Ponderfodder - science

Science videos

Zinger — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:20:47 -0400

Description:

ScienceHack is a video search engine for science videos.

Free science magazine

Zinger — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:14:17 -0500

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A number of free science resources, including a free subscription to

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MyExperiment

Zinger — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:05:38 -0500

Description:

myExperiment is a Virtual Research Environment which makes it easy for people to share experiments a

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A Short, But Delightful History of Nearly Everything

Zinger — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:05:38 -0400

A Short History of Nearly Everything

rating:
asin: 076790818X
binding: Paperback
list price: $16.95 USD
amazon price: $11.53 USD

Bill Bryson, a popular travel writer, in this book turns his attention to the history of how we (Homo Sapiens) and our planet came to be.

It is not, as you might suspect, a hard core science book. Rather it is a breezy layman's summary of what we know about Earth and our place on it. Those of us who regularly consume publications like New Scientist or Science magazine, or who have read more in depth popular science books may find the book too light, and a review of what they already know well.

However for those who want to know more about science and how we came to know what we think we do, the book is an excellent and light-hearted read. It would make a great introductory tome for young adults wanting to get a taste of science. It also does an excellent job of conveying the wonder and majesty of the universe - the vastness of space, the depth of the oceans, and so on. Perhaps most importantly, it stresses what we don't yetknow and understand, which is a great deal.

Royal Society Opens Archives

Zinger — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 15:08:41 -0400

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All the Royal Society's journals are free for two months including scientific classics going back to

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An Array Of Intriguing Questions

Zinger — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 19:16:16 -0400

Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Unsettling, Witty Answers to Questions You Never Thought You

author: New Scientist
rating:
asin: 0743297261
binding: Paperback
list price: $12.00 USD
amazon price: $9.60 USD

This is one of those books that's great to read during your morning commute or if you're going through a period in your life where you find yourself spending a lot of time in waiting rooms. It's a book you can pick up and put down again without losing your place in a plot or dropping the main theme of an argument.

The book consists of interesting questions posed (and answered) by readers of New Scientist magazine in their recurring "The Last Word" column. Examples include "How fat do you have to be to become bulletproof?" and "What would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared?" Some of the questions are serious; some are silly. However even the most inane queries can sometimes lead to intriguing answers, like the question about the interaction of Tia Maria (an alcoholic beverage) and cream, which resulted in a paper on fluid dynamics.

Nature magazine experimenting with the peer review process

Zinger — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 22:01:09 -0400

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Nature is currently conducting a trial of "open" peer review. See also

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Society for Amateur Scientists

Zinger — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 12:01:01 -0400

Description:

A society to help ordinary people with a passion for science to take part in scientific adventures o

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Lively, entertaining, thoughtful

Zinger — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 22:28:02 -0400

The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (Discworld)

author: Terry Pratchett
Ian Stewart
Jack Cohen
rating:
asin: 0091888050
binding: Paperback
list price: $8.70 USD
amazon price: $8.70 USD

This is the second in a trilogy of books by Pratchett, Stewart and Cohen. I'd link to the first, but it appears to be out of print in the US. (UK bookstores online probably still stock it; there is also Abebooks.com.)

Unlike other "the science of" books, these books do not attempt to paste scientific explanations onto an existing fantasy world (ie., how would Harry Potter's broom work in real life?). Instead, this series intersperses a short, standalone story by Pratchett with Stewart and Cohen's thoughts on science.

The original Science of Discworld centered around a story about the wizards of Discworld, wherein they accidentally witness the creation and evolution of our universe. Cohen & Stewart non-fiction discuss Big Science.

Within five years, observers believe, 90 percent of all of the world's scientists and engineers will live in Asia.

Zinger — Tue, 30 May 2006 21:15:04 -0400

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In writing his books on World War II, Winston Churchill entitled the first The Gathering Storm. It w

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Open Access and the Democratization of Science

Zinger — Thu, 04 May 2006 18:48:18 -0400

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Nick Anthis discusses the benefits of democritizing science.

Baroness Greenfield Asks: Is Technology Changing Our Brains?

Zinger — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:20:13 -0400

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Greenfield, a member of the UK's House of Lords, asked the government today if it's education polici

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