interview
cevans | October 8, 2010
In case you didn't know, reality is science fiction.
If you doubt me, read the news. Read, for example, this recent article in the New York Times about Carnegie Mellon's "Read the Web" program, in which a computer system called NELL (Never Ending Language Learner) is systematically reading the internet and analyzing sentences for semantic categories and facts, essentially teaching itself idiomatic English as well as educating itself in human affairs. Paging Vernor Vinge, right?
NELL reads the Web 24 hours a day, seven days a week, learning language like a human would -- cumulatively, over…
jdupuis | July 20, 2010What with the recent blogospheric developments, I thought it would be a great idea to reprint a post from a couple of years ago where I turned the tables on Bora and interviewed him about science blogging, science and ScienceOnline. The original post is from March 13, 2008. I'd also like to point you to the interview Bora did with my son Sam after the 2009 conference.
And yes, I think "Crazy Uncle" is perfect. Science blogging is like family and I think Bora fits perfectly not as our father or our brother or our cousin, but as our uncle.
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Welcome to the…
grrlscientist | July 4, 2010tags: The Invention of Religion, humor, comedy, satire, funny, silly, fucking hilarious, interview, religion, Ricky Gervais, streaming video
This amusing video features Ricky Gervais explaining how everything you need to know about religion can be found on a Pizza Hut pizza box.
The Invention of Religion.
grrlscientist | July 3, 2010tags: Stephen Hawking on Religion: Science Will Win, Diane Sawyer, Stephen Hawking, interview, science, religion, streaming video
World News Anchor, Diane Sawyer, asks physicist Stephen Hawking about the biggest mystery he'd like solved. He said, "I want to know why the universe exists, why there is something rather than nothing".
tsaunders | April 16, 2010Apologies for the lack of posts the past few days - the workload at school has been very high for both of us this week. In honour of this weekend's Boston Marathon, below is an interview I conducted last year with former Boston Marathon Champion and prolific writer Amby Burfoot. Amby is a fascinating guy and extremely knowledgeable about running and physiology in general, and it was a real pleasure to be able to ask him a few questions.
My girlfriend and I competed in our first Boston Marathon last year, and if you're curious to know what it was like, be sure to check out my lead-up post, or…
jdupuis | April 15, 2010A month or so ago I posted on Scholarly Societies: Why Bother?, basically on the challenges that scholarly societies face in the digital age. I got a few good comments, getting a nice discussion going.
I also posed a few questions directly to scholarly societies but unfortunately didn't get any comments from any of the various societies themselves. I did find that a bit disappointing in that the public conversation seemed to be happening without them. Never a good thing in the digital age.
Today, however, Kevin Marvel of the American Astronomical Society added a comment to my original…
cevans | March 1, 2010
Photograph by Benjamin Reed.
Ursula K. Le Guin is a internationally-recognized, award-winning science fiction writer, an elegant badass and the author of such classics as the Hugo and Nebula-award winning The Left Hand of Darkness, The Lathe Of Heaven, and the Earthsea novels. Last year, she began mounting formidable opposition to the Google Books Settlement, an inscrutably complex 303-page agreement reached between the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and Google regarding the Web giant's desire to scan the libraries of the world. The Settlement, if approved -- it…
bcohen | December 23, 2009(Ten Best of the Decade from Half of the World's Fair)
This series began with the kindness of a friend who agreed to let me ask him about his book about Barry Commoner, science, and modern environmentalism. It then spawned a series of 17 interviews with authors of books in science studies, environmental history, the history of science, and all combinations in between. Every one of them was enjoyable to do; every author was generous and insightful. I've been able to use some of these as thumbnail sketches of readings I use in class. In that, they stand as the best example of blogging as a…
jdupuis | October 19, 2009As I mentioned in my previous post, I did a little Q&A about the new outsourcing arrangement that CISTI has negotiated with Infotrieve.
Q1. What's the effect on jobs at CISTI from this move?
As you may know, NRC-CISTI is transforming itself to be well positioned to serve the needs of Canadian knowledge workers now and in the future. This transformation is a major undertaking for the organization and will require a significant transition for NRC-CISTI's workforce.
