contest
edyong | June 28, 2009 Imagine that you're taking a test in a large public hall. Obviously, your knowledge and confidence will determine your score, but could the number of people around you have an influence too? According to psychologists Stephen Garcia from the University of Michigan and Avishalom Tor from the University of Haifa, the answer is yes. They have found that our motivation to compete falls as the number of competitors rises, even if the chances of success are the same.
The simple act of comparing yourself against someone else can stoke the fires of competition. When there are just a few…
bioephemera | May 28, 2009It is no secret that 3 Quarks Daily is one of my favorite blogs. It's the first blog I told my boyfriend to put on his Google Reader (he'd already added BioE, but still). Which is why I'm overjoyed to announce that 3QD has created its own prize for blogging. It's called a Quark. Oh, how I covet the Quark - especially the Strange Quark. And the finalists are to be judged by the 3QD editors and their guest judge . . . Stephen Pinker! w00t!
Any blog post on a natural or social science topic published since May 24, 2008 is eligible. The catch? Nominations are only open until midnight on June 1.…
bioephemera | April 13, 2009
NightPeeps
Melissa Harvey (after Edward Hopper)
It's that time of year again! As I roasted blue Easter Peeps over the gas stove yesterday, I eagerly awaited this year's collection of Peep dioramas from the Washington Post - and here they are! View the complete Peeps Show here.
Be sure to check out "Double Peep Strike" (Miracle on the Hudson), Bernard Peepoff, and the Trek Peeps of Stardate 2351.6. Many dioramas play on DC themes: "Peep to the Right" refers to clueless tourists who stand on the left side of Metro escalators, blocking those of us who use public transit to get to work; "…
pontiff | March 12, 20093.141592...om nom nom nom! Behold! Mrs. Pontiff's entry into the Scienceblogs pi day pie contest, variously known as "Spicy Brittle Bacon Chocolate Pie", "Spicy Pi Bacon Squared", or "Bacon brittle...om nom nom nom nom!"
(On the March 14, a poll will open on scienceblogs for the pi contest. Then all two of the readers of the Quantum Pontiff (hi mom!) can then vote for Bacon Bacon Bacon Pi Pi Pie Pie!)
Pi is a miraculous number. Who would have thought that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter was always the same? Or that you could express this number with some 4's…
bioephemera | March 9, 2009Rumor has it there's going to be a no-holds-barred culinary throwdown here at Scienceblogs in honor of Pi Day. Personally, I need little excuse to make a pie. And the staffer needs little excuse to eat pie - particularly pecan pie. So here is my entry. . . .the "Yes, PeCan" Pi.
As pies go, this is a simple one that can handle some imprecision. It's a little different every time I do it. And in the spirit of 3.141592-oh-whatever-who-cares, I embrace freely rounding off quantities whenever I feel like it.* In fact, I used my ubercool but uberimprecise Equal Measure to make this Pi:
"Yes,…
revere | January 14, 2008I'm a frustrated inventor. For years I've tried to market a set of wonderful ideas but can't seem to interest the Big Boys in Corporate America. Threatened, I guess. Here are a few of my inventions:
Popply seed toothpaste
The toilet bowl cleaner that turns the water yellow.
A fifteen digit electronic caculator that approximates your answer to slide rule accuracy.
A leather tanning process that makes leather look like Naugahyde.
Clear, transparent venetian blinds.
A clear glass bathroom door so you can always see if there is someone in there before you try to go in.
These are obviously…
zooillogix | November 29, 2007
Whale or little alien? How can we be sure...
A couple of months ago we covered the birth of a baby beluga whale to mama Mauyak at the Shedd Aquarium. Well now Shedd is asking for your help in naming the rambunctious little tyke. A variety of names from the Pacific Northwest that are equally meaningless to an English speaker's ear can be selected:
Ipiktok (Ip-eek-tock) Very keen or sharp
Opipok (Oh-pee-pock) Admirable, to admire
Tuwawi (Too-wah-wee) Quick
Nilak (Nee-lock) Fresh water ice
Kimalu (Kee-ma-loo) Traditional Inuit name given to special people
Mituk (Mee-took) Small snow layer on…
laelaps | November 1, 2007I still am a bit disappointed that I had to miss SVP this year, but fellow paleo-blogger Amanda has suggested that everyone who wants to attend the 2008 meeting put a little progress bar on their blog to remind themselves to start saving up for the trip (you can make your own using this word cash meter). I'm setting mine at $1,500, and although registration is only a fraction of this amount, I'm going to need to save a lot for gas, hotels, food, extra activities, the money I won't be making since I'll have to take off from work, and the armful of books I'm sure to come home with. Indeed, I'm…