science
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Another day, another NSF grant rejection. Scores were E, V, V, V (E=excellent, V=very good). I haven’t seen the report yet, they probably won’t show up till next week. The scores are only a little better than last year, although I thought the proposal itself was MUCH better than last year. (Update: Did get the reviews, really very positive. Still
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This one was inspired by a recent conversation in my group meeting. Generally, the outcome of a review of a manuscript in the physical sciences is one of the following options (I am sure it’s basically the same in the biological and social sciences, and maybe even in the humanities, but I have no direct experience):
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This one is for a bloggy friend, who has little patience with teaching fads, especially those that “reinvent the wheel” without proper attribution.
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———————— * This joke is for everyone who’s ever loved (or hated) the quantization of total angular momentum, J. The z-component of total angular momentum is denoted by Jz. For a given j (the quantum number that characterizes the magnitude of total angular momentum as J=ℏ√j(j+1) ), Jz can have 2j+1 different values. * In case you don’t really follow pop-culture, the joke refers
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http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-incredible-4k-video-of-the-sun-took-nasa-300-hours-to-make
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* I am in one of the most famous and most beautiful cities in Europe. I have visited it before. It is a lovely European city. It is not unlike the city I was born in. I find I have no desire to live here, ever. I find the buildings are old, the apartments small. Everything is
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————- [1] The stamp-collecting snub is among Rutherford’s quotes [2] Rutherford really did die of complications after a delayed umbilical hernia surgery.
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In science, a potential answer to a problem is either right or wrong. But when it comes to teaching and learning, and especially grading student exams, there is wrong and then there is WROOONG. Here’s an example. Let’s say you need to compute a certain distance that has to do with the behavior of electrons in a nanostructure. Correct answer:
xykademiqz 