Academic Mixtape 22
not to insult other mixtapes I've put together, but boy howdy, this is a strong batch
It’s not your fault that academic life is getting harder.
Scientists sometimes have misperceptions about what how journalists see their role as sources/experts in their reporting. This is a great explainer about what to expect when being interviewed by a journalist.
Jared Diamond was wrong about Easter Island. Which is consistent with his track record. What’s interesting about this new scholarship is is the first (to me at least) piece of information showing evidence long-ago interactions between South American and Polynesian people. Which I don’t think is much of a surprise to academics but if I recall correctly, there was once a pretty strong academic opinion that this wasn’t a thing that happened. Of course, plate tectonics was also controversial not that long ago, as well.
What’s the role of playfulness or inspiration in creativity? I haven’t seen this documentary about Brian Eno yet but as a fan of his work, but this review has me looking forward to it.
In your absence, I have done the best I can. ← Harini Nargendra has a new blog/newsletter/whatever on Medium!
“So, what did I accomplish on sabbatical?” which got me thinking about how I might feel a 11 months from now when my sabbatical is over.
Does removing deadlines in college courses decrease or increase student anxiety? My take on this could be a whole chapter, but I think ultimately this comes down to the specifics of what works or doesn’t in your own classroom with your student population, your curriculum, your grading structure, policies, environment, etc. Just like in the science of ecology, the answer is often, “it depends” because you’re dealing with so many variables.
Some new stuff about the Voynich Manuscript. Multispectral imaging has revealed some notes by people who tried to decode it hundreds of years ago, and they have a pretty good idea who it was. No, no new information about the contents of the manuscript itself.
Here’s a whole blog about ungrading that has a lot of useful stuff in it.
Those colleges with “state” in their name
And I haven’t yet read Josh Eyler’s new book on how grades are harmful, but all I gotta say is: preach.
And here’s an interview with Josh about his new book.
By the way, you might have noticed in the past I’ve linked to The Atlantic a lot. That’s because I used to subscribe. I cancelled that, now I subscribe to the New Yorker, so there are more links to there. I’m very happy with this.
The current EIC of science often has spot-on editorials, and this latest one about teaching the philosophy of science is no exception.
“What happened when these STEM professionals switched to [K-12] teaching”
“Women have faces. Their faces have expressions. If that was upsetting to you during Tuesday’s debate, you might be dismayed to learn that deep beneath our expressive faces lie thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and other markers of human agency.”
Bethann Merkle wonders what it takes to stay engaged with her professional society and whether it’s worth it to stick it out, considering the expenses involved and the deep levels of institutional inertia that make it so hard to change culture. This is specifically about the Ecological Society of America but I think it might resonate more widely. The sister post to this is, “Are we addicted to trying to make academic better?” which I suspect also will resonate.
Steve Silberman died last week. He was a great person for a lot of reasons, and I think this obituary hints at those depths.
A nice article about Maria Sibylla Merian in the Guardian.
Are humans a part of nature or apart from nature? I think this short article is a good intro point into this question if you’re having students read about it in class.
How many proposals do you need to submit to the NIH to have a 90% probability of getting funded? 25. That’s correct, twenty five.
Have a good weekend, y’all.