Steve Dodge

Lectures are also better at “conveying information” than in-class activities designed to help students *learn* important concepts required to organize and use the information as an expert would. So the OP is correct, but in a way that is trivial and misleading.

Thus the caveat “in a learning environment.” Lectures are indeed a better way to “convey information in a learning environment” than having 100 people in a room reading the same text.

Conveying information in a learning environment ≠ Learning.

#ITeachPhysics and learning physics requires *doing* physics, not just watching someone else do it. In many situations, strategic mixing of in-class problem-solving, small-group discussion *and* short lectures > lectures.

This does come up in energy conversion, though. The US still uses British thermal units for heat/energy (1 BTU raises the temperature of water by 1 deg F), and measures it’s energy consumption in quads (1 quadrillion BTUs) instead of exajoules, like the rest of the world.

A chocolate cake with red and white decorations and lit candles shaped as the number 75. Bold text reads: ‘The NSF Turns 75 Today. What has it done over the past 7 decades?’ The background is a celebratory red with a spray-paint texture.

HAPPY 75th, NSF!

We’re celebrating this milestone by highlighting some of NSF’s most transformative accomplishments—innovations that have shaped our world and continue to drive progress in health, technology, the environment, and beyond.

Read on 🧵(1/11):

@genevievefuji.bsky.social

She also describes how her Japanese-Canadian family faced severe government repression in Canada, during and after WWII, but refused to have their own voices silenced.

I’m proud to share last year’s Canadian Political Science Association Presidential address by my wife, Genevieve Fuji Johnson. Using previous Presidential addresses as evidence, she describes how her discipline has improved by including diverse voices.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

I wish more prominent scientists would speak out about what is happening under Trump.

Yes, there is a real threat to one's livelihood of doing so. Being a scientist has been my lifelong dream, but there's honest work I can do outside of science, and I'd rather do that than serve the current regime.

My student was doing a literature search and found a 2023 paper in the Nature/Springer Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials with figures just screen shot from a 2015 paper in Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. JUST SCREENSHOT AND PASTED!!
@retractionwatch.com

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025!

Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide!

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

IMAGE: Abstract design showing red curved lines and pixelated squares of various sizes, giving an impression of depth, on top of a dark red background. In the center, inside a white, thin-lined circle, we see big white lettering saying: "National Quantum Strategy"

Congratulations to #SFU Mathematics prof Nadish de Silva and SFU Physics profs @jsdodge.bsky.social and Hoi Kwan Lau, on receiving NSERC Alliance International Quantum grants! www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/...

SEMI FINAL CONTESTS: Self-Driving Cars vs Pandas were painted dogs Pole Vaulter Penis Drama vs Alarming Poetry Sales

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It's time for... the Semi-Finals of the 2024 Headline of the Year contest!
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Welcome!

Here are the results so far:

Quarter final match-ups: Self-Driving Cars vs Orca Salmon Hat Fad Back Pandas were painted dogs vs Money Money Money Pole Vaulter Penis Drama vs Octopuses Punch Lazy Fish Welsh Tidy Mouse vs Alarming Poetry Sales

Welcome to the exciting Quarterfinals of the 2024 Headline of the Year contest! (🎆🎆)

Interesting contests so far, but the stakes are being raised with some tough battles ahead -- Self-Driving Cars vs. Orca Salmon Hats & Welsh Tidy Mouse vs. Alarming Poetry Sales.

Let's review the results so far:

I was surprised and delighted to see the work of my friend and colleague John Bechhoefer featured in this article on entropy and information engines. I’ve had the pleasure of serving on a few of the thesis committees for his students and it’s been fun to see this work develop.

From: @7homaslin […]

Very Canadian of you to anticipate the opportunity for an apology

Back at ‘em!

Hello!

🚨 It’s official! The Journal of Open Source Software has published our data analysis software for terahertz time-domain spectroscopy!💡🧪
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Congrats to my student-researcher coauthors! Thanks also to the people at @pyopensci.bsky.social, who organized the peer review and helped during development.

Need a physics lurker starter pack

Superconductivity researcher who committed misconduct exits university The University of Rochester has confirmed that it no longer employs Ranga Dias, who was found by investigators to have committed data fabrication.

Nine months after the provost moved to fire him, Ranga Dias is no longer employed by the University of Rochester. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Happy #LGBTQSTEMday! More than a decade (!) ago, I asked a social scientist friend to help build a study of queer identities in science careers after my literature searches came up empty — this year I helped with an evidence review that found SO MUCH on the topic, and still room for more work.

Anyway, I think it should be clear that my point was neither to question Pinker’s sincerity nor to dismiss the issues related to Carole Hooven’s case, but to gripe about journalists reducing stories about academic freedom to anecdotes from Harvard

Please add me if I’m not there already

Adam?

Sigh—not what I want to hear, but good to know. Thanks!

I’m in the same situation, and would prefer to make Mastadon my home base. Do you know if it’s possible to merge my standalone Bluesky account into my bridged account? Wishing I had thought of this before the recent migration….

Someone had the munchies

📌

Count me in!