NRC is working to mitigate the effect on employees by seeking to place as many of the affected employees as possible within…
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009Hey everyone: here's the coolest news in the world! My colleague and friend, Chris Rowan was interviewed streaming (and live) by BBC News radio and television on their program, World, Have Your Say [1 October, 1305-1400 EDT]. The interviewer investigated the (lack of) predictability of natural disasters, especially earthquakes and tsunamis. If you missed the program, it is now available here, for only the next seven days, so download it to your ipod now or stream it.
grrlscientist | October 1, 2009Hey everyone: here's the coolest news in the world! My colleague and friend, Chris Rowan is being interviewed streaming (and live) by BBC News radio and television on their program, World, Have Your Say [1300-1400 EDT], and the topic will investigate the (lack of) predictability of natural disasters, especially earthquakes and tsunamis. Go there now to hear him (and live blog it, too).
jdupuis | August 5, 2009During my summer blogging break, I thought I'd repost of few of my "greatest hits" from my old blog, just so you all wouldn't miss me so much. This one is from July 3, 2007. It's one of the most popular posts I've done, and it was linked quite widely in the science blogosphere. The interview series has lapsed a bit this year, but that's mostly due to a couple of the people I was approaching just not working out. I will definitely relaunch the series in the fall and try to do one every other month or so.
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Welcome to the most recent installment in my occasional series of interviews…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2009tags: snowball, dancing cockatoo, parrots, Cacatua galerita eleanora, interview
Snowball, adult male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleanora.
Image: courtesy of Bird Lovers Only [larger view].
I have been working behind the scenes for the opportunity to interview Irena, the woman who lives with the amazing Snowball, the dancing cockatoo. She recently indicated her willingness to be interviewed so I am going to share the fun with all of you, dear readers. I gave you one week to think of all those questions that you'd like to ask Irena about Snowball, and the…
grrlscientist | July 9, 2009tags: snowball, dancing cockatoo, parrots, Cacatua galerita eleanora, interview
Snowball, adult male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleanora.
Image: courtesy of Bird Lovers Only [larger view].
I have been working behind the scenes for the opportunity to interview Irena, the woman who lives with the amazing Snowball, the dancing cockatoo. She recently indicated her willingness to be interviewed so I am going to share the fun with all of you, dear readers. I will give you one week to think of all those questions that you'd like to ask Irena about Snowball, so…
grrlscientist | July 8, 2009Shortly after I arrived in Helsinki and was suffering from jet lag, my friend, Bora, published this interview he had with me via email. Bora -- "Coturnix" -- is the main organizer of the ScienceOnline conference series held in North Carolina in January. Each year, he interviews the speakers from that year's conference and publishes those interviews on his blog to help generate greater public interest in the conference and in science blogging in general, and to help the public learn more about the people who write the blogs that they enjoy. The best part of my interview is the featured image…
awild | June 20, 2009So when we say ants can teach us something, itâs not that we should all aspire to live like an ant. That would be horrible. What ants can teach is that networks of labor distribution, where communications are good and where each groupâs work benefits the other, are effective.
Read the whole thing at the New York Times.
(Yes, I know I'm late in posting this. But I just returned from the field late last night...)
bioephemera | May 11, 2009This week, Nieman Journalism Lab is running a fascinating series of video interviews with the New York Times' R&D group on the possible future face of news media. I know - you're wondering why the supposedly financially moribund NYT is wasting money on nerds who play with Kindles. Who do they think they are, Google? But it might be a good strategy after all.
As Fortune and the Columbia Journalism Review recently pointed out, with outlets all around them slashing premium content (like science), the NYT's best strategy may be to instead become increasingly "elite:"
Meanwhile, the company is…
zooillogix | January 30, 2009A couple of weeks ago we brought you the classic interweb hit from circa 2000 - Lobster Magnet.
Well now we bring you what might be our greatest interview ever. Forget about Jane Goodall and eminent biologists, today we have the sacred words of Ben Apgar, co-creator of Lobster Magnet. When we caught up with Ben, he was unemployed and apparently Canadian. And now without further ado, we bring you the briny stylings of Ben Apgar and the secret history behind Lobster Magnet:
Name: Ben Apgar
Sex: M
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Blood type: Unknown
Song: Lobster Magnet
By: Ben Apgar &…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2009tags: interview, Nature Blog Network
I am still writing and editing a bunch of essays and blog entries, but while I work, maybe you will be interested to read an interview with me that was conducted a little while ago by Nature Blog Network (not to be confused with NATURE network, where I can also be found if you know where to look). This interview includes a really nice picture of me (snapped by a friend) and a picture of one of my companion parrots, as well as a picture of my ancestral homeland (both snapped by me).
For those of you who would like to read more, here is another interview…
amillikan | January 7, 2009
When Dr. Isis first joined ScienceBlogs, she attracted attention with her bombastic commentary, gravity-defying shoes and a persona that steamrolled the stereotypical image of the safety goggle-wearing white male scientist. Those who oppose her are immediately forced to face their preconceived notions of what it means to be a scientist and acknowledge the gender barriers that exist in the field when she innocently asks, "What's wrong with being an incredibly hot woman and someone who does good science?"
But who is the real Dr. Isis, and what makes her tick? To find out, I ventured to a realm…