Posts
May 15, 2013
+
12:09 PM | IQ is an artificial construct
For lack of time to write a post laying out my complete thoughts on Jason Richwine’s thesis on IQ and immigration (it’s the sort of topic where if you want to engage, you need to engage fully) and doubt whether I have anything new to add, I’ve been waiting for a media piece that would [...]The post IQ is an artificial construct appeared first on Evolving Economics.
+
11:09 AM | Salt it up, baby!
An article in yesterday’s Science Times explained that limiting the salt in your diet doesn’t actually improve health, and could in fact be bad for you. That’s a huge turn-around for a public health rule that has run very deep. How can this kind of thing happen? Well, first of all epidemiologists use crazy models to […]
May 14, 2013
+
I would like to hear people's opinions about advertised academic (i.e. non-industrial) postdoctoral positions. Isn't it a truism to say that most of the desirable postdoctoral employers do not advertise, yet still manage to fill their labs with armies of fellows?Aren't advertised academic positions basically saying, "We can't find anyone who wants to work for me unbidden?" Is there anything wrong with that? Assistant professors and such gotta start somewhere, right?So it might be good for the
[…]
+
3:22 PM | Wrong sample causes retraction
From Retraction Watch, a very interesting explanation from a Chinese group (Yang, UST-China, Hefei):We recently published a paper entitled “s-wave superconductivity in Ba-doped phenanthrene as revealed by specific-heat measurements.” The sample studied in that paper as Ba1.5-doped phenanthrene is now found to be La-doped phenanthrene. This error was caused by mislabeling the La-doped phenanthrene sample as Ba1.5-doped phenanthrene. During our experiment, we synthesized La- and Ba-doped
[…]
+
3:13 PM | Daily Pump Trap: 5/14/13 edition
Good morning! Between May 9 and May 13, there have been 59 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs website. Of these, 5 (8%) are academically connected and 28 (47%) were from Kelly Scientific Resources.This job is probably awesomer than yours: From NASA (Greenbelt, MD):The Astrochemistry Laboratory, in Greenbelt, Maryland, is seeking a research scientist to provide expertise in studies of trace materials in complex organic compounds of astrobiological and cosmochemical interest. You
[…]
+
2:49 PM | Ivory Filter Flask: 5/14/13 edition
Good morning! Between May 7 and May 13, there were 9 academic positions posted on C&EN Jobs. The numbers:Total number of ads: 9- Postdocs: 1- Tenure-track faculty: 5- Temporary faculty: 0- Lecturer positions: 2- Staff positions: 1- US/non-US: 7/2Cleveland, MS: Delta State University is hiring an assistant/associate professor of biochemistry. (Wasn't there some sort of vaguely famous restaurant in that town? I saw it on CBS Sunday Morning a while back.)Princess
[…]
+
I’ve discussed the broken business model that is the credit rating agency system in this country on a few occasions. It directly contributed to the opacity and fraud in the MBS market and to the ensuing financial crisis, for example. And in this post and then this one, I suggest that someone should start an […]
May 13, 2013
+
12:16 PM | The IQ barrier
There has been plenty of noise about the Heritage Foundation’s report on immigration reform, with most of that noise centered around the PhD thesis of one of the report’s co-authors, Jason Richwine (part 1 and part 2). In his thesis, Richwine proposed an IQ filter on immigration (dressed up as a skills test) to avoid [...]The post The IQ barrier appeared first on Evolving Economics.
+
Going along with the theme of shaming which I took up yesterday, there was a recent Wall Street Journal article called “When Your Boss Makes You Pay for Being Fat” about new ways employers are trying to “encourage healthy living”, or otherwise described, “save money on benefits”. From the article: Until recently, Michelin awarded workers […]
+
Also in this week's C&EN, Lisa Jarvis has a series of very interesting stories on rare diseases: their funding models, the regulatory hurdles and the families that have become advocates in Congress and in industry for their children. The story starts with a very affecting anecdote about some boys getting some medicine:The boys have Hunter syndrome, a rare and fatal genetic disease caused by a deficiency in an enzyme that breaks down sugar molecules. The missing enzyme is just one of more
[…]
+
6:10 AM | This week's C&EN
Lots of interesting random items in this week's C&EN:The survey of the top 50 chemical firms seems to indicate optimism from Wall Street, even though the fundamental numbers are sort of meh. (by Alex Tullo)There has got to be historical data for ocean pH, right? Professor Geraldine Richmond and Dr. Celeste Rohlfing talk work-life balance.Beth Halford writes about chemistry classes for non-majors; they sound fun, for sure.
