New Zealand Mentioned – Seeing Ourselves in the News
Perhaps it is true of all small countries, but New Zealand loves finding the local angle on global news. Earthquake…
Wax On, Wax Off: Physics and the Hero’s Journey
With just a few strokes of chalk, we see that lightning and rainbows are drawn from the same well of knowledge. What’s delightful, from the teacher’s perspective, is that this last step is much simpler than the arduous journey it takes to get there, so the proverbial pot of gold turns out to be guarded by a surprisingly amiable dragon.
Finding Peters: A Trail In and Out of Science
It is sometimes said that a person is not truly dead until their name is forgotten. If this is true, that one perfect paper has won a thoughtful man a place among the immortals.
The shape of equations and the texture of maths
Working with them every day, equations become almost tactile. Some are as sharp as flints, others as edgeless as a beach pebble worn by waves and sand. In particular, the deepest relationships in nature are often expressed by equations which, at least typographically, are disarmingly smooth.
Follow the Money: The Science of Impact
There is a purely pragmatic issue with targeting the Marsden Fund at economic outcomes: it could hurt more than it helps.
Arm The Disruptors
Last week, Science Twitter was roiled by claims that “disruptive science” was on the wane. The Nature paper that kicked off this storm in our social media teacup is profusely illustrated with graphs and charts. The problem is that it could also be Exhibit A in a demonstration of how data science can generate buzz while remaining largely disconnected from reality.