/cardholder has been slowly coming apart, so it needed replacing. Unfortunately, they don’t make them anymore. The new wallet, from Target’s house brand, lacks the Timbuk2′s modern looks and clear plastic ID window, but it does have a bottle opener built into the money clip, and a skull and crossbones. It is made out of leather, theoretically, and it is slightly longer than the old one to accommodate the clip’s snapping action. The clip is slimmer, closer to the body of the wallet. 
I may miss the clear plastic ID window, since I do tend to use it often. Time will tell. Meanwhile, the new guy is still small and slim.
That’s not a crossover, that’s an honest-to-Crom wagon
Posted by Grg in Grg's Reference, Tales from Stinkbug Manor on Monday, February 9, 2009
But it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted an honest-to-Betsy station wagon. Aside from the Ford Focus wagon (drove it, unimpressed with the quality of the interior) and a Volvo yuppie wagon (yeah, right, I’m spending what now?). The Subaru Outback is close, but I never saw the need for AWD for tooling around the borough. Besides, it is still more expensive as the Vue and, IIRC, comparable in terms of mpg. Dodge magnum? Um, no. That’s not a family car, unless you’re last name is Unser or something. I wanted something bigger than a hatchback (we were replacing a Civic sedan), but not an SUV.
So I was surprised when I saw a commercial last night for the Toyota Venza. I couldn’t believe my eyes, that’s a station wagon! They don’t make those anymore. Oh, of course not, they still don’t. Its a “crossover” vehicle now. I won’t buy it — I’m not impressed by this overview — but I’m hoping it paves the way.
25 Random Things About Pat Benatar
Posted by Grg in Grg's Reference, Rant/Rave, Science Fandom, Science/Geek on Monday, February 9, 2009
25 Random Things About Pat Benatar
Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note of 25 random things. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You are to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you it is because I want you to know more about Pat Benatar.
1. Born Patrick Andrzejewski, soon after Patricia Mae Andrzejewski following a coin flip.
2. Was accepted to the Julliard school.
3. Wrote “Love is a Battlefield” after she broke up with her Argentinian boyfriend, at the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands conflict.
4. Her mother was a beautician who once sang opera at the Met.
5. Her father was a sheet metal worker once tossed out of Shea for spitting on a Met.
6. She once recorded jingles for Pepsi, which inspired her chart topping “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” a stirring anthem for the Cola Wars of the ’80s.
7. Once got with Roy Orbison until he started “Crying.”
8. Got her first break at an open mic night at Catch a Rising Star comedy club.
9. Can be recognized from Olivia Newton John and Juice Newton by her lack of Newton.
10. Reluctantly took on her husband’s last name Benatar after John Cougar reclaimed her first stage name “Mellencamp”
11. Her first hit was 1979′s “Heartbreaker,” which she wrote after disguising herself as a surgeon and intentionally botching John Cougar’s heart valve replacement.
12. Intentionally recorded a crummy cover of “I Need a Lover” to further spite John.
13. “You Better Run” was the second video played on MTV ever. Rocketing her to stardom among the three people who had cable at the time.
14. Turns out she never really wanted her MTV
15. Her live album, “Live from Earth” was ironically recorded on the surface of a large c-type asteroid
16. After divorcing Dennis Benatar, she married her guitarist Neil Giraldo in 1982.
17. In 1989, she appeared in an ABC Afterschool Special “Torn Between Two Fathers” where she played the wise old owl.
18. A 33rd degree Freemason, the subject of her last big hit “We Belong.”
19. Released three albums in the 1990s, for no apparent reason.
20. Spent fifteen years mastering the Hanzo sword bequeathed to her by her sensei.
21. Invented the thin keyboard tie in 1981.
22. Qualified in the biathlon for the Nagano Olympics. She didn’t compete, feigning injury so she could avenge the death of her sensei.
23. Bernie Madoff lost money to HER.
24. Her 2007 song, “Passion,” could be downloaded, for a time, from a Jell-O sponsored website.
25. Never responded to decades of correspondence with Greg Lester, unless you consider a restraining order a “response.”
The price we pay for the anti-vac movement
Posted by Grg in Grg's Reference, Rant/Rave, Science Fandom, Science/Geek on Friday, February 6, 2009
I’ve been following the vaccine/autism fretfest from a distance, so I chatted the topic up with Ben’s doc, who mentioned how Hib cases, of all things, were on the rise. (One unvaccinated infant in Minnesota recently died. Tragically preventable.)