May 12, 2013
+
U.S.-based industries and utilities that consume a lot of natural gas have been trying to figure out just how to respond to proposals in Congress to allow expanded natural gas exports, a move that could significantly raise the price of one of their chief inputs.But, there is one segment of U.S. industry that ought to be cheering for such an outcome--though I doubt that its leaders will be offering their support in anything above a whisper. The renewable energy industry would benefit from higher
[…]
+
11:27 AM | When is shaming appropriate?
As a fat person, I’ve dealt with a lot of public shaming in my life. I’ve gotten so used to it, I’m more an observer than a victim most of the time. That’s kind of cool because it allows me to think about it abstractly. I’ve come up with three dimensions for thinking about this […]
May 11, 2013
+
Aunt Pythia is yet again gratified to find a few new questions in her inbox this morning, but as usual, she’s running quite low. After reading and enjoying the column below, please consider making some fabricated, melodramatic dilemma up out of whole cloth, preferably combining sex with something nerdy (see below for example) and, more […]
May 10, 2013
+
1:56 PM | Sheets of aluminum foil
A list of small, useful things (links):I found this article on the health effects of chronic exposure to flavoring chemicals to be thought-provokingI learned a lot from this John Spevacek post on plastics recycling.Vittorio is definitely the best video maker in the chemblogosphere.Does America need a science laureate? If so, who? (I dunno, really.)Th'Gaussling has some tough news -- go and wish him well.Kenneth Hanson's series on getting a faculty position is pretty great.How do you hold
[…]
+
1:27 PM | A sad, puzzling #altchemjobs anecdote
From Sam Stein of The Huffington Post, an interesting anecdote in a story about young scientists and their issues with the current federal funding climate:One particularly jarring example of this brain drain, recounted by two independent sources, took place in the summer and fall of 2012. A young researcher in the Midwest with a Ph.D. in chemistry from a prominent state school had been left unemployed after the project on which she had worked didn't get a follow-up grant. Three months of
[…]
+
1:19 PM | Patrick Harran pleads not guilty on 4 felony counts, LADA adds one more count to previous 3
From C&EN's Michael Torrice, the latest from the #SheriSangji case:University of California, Los Angeles, chemistry professor Patrick Harran was arraigned today on four felony charges of violating the state labor code. A Los Angeles County judge entered a not guilty plea on Harran’s behalf for all four counts. The charges stem from the death of research assistant Sheharbano (Sheri) Sangji from injuries sustained in a 2008 fire in the professor’s lab. Another judge ruled last month
[…]
+
12:53 PM | A week of links
Links this week: Marshall Sahlins says goodbye to the NAS. A review of Jared Diamond’s The World Until Yesterday that is well worth reading (HT for these first two links: Andrew Badenoch) There’s been bit of a storm over the last few days over a report by the Heritage Foundation on the cost of unlawful [...]The post A week of links appeared first on Evolving Economics.
+
10:47 AM | Caroline Chen on the ABC Conjecture
I was recently interviewed by Caroline Chen, a graduate student at Columbia’s Journalism School, about the status of Mochizuki’s proof the the ABC Conjecture. I think she found me through my previous post on the subject. Anyway, her article just came out, and I like it and wanted to share it, even though I don’t […]
May 09, 2013
+
4:02 PM | So depressing
C&EN was advertising this auction for an old Rochester, NY photochemical plant's equipment earlier this week in its banner ads. It's not like they were long for this world, what with digital photography being what it is. But it's still sad to me, I dunno why.
