Tag Archives: rhetoric

Making Memories

Exploring how we invent stories—and then stick to them—confounds journalists and scientists alike: how can we separate fictions from fact? I am keenly interested in how we make decisions—especially decisions built on information we gather from media that affect how … Continue reading

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Not Quite, Sherlock

We teach students to be critical—to look beyond the obvious. Question assumptions. Just like Sherlock Holmes, whose exploits are finding new audiences in 2013, we should look beyond the surface.

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I’m Not a Monkey

There’s a delicate balance between teaching and learning; between giving instruction and taking over the task. And it takes a nimble soul to figure out when to let someone falter or fail. A student sent an email recently to make … Continue reading

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Science Censored

Imagine you could cure a disease but the government refused to allow you to study the data. That’s what happened at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) according to the latest issue of Scientific American. The CDC … Continue reading

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Bullet in the Chamber

Some poor sod is having a bad PR day. Turns out Nike’s advertising campaign featuring Oscar Pistorius likens the athlete to a bullet in the chamber. Problem is Pistorius has been accused of releasing four real bullets from the chamber … Continue reading

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Girls Don’t Need Science

Guilty. The provocative headline is intended to draw you into my blog because, yes, girls do need science. I’m guilty of a fib.

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Nit-picking Scientific American

Excited to crack open my first issue of Scientific American. My colleagues in the science writing and science information fields have recommended the magazine to me. So, after receiving a bonus from the web-based superstore Amazon, I traded points for … Continue reading

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Zen of Science

In class we talk about bias. I’ve spent more time talking about bias in classrooms than I did as a full-time writer and editor. As a working journalist, we never talked about bias—we just did our job of reporting. Fairly. … Continue reading

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Grasping the Exotic

A friend once accused academics like me, who, aloft from our ivory towers, offer up criticism without solving problems. Point taken. Vocabulary used in academic writing is annoying, a nod to a coterie of snobs speaking a private language. Readings … Continue reading

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Scientific Innovation? Who Says?

While flipping though the latest Smithsonian magazine I paused at the following statement: “It is no exaggeration to say that America was founded on innovation.” Having spent November steeped in American Indian ways-of-knowing (I pledged to write each day about … Continue reading

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