Quickies
Skepchick Quickies 3.6
On March 6, 1857, the US Supreme Court made one of the worst rulings in history, known as the Dred Scott Decision. Basically, the court ruled that people of African descent were not US citizens and had no rights under the US Constitution, whether they were a slave or free.
- The Crime of His Childhood – A tragic story that is turned around to have a happy ending. You need to read this.
- Slide Show: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Through the Years – I love this.
- Nail Clipping in Space – This is both gross and fascinating. (And also gross.)
- Sharks at risk of extinction from overfishing, say scientists – Seriously? Just for some soup? Ugh.
- The Finkbeiner Test – How to talk about women scientists. From Bug.
- The Google Glass feature no one is talking about – What will be the experience of the people who have to deal with others who wear Google Glass? I’m already annoyed at people who text while I’m trying to have an in-person conversation with them, so I can’t imagine.
- Whoa! Stanford Student Solves Rubik’s Cube While Juggling – I can’t even take off the stickers and put them on the right sections that quickly!
- BONUS: Smithsonian Magazine’s 2012 Photo Contest. Which one is your favorite?
Um, those sharks usually aren’t dead when they’re thrown back into the water :(
No, but having their fin chopped off will eventually lead to death since they can’t swim properly.
I know! That makes it even more tragic and cruel :(
Dreadfully cruel,and a shocking waste as well.
I wonder also how much the shark population is being decimated to make shark cartilage pills for the west? (And I have to admit I don’t have time to read the article just now so I apologise if that’s addressed in the article).
In one of the comments to the Google Glass article, someone claims that people can be unjustly pilloried and their reputations savaged merely for innocently asking someone to join them for a cup of coffee in an elevator. Fortunately, someone named Indigo did a fantastic job of setting the record straight, It’s amazing how many people pontificate about this who have obviously never devoted the 20 seconds necessary to watch the original video. Argh!!!
The first story about the incredibly courageous 4 year old who grew up to be a physicist, musician and creative inventor (amongst many other accomplishments) is awesome.
And I could probably never pass the Finkbeiner Test writing about Vera Rubin because I would be forced to brag about being in the same Astronomy class as her daughter and how amazingly cool it was to have a friend whose parent had discovered most of the Universe. :-)
And Mary, having read “Packing for Mars”, how can you complain about the fingernail clippings? They pale in comparison. (BTW, Mary Roach has a new book coming out called “A Voyage Down the Alimentary Canal”, or something like that. Jes’ sayin’.)
Yes, true, fingernails aren’t the grossest part about space travel, but I wouldn’t want to be the astronaut in charge of vacuuming this guy’s air vents. “Dude, clip your fingernails on Tuesday so I don’t have to see them in the vent all week!”
What will be the experience of the people who have to deal with others who wear Google Glass?
I don’t know about everyone else, but my experience is going to be me saying ‘Take those fucking things off when you’re talking to me’ a lot.
Except as the article mentions, they will inevitably be integrated with prescription lenses. You’d be kind if a jerk to insist a sight-impaired person not wear their glasses.
I would ask that person to turn off their glasses then. I can’t stand having a “conversation” with someone who is paying half of their attention to a screen.
I agree with the sentiment behind the Finkbeiner test, but I disagree with two of the listed items, as they are sometimes appropriate:
Her husband’s job: Sometimes married couples are also a scientific team. Could you fully discuss Marie Sk?odowska-Curie without talking about Pierre?
How she nurtures her underlings: Underling nurture is good practice, whatever your gender. I do agree that this can be talked about in a sexist way, however.
I prefer the simpler alternative suggested in the article like an afterthought: would a given statement equally make sense in an article about a male scientist?