Clik here to view.
Scientific Debates Are (Mostly) a Waste of Time
The fake table of contents from the April 1, 1986 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. (Click for larger version.) Recently, I acquired a stack of books, papers, conference proceedings, and other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Of aquatic apes and ignorant congressmen
Old Tarzan movies aside, elephants don’t really have a secret burial ground, to which old animals travel when they are ready to die. It’s a romantic notion, but completely unsupported by evidence:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A study in how not to talk about sexism in science
[Credit: Futurama][UPDATED! See below.] Anyone who has applied for academic positions, whether teaching or research-focused, knows how bad the job market is right now, and it shows no signs of getting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The price of sympathy with the harasser
[ Trigger warnings abound for what follows: references to sexual harassment and assault. ] UPDATE: A group of astronomers wrote an open letter to the Chronicle editors, which I hope you’ll read, share,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dethroning the Nobel Prize
One arm of the LIGO detector near Livingston, Louisiana. [Credit: moi]This week, science news is going to be dominated by the annual announcements of the Nobel Prizes, the most prestigious awards given...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I’m publishing a book, and you can help it happen!
Preliminary cover design for “Who Owns an Asteroid?”, a comics collection by Maki Naro and me. For a few years now, I’ve been collaborating with artist extraordinaire Maki Naro on nonfiction science...
View Article