why everyone must understand science

 (& a big ‘thank you!’ to Jean Fleming for showing me this on Facebook) This video featuring philosopher A.C. Grayling, on the BBC’s ‘Future’ page (which alas! did not give an embed code), is a must watch for those concerned with (& about) science literacy. Noting that many people feel excluded by science, he explains […]

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pretty jelly

I’ve got heaps on at work at the moment, but there’s always time to share a lovely picture 🙂 So here’s the stunning Australian spotted jellyfish, Phyllorhiza punctata. It’s native to Australian waters but has apparently become an invasive species elsewhere (eg in the Gulf of Mexico). And yes, I found it on FB: Photo: Mister […]

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perhaps the most inspiring graduation address i have ever heard

At the recent graduation ceremony for students from Waikato University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering (& those from its sister Faculty, Computing & Mathematical Sciences), we were privileged to hear an absolutely inspirational address from the recipient of an honorary Doctorate at that ceremony: Dr Gordon Stephenson. And I mean, inspirational! After the event I […]

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out of the mouths of students

We’ve been trialling some software for on-line paper/teaching appraisals & I got my results back the other day. The appraisal form included open-ended questions where students could give extended feedback on particular issues that concerned them, & I’ve been going through it all so that I can give feedback in my turn, thus ‘closing the […]

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selling services on-line

Yesterday’s Sunday Star-Times carried the headline: Chinese cheats rort NZ universities with fakes. The story begins: An investigation has uncovered a well-organised commercial cheating service for Chinese-speaking students in New Zealand. The long-standing business uses a network of tutors, some outside New Zealand, to write original assignments ordered by Chinese-speaking students attending New Zealand universities, […]

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see-through creatures

This is a 'glass frog' (image from National Geographic): It's one of a number of transparent or translucent creatures featured on the National Geographic's "Weird & Wild" blog. (Actually I take issue with the Monarch butterfly image there, as strictly speaking we're seeing a transparent pupal case; the butterfly inside is definitely not see-through.) Glass […]

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