Fiona A nifty editorial on science journalism from the Columbia Journalism review: My theory is that editors of newspapers and other major periodicals are not just ordinary folk. They tend to be very accomplished people. They’re used to being the smartest guys in the room. So science makes them squirm. And because they can’t bear to … Read more
Apparently so, because there are a number of bug posts on this blog. Via Grow-A-Brain, a video of the amazing Megalopyge opercularis, a moth so fuzzy and furry I squealed a little at how cute it was. Of course, that fuzz is out to get you, as the “fur” is actually venom-carrying prickles that’ll have … Read more
Andy Purvis‘s cheeky letter to TREE made me giggle. About the h index: it’s presumably a random number until you get more than about eight publications? Hmm. I think that possibly this is just more MeyersBriggsian pigeonholing, or perhaps it satisfies a numerological fetish that academics are too lofty to admit. Heh. I think mine … Read more
A rant, just for a second. Like every other computer-bound sod I compulsively check the BBC news webpages all day and consider myself somewhat familiar with their style. The thing that’s really narking me off right now is their headlines. From today’s (although yesterday’s was much worse): 1. Twin blasts ‘kill 24’ in Baghdad 2. … Read more
My friend J once described something as being “kitty-corner” from a person in a restaurant, and I seriously thought she was making up random feline-words because she’s such a sucker for cats. It turned out that kitty-corner (or catty-corner) is some Yankee slang for “diagonally opposite” – who knew? I just thought of this as … Read more
Some days I would like to re-animate George Peter Murdock and have a beer with him. G.P., I’d say, after shaking his hand vigorously (although not too hard, because, you know, zombie corpse) G.P., you would have really liked the concept of the computer database, and maybe if you’d had one, you mighta got out … Read more
The Wellcome Trust’s Biomedical Image Awards. I used to love the photo-identification round (“what is this strange wire contraption?” an egg-beater!) in quiz shows like University Challenge or W3 when I was younger, but I’m pretty sure none of these would be identifiable but anyone but their respective experts. I particularly like the aspirin and … Read more
WordPress tells me my blog was discovered using the following search terms: “Benedictine influences in the asian cult” “pbs documentary new guinea strange people” Hope that worked out for y’all, people!
A “vagary”, according to The Source, is the collective noun for ‘impediments’. More pages that collect collective nouns are here and here. I am amused that a group of submarines is called a wolfpack, and that a group of sheldrakes is a doading (shoutout to my friend Duckie!). Henceforth a group of links to things … Read more
I just created an account over at Anthropology.net (cue gratuitous linky banner thingo) It’s a community site for Anthropology, with blogging, forums, and a wiki. So anything here that’s anthropological in the least will get posted there as well, ‘cos I’m all about blanket coverage.