If you haven’t heard of Hib, that doesn’t surprise me. It causes a form of meningitis. You, and your parents, probably never encountered it. Chances are fairly good that your grandmother, however, might have lost a sibling or a cousin to the disease…or one of the many other illnesses that used to routinely rob us of our children.
As you might know, the current anti-vaccination nonsense that’s spreading through the land began in the UK in ’98 when a Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine and Autism. (We gave the world Intelligent Design, the UK gave us anti-vacs…as much as I detest ID, at least it doesn’t have a body count.)
I haven’t really followed the career of Wakefield. We have our own anti-vac proponents in the US to worry about. UK Journalist Brian Deer suggests Wakefield might have some ulterior motives, this makes for interesting reading.
Of course many controlled, reputable studies since then has cast that link in doubt. If you don’t believe me, I can’t help you more than to suggest some reading, WebMD has a nice lay-friendly FAQ that spells out the depth of research on the topic. You can also read the take of pro-science skepticsyou can read the take of pro-science skeptics here. At this point you are either merely ignorant or actively in denial.
Like I said, this really began in the UK, so it isn’t surprising that we’re seeing a return of preventable diseases like measles.
Confirmed cases increased from 990 in 2007 to 1,348 last year – the highest figure since the monitoring scheme was introduced in 1995.
Health Protection Agency experts said most of the cases had been in children not fully vaccinated with combined MMR and so could have been prevented.
Immunisation expert Dr Mary Ramsay said the rise was “very worrying”, adding measles “should not be taken lightly”.
More than 600 of the 2008 measles cases occurred in London, where uptake of the vaccine for MMR – measles, mumps and rubella – is particularly low.
We’re not immune (heh!), in the US. As I mentioned, there was a Hib outbreak in Minnesota recently, but also pertussis in Philly and measles in California last January. In the latter case, an unvaccinated seven year-old brought the disease back from vacation in Switzerland and spread it around his private school. The scary part is, as you can see in the Cali case, these kids aren’t from poor families without access to healthcare.
Supposedly educated adults, concerned enough with their children’s welfare to send them to private school, were scared into NOT vaccinating their kids. In the 21st century, they made a choice against the medical technology that created an unprecedented wave of good health in the 20th century.
Likely, they believed the autism fearmongering and figured they’d place a safe bet and let “herd immunity” cover their kids. That only works when everyone else plays along. So, it won’t be surprising to see clusters of outbreaks in some of our wealthiest communities as well as among under-served populations.
That doesn’t take away from the essentially parasitic (Amanda Peet took it back, but I think it is apt) practice. Herd immunity protects kids who can’t get immunized (for a variety of health-related reasons) and a small minority of those who did get vaccinated, but for whom it didn’t take.
While all this is going on, there is a huge kerfluffle involving Bad Science columnist extraordinaire, Ben Goldacre, is boiling over across the interwebs. (Quackometer has a nice round-up.) A radio host is trying to use the UK’s anti-free speech libel laws to silence Goldacre. Toss him a couple of quid, if you can. The first time I ever used paypal in pounds. How global of me.
2/8 UPDATE: Wakefield doctored his results, says Brian Deer in today’s Sunday Times.
2/9 UPDATE: The Bad Astronomer has more on recent outbreaks in Australia and Switzerland, where a 12 year-old girl died of measles-related encephalitis.
That reminds me a bit of my own childhood experience regarding opportunistic infections. I contracted osteomyelitis after a bout of chicken pox when I was about four or five. I really ought to corroborate my memories with my mom, I could be wrong…and a doctor, for that matter, I could totally be wrong on this. Soon after getting over chicken pox, my dad found me on the floor one night, crying hysterically because I couldn’t walk. I spent two months in a wheelchair at Abington Memorial. Again, my memories of early childhood are anything are perfect, but I remember spending my fifth birthday — got a landspeeder — at the hospital.
Anyway, I know people think chicken pox aren’t a Big Deal, but I’m getting my kids vaccinated anyway.