Found on the Web

This cartoon is interesting because it seems to argue that the original study was flawed but a truely objective statistical analysis is independent of history it simply measures the current situation. There is a dangerous and somewhat shrill message of danger here for social scientists.

LINK TO CARTOON

How Things Have Changed

I came across a Flicker site that has scans of the pages from the 1962 Sears Christmas catalogue. It is interesting to read just for the fun of it (remember the inflation conversion is about one 1962 $ = ~ seven 2007 $).

Link to Flicker album of Sears catalogue scans

However, it was of course this page that caught my eye:

With this detail:You gotta love a chemistry set that allows you to work with "harmless radioactive" chemicals. Ah, the 1960's you had to live then to understand.

Gotta See This (New and Expanded)

Any student of physical science just gotta see this:

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/82-dangerous_science.html

There are a number of messages in the video, some I agree with and some I disagree with.

The whole idea that fear of litigation has gutted the "fun" from the typical chemistry set is, in my opinion, true. I agree that what we are left with is hardly the kind of self-taught chemistry that allows a young person to walk the teaching line between wonder and peril.

On the other hand, the video spends a lot of time with it's focus on a guerrilla science supply company that does not even follow the most rudimentary, let alone common sense, safety rules. That I do not agree with.

I got my first chemistry set back in the early 1970's over the objections of my mother and I was assigned a "lab space" under the basement steps. The chemistry set was pretty much like the set shown above but with about 35 chemicals in one ounce bottles (yes, children ounce or approximately 25.4 grams I was part of the transition generation from British to metric measure).

The line at the end is one that I have difficulty agreeing with as well. The point that science teachers need to be brave enough to teach. The law is just not in favour of the teacher when students get hurt. The point about the football team and injuries is one that Science teachers have made over the years but the reality is that society expects a certain acceptable number and kind of injury for sports teams but not science labs.

That said, I really liked this video and I am going to look through the site library for more.

Sheldon Gets It Right: Wikipedia

As I said, I like the cut of this guys jib ... at least this is a more academic topic and drives directly to the "research" that most students do for their papers.

Now, if only this last panel were true ...

Sheldon Gets It Right: Lord of the Rings

I have been reading Sheldon for a couple of years now and while it seems to be a "nerd niche" cartoon I really like the points that the artist Dave Kellet makes now and then.

Link to Cartoon

He recently took on "The Lord of the Rings"
(Click on the cartoon to see full size)

Now, I love "The Lord of the Rings" I read the entire cycle from "The Hobbit" through to the "Simarillion" every other year. If there is one character that makes my teeth ache more than Tom Bombadil it would have to be the generically smug elves.