Assorted hypotheses on the science-humanities divide.

Reading the comments on my post and Chad’s post about the different societal attitudes towards humanities and arts and math and science (especially in terms of what “basic” knowledge a well-educated person ought to have), I get the feeling that some interesting assumptions are at play. Since I don’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth, I’m just going to lay out some of the hypotheses that have occurred to me as I’ve read through these discussions:

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Update on NYC bloggers/readers meet-up.

I have a little bit more (tentative) information on the upcoming meet-up in Manhattan on Saturday, August 9 (which is only two weeks away):

  • The time looks like it will fall in the 2:00-4:00 PM time slot.
  • The location is looking like it will be in or near Central Park.

I know that a meet-up in Central Park undercuts the initial promise of air conditioning. Nonetheless, I am convinced it will still be a fun time, and that no one will melt into a puddle of dissatisfaction. I say this as a former denizen of the East Coast who lost her ability to hold up under humidity within 8 months of moving to the San Francisco Bay Area — I will gladly brave the heat and humidity to meet y’all, and I’m guessing the selection of bloggers to meet (and the swag) will make it worthwhile for those of you better acclimated to the muggy than I am.
Now, it has come to my attention that Ed Brayton is spreading rumors about me. Here’s how he describes the bloggers who have publicly announced their intentions to be at the bloggers/readers meet-up:

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Fear and loathing in the academy.

Today Chad has an interesting post about attitudes among academics toward math and science versus the humanities and arts. The general attitude Chad sees on display in his academic milieu is that a gappy knowledge of art history or music or literature is something to be embarrassed about, but when it comes to innumeracy or scientific ignorance, intellectuals have no shame.
Chad writes:

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Appropriate use of sources.

The other day, Chad asked about the appropriate use of someone else’s published data:

There’s a classic paper on the Quantum Zeno Effect that I discuss in Chapter 5 of the book. The paper does two tests of the effect, and presents the results in two bar graphs. They also provide the data in tabular form. …
If I copy the data from the table, and make my own version of the graph, am I obliged to contact them and ask permission to duplicate their results in my book?

Chad’s commenters were of the view (substantiated with credible linked sources) that data itself cannot be copyrighted under U.S. law. Therefore, Chad could use the data (citing its source, of course) to make his own graph without having to get permission from the authors. While not required, letting the original authors know he was using their data would be polite, and making a graph with some value-added (rather than one that looked exactly like the graph the original authors made from their data) would also be a plus.
It was a really interesting discussion that somehow reminded me of a related kind of question raised by a friend of mine earlier this week:
What are the boundaries between appropriate use of a press release and plagiarism of that press release?

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Colleagues behaving badly: symmetry considerations.

Go to Cosmic Variance at once to read Julianne Dalcanton’s musings on why spherical jerks (not the word she uses) are preferable to the asymmetric ones:

No one is surprised when a known, calibrated asshole acts up. We all just adjust the gain on our emotional response and carry on. I’ve been quite fond of many assholes through the years, and when I look back, the one trait they shared was that while they may have been ornery, they were at least predictable.

Go read the whole thing to explore the topology of the muppethuggers she’s been having to deal with lately.

Classroom teachers: get a jump on the school year (and your DonorsChoose proposal)!

Sure, we still have about a week of July left, but those days are getting shorter and soon the classrooms will be filling up again.
Which means that it’s a pretty good time for public school teachers (in the U.S.*) to start thinking about what they’d like to accomplish in those classrooms, and whether submitting a classroom project proposal to DonorsChoose could help them secure the funds to make exciting ideas into real educational experiences.
Before the students are lining up outside the classroom, check out the DonorsChoose blog, which includes:

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Friday Sprog Blogging: thinking in three dimensions.

The Free-Ride offspring end up listening to a lot of public radio in the car; they can’t control the radio tuner from the back seat. Since this listening includes Car Talk, both sprogs already think of cars as systems to trouble-shoot, even though the eldest is still seven years away (at least) from being a licensed driver.
And the Free-Ride offspring enjoy “the puzzler”. However, they express the occasional quibble …
Elder offspring: Was that Tom Magliozzi who was just talking, or Ray?
Younger offspring: Tom.
Elder offspring: Well, Tom said something that doesn’t really make sense.
Dr. Free-Ride: Oh?
Elder offspring: When he said that the Summertime puzzler is also for kids on school vacation, so their brains aren’t shriveled up when school starts again?
Dr. Free-Ride: Yeah?
Elder offspring: Healthy brains are supposed to have those wrinkles.
Dr. Free-Ride: They’re called “convolutions” if my memory serves me right.*
Elder offspring: They make more room for neurons, so the brain can do more thinking.
Dr. Free-Ride: OK.
Elder offspring: Which means that really, the Summertime puzzler is helping keep kids’ brains from smoothing out, not shriveling up.

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