Category Archives: journalism

Science vs anti-science

During her video-talk on how to present your research, the speaker divided audiences into anti-science and science folks. The talk was sponsored by a prestigious science academy so I expected more than a blunted view of lay audiences. Maybe that’s … Continue reading

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Who will be the watchdog?

My guilty pleasure is rejoicing in investigative journalism. What a pity the pleasure isn’t the venerable New York Times or 60 Minutes. It’s Newsroom: a scripted, created—invented–story of journalism that airs on cable but I have to wait until it … Continue reading

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Advising the Class of 2013

My advice to the Class of 2013 would go something like this: Be nimble. Life throws you curves and the measure of a person is how she maneuvers the curves. On Sunday I packed my graduation regalia into my bicycle … Continue reading

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Curb that Testosterone

My hypothesis is that biking builds testosterone. Or is it watching killers on TV? One indication is the jerky behavior of the blokes who pass without warning. I reckon one false move and we’d crash.

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Media Research: Think Again

We may need to re-think how media affect our attitudes and behavior. The foundation for media theories assumes people use information in predictable ways: we watch television during prime time and search the web to learn how to bake a … Continue reading

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Media Bugs

If you study the history of broadcast media effects you’ll find lay publics over-estimate the impact of new technology. Viewers once thought: Film talkies would forever change democracy. Telephones would invade privacy.

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Temper: Tantrum or Tantra?

My sister pitched temper tantrums when she was little. Martha would throw herself on the floor, pound her fists and wail like a banshee. Timing seemed to make no difference: we could be at home, at the beach or out … Continue reading

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What you don’t know about the Boston Tea Party

Sometimes we approach history with doubt, especially when it comes to stories about Native Americans. In grade school I heard North America was largely unpopulated until settlers arrived: a story quite different than the ones my relatives told. Reading about … Continue reading

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Mind Different from Brain?

Consider the mind, rather than the brain. I asked readers in the last blog to think about the mind rather than the brain because Samuel Morton’s skull measurements in the 1860s asserted that American Indians have smaller skulls, hence smaller … Continue reading

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Brain Full of Buckshot

In the Wild West soldiers could earn a dollar for every American Indian skull they collected. Skulls were then shipped back east so scientists could study them. One of the collectors, Samuel G. Morton, used skulls to extrapolate on personality … Continue reading

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