Skeptigator
mightymjolnir
neuralgourmet
andyscathouse
dystressed
theodoersing
Andy Welfle
Chemistry- Peroidic Table 2.0 with helpful videos
Posted by andyscathouse on July 15, 2008
I want to point out a cool new interactive periodic table that Richard Dawkin’s website featured! Do you remember the image of the perodic table from high school chemistry class? I barley remember they are organized by the number of electrons and carbon is the #$@. I get a little flustered when reading scientific papers that mention the elements and this will help me enormously. We need more scientists doing things like this! Kudos!
Learning is easier now for those who really want it with websites like this and others such as EOL, Google Earth/Sky, and the World Wide Telescope. I hope The University of Nottingham team will explain radio active decay of Carbon 14, potassium argon, uranium into lead to help us deal with the ignorance of young earth creationists.
This is the video for Hydrogen!
OK- this is a very, very, minor point and I hesitate to bring it up. I will because you freethinkers are smart and have great senses of humor. I know that the image of the scientist Martyn Poliakof fits the stereotype of what a crazy mad scientist looks like. I don’t expect or want all scientists to be lipstick scientists or be as charismatic as Neil deGrasse Tyson, but could we lose the pocket protectors and striped shirts with ties that don’t match? That is some crazy hair! I know Einstein had some crazy hair, too. What is left of my hair is hard to manage, so I sympathize. I applaud the effort and share their enthusiasm and goals, but I think someone who is already attracted to the science will love this, but if they are trying to get to the semi-interested lay person, that image isn’t helping. If he was working on major scientific lab work or even higher education his work speaks for itself, but he has stepped into the main stream public, which I love and it is very much needed. A simple change of shirt and hair cut would help. Am I wrong? Am I jerk for mentioning this? Scientists have a PR problem when framing science and I am offering some minor constructive criticism. I am surprised no one brought this up on Dawkin’s site. Again, I do really like the website and everyone should bookmark it.
July 15, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Cool idea. I love stuff like this that manages to squeeze real information into a compact, entertaining format. As for whether you’re being a jerk or not, no I don’t think you’re being a jerk but neither do I think his personal appearance matters much less his wardrobe. I mean, look, he’s wearing clean clothes, he looks tidy even though his hair is wild, and he speaks with great clarity. Who cares if his tie matches?
I think the whole framing thing is so much hot air, at least as Nisbet and Mooney put it. I’ve yet to see anything from the framing advocates that doesn’t amount to anything more than tailoring your message to fit your audience.
The whole “scientists have a PR problem” is just so much bunk in my book. If anything, the PR flacks get in the way and obfuscate, distort and sometimes even fabricate information when writing about experimental studies (pretty much par for the course when it comes to journalistic coverage of science). And the face that journalists and others tend to write about science so badly is often reason for scientists to want to not talk about their work in public. Far better is what scientists like the two in this video are doing, which is talking directly to the public. In short, I think the “PR problem” is nothing but a straw man.
July 15, 2008 at 8:48 pm
[...] like this that manages to squeeze real information into a compact, entertaining format. H/T to Andy. #Sir Clive Sinclair interviewBBC Radio 4 has an absolutely delightful interview with British [...]
July 16, 2008 at 2:09 am
I love this kinda stuff too!
I usually attribute the unkempt, unmanaged appearances of many professionals (in most all fields) to a general unconcern or caring about image and the labor of critiquing tastes.
Such things are a monumental waste of precious time that a voracious and ingenious appetite of the mind has little time with which to bother.
Or perhaps they are making a statement of personal taste (or the lack thereof). Maybe they just don’t have a clue they look bad or abnormal.
Either way, I think dress is of little concern in most situations. Admittedly, physical first impressions have to be consciously washed away because of our instinctual nature to stereotype and label based on physical appearances. Obviously, we all have not come to understand this.
July 16, 2008 at 2:10 am
Oh, for Pete’s sake, the Periodic Table of Elements is just a THEORY. Even worse, it’s an ever-changing theory.
http://www.re-discovery.org/per_table.gif
As such, how can it be trusted to reveal any truth? If you want Truth, start by reading Genesis. You won’t need to read anything else.
P.S. Cool site. Also, I’m not bothered by the scientist’s appearance, as long as it’s genuine. If he was dressed up to look like a typical mad scientist, then I might complain.
July 16, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Anon,
I knew someone would post that re-discover chart. It is still funny!!!
Neuralgourmet,
OK Perhaps the phrase “PR problem for scientists” was the wrong choice of words to use. I should have said there is a problem with this country’s scientific literacy, and I something should be done to help scientist’s counter this. I do not want to turn science into the circus or a popularity contest. Imagine yourself as a 7 year old kid and watching these videos. What is the implicit message? They feature someone who looks like they are “out of touch” with reality. We all know that is not true and he is probably more in touch with it than ourselves. It was just a minor point and no science does not need to become Hollywood. I think websites like this are part of the solution but how did someone filming this not make the suggestion to change shirts or leave the tie off? I could be wrong and maybe it is ourselves (and myself) that should change but that won’t happen if folks “change the dial” for secondary and non-important reasons. I think scientists need to go to the people and this is a start funky hair and all.
July 16, 2008 at 11:16 pm
That chart is awesome, I’ve never seen it before. Hilarious.