Blogs
Anne-Marie Hodge kicks off this week with a ‘furry’ start by introducing us to the new mammals of 2010, presenting us with an unusual creature that has sparked a lot of interest due to its bizarre features:
A snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus strykeri, from Myanmar (Geissmann et al. 2011) that apparently can’t help sneezing in the rain. This Himalayan simian has inflated lips and almost no external nose, really, just nostril cavities. Locals (who have known of this species for a long time, as is usually with species “new” to science), claim that when it rains, these cavernous nostrils are vulnerable to bombardment by raindrops, causing the monkeys to sneeze frequently. Rather undignified, yet fascinating.
Meanwhile Barbara Ferreira compiled an amusing summary of 2010 incorporating interesting, comical science excerpts, not just from her own blog, but from other science sources too:
“Superstitions can improve performance by boosting confidence”. I wish I had written about this story. I know that superstitions have no scientific basis but, if you cross your knife and fork in front of me, I will be unable to prevent myself from reaching onto your plate to put them next to each other. Crossed cutlery is bad luck! My superstitious nature has also compelled me to wear my “lucky socks” for every single one of my high-school finals and University exams. I eventually wore the socks out (Idid wash them in between uses, in case you were wondering) and had to throw them away when I finish my undergrad degree. Still, I kept another one of my quirky habits throughout grad school: eating “Cerelac” (yeah, I know it’s kids food…) before exams. Hey, don’t make fun of me, I was boosting my confidence.
Elsewhere Eric-Wubbo Lameijer discusses the IQ of George W in a humorous post debunking the myth that people with high IQs aren’t necessarily ‘smart’. This post considers recent results showing that students at top universities such as Harvard and Princeton were getting some rather simple riddles wrong. Eric asks what we can learn from this, following in a similar vein to his last post Einstein vs Edison.
Kausik Datta, also on the learning theme, has been weighing up the pros and cons of home labs and DIY Science. In his blog he argues that while science labs at home and DIY spaces are stimulating and provide encouragement for those inquisitive about science, they are no substitute for a proper scientific education with training in appropriate methodologies.
Linda Lin discusses Sports and the School Spirit, posting an entertaining video from the sitcom Scrubs. Overall she raises a valid question – would the typical enthusiasm and camaraderie seen on the sporting field work in a science lab? On a different note, Bob O’Hara has been talking about the The Hilarity of Homeopathic Housing.
This week GrrlScientist posted a blog on The beauty of data visualisation, questioning a hypothesis that suggests making data more visual makes it easier to see patterns and connections, and therefore simpler to understand. In line with the data visualisation theme, Eva Amsen has initiated a debate by asking What’s stats got to do with it? In her post, Eva eloquently discusses how keeping track of lots of data makes for ‘pretty’ graphs and great data visualisation; however statistical analysis of some data doesn’t always make sense to the people using it. For instance:
… since there are a few people with only one leg or none at all, the average number of legs is about 1.99- just short of most people’s two. It shows that sometimes statistics are meaningless. There is no practical application to knowing the exact average number of legs per person. If you told a jeans manufacturer that he was accounting for too many legs, since the average person has less than two, he’d rightly say, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’
In other news
As we are preparing for 2011, the Nature Network team are compiling a list of meetings and conferences that may benefit scientists who use networks, blogs and other online tools. We are producing a calendar of events for Internet-Lovin’ Scientists with a number of noteworthy conferences, but we’d like to expand on our entries. If you have any ideas please leave tips in the comments.
And finally …..
The last word (and picture) once again goes to the unrivalled Viktor Poór
Happy New Year to everyone from all the Nature Network team.