+
Here's a hypothetical question that I get a lot, that I don't have an answer to:Hey, CJ: I'm a [insert here: junior undergraduate/new B.S. chemist/experienced Ph.D. chemist] and I'd like to get some of that sweet, sweet fracking cash and become a chemical engineer. How can I go back to school for this? Love, a readerI honestly have no idea, even though I know some people who have gone this route. It seems to me that most of it requires some remedial undergraduate level
[…]
+
3:27 PM | A very good point by Jyllian Kemsley
William Banholzer and a group of other high-level chemical corporation executives wrote a letter in this week's C&EN, where they really took academic chemical safety to task* ** -- and used an interesting metric to do it:The facts are unequivocal. Occupational Safety & Health Administration statistics demonstrate that researchers are 11 times more likely to get hurt in an academic lab than in an industrial lab. There have been serious accidents in academic labs in recent
[…]
+
1:54 PM | Daily Pump Trap: 5/9/13 edition
Good morning! Between May 7 and May 8, there were 21 new positions posted on the C&EN Jobs site. Of these, 4 (19%) are academically connected and 8 (38%) were from Kelly Scientific Resources.Toronto, Canada: This is a classic example, in my opinion, of the bogosity of some industrial postdoctoral positions. From Encycle Therapeutics:Post-Doctoral Scientist The position is centered in synthetic organic chemistry with an emphasis on peptide chemistry; research will be carried out on
[…]
+
Yesterday I wrote this short post about my concerns about the emerging field of e-discovery. As usual the comments were amazing and informative. By the end of the day yesterday I realized I needed to make a much more nuanced point here. Namely, I see a tacit choice being made, probably by judges or court-appointed […]
May 08, 2013
+
8:01 PM | This is what we're reduced to?
Via John Spevacek, a funny little note on the reddit "Jobs 4 Bitcoins" forum:I have a B.Sc. in Chemistry and am currently employed in the polymer/plastics additives field. I can help with homework, Analytical, and Organic Synthesis.Couldn't hurt to have a side gig in a side currency, I suppose.
+
4:56 PM | How other people see chemistry Ph.D.s
From the blog of Noah Smith, a graduate student in economics at the University of Michigan and a reasonably prominent economics blogger:Basically, I think of PhDs as mostly falling into one of three categories: 1. Lifestyle PhDs. These include math, literature and the humanities, theoretical physics, history, many social sciences, and the arts. These are PhDs you do because you really, really, really love just sitting and thinking about stuff. You work on you own interests, at your own
[…]
+
1:33 PM | E-discovery and the public interest
Today I want to bring up a few observations and concerns I have about the emergence of a new field in machine learning called e-discovery. It’s the algorithmic version of discovery, so I’ll start there. Discovery is part of the process in a lawsuit where relevant documents are selected, pored over, and then handed to [...]
+
12:24 PM | Cluelessness
Some of the reviews of Michael Chwe’s Jane Austen, Game Theorist suggest that it is worth a read (such as Diane Coyle ). One idea in the book that I like the sound of is “cluelessness”. From Jennifer Schuessler in the NYT: Most game theory, he noted, treats players as equally “rational” parties sitting across a [...]The post Cluelessness appeared first on Evolving Economics.
May 07, 2013
+
3:05 PM | How has the sequester affected you?
The director of the NIH, Francis Collins, has asked the question on Twitter:I want to hear; tell me how the #sequester is affecting your biomedical research right now. Use #NIHSequesterImpactSo I am curious -- how has the sequester affected you, readers? Click here to see how others are answering; lots of cancelled postdocs, affected science, etc.(I hope that you are not too much affected, but I am guessing that is not the case. Sorry.)
+
Well, it looks like See Arr Oh got results from Chemistry - A European Journal, with Retraction Watch covering the details. (Here's Derek Lowe's take.) This comment by D.G. Rossiter at RW is worthwhile:Having worked in Chinese academia, I can tell you that especially at the lower-level universities or institutes where the authors are pressured to produce papers, a common approach is to do your own research following exactly a published English-language paper (so, the data is yours but the
[…]
