CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-21 03:35:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

If a mathematician wants to cross a road, they will think carefully about their optimal path. The total distance of the path should be minimised, but they prefer walking on the sidewalk to the road

2013-05-18 23:50:14 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 17 +1s)

Children Shouldn't Become Experts in Things Like That

Very powerful.  And, again, we could do better to help children and families.

http://www.upworthy.com/his-dad-beat-his-mom-he-tried-to-stop-him-but-he-was-only-5-so-hes-speaking-out-now-6

2013-05-16 03:52:45 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

As my early-morning class was working – peacefully and productively, for the most part – on their Minor Assessment products, the phone rang with a call from Mr. Z, the Computer Lab Facilitator.  He was trying to help Ms. D follow the steps to "solve" the WiFi issue, and the steps weren't working as they should.  After a few moments on the phone, we discovered the issue and got Ms. D – and her laptop – successfully reconnected to the Internet.  Why?  Because, among the three of us, we were able to tinker and problem-solve enough to figure out the One Critical Step that someone (someone really, really busy and overwhelmed with angry phone calls from 80-some schools and several thousand employees) had, quite understandably, left out.

But confronted with that Missing Step, so many of my students feel helpless.  Helpless, hopeless, frustrated, lost ... because "itshould just ... more »

2013-05-14 03:52:15 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Childhood Poverty

Reading this made me think of a recent discussion with some students about risk and resiliency. 

Health problems, stress, instability, lack of opportunities and resources.

We could do better.  

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/poverty-as-a-childhood-disease/

2013-05-13 16:06:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Mother's Day isn't over yet! Come read about attachment, monkeys, our need to be cuddled, and why Mom's love and support is so very, very important.

2013-05-12 15:09:58 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

It's the thought that counts. Allegedly.

Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12 13:21:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Roses are Red, Blood Cells Blue

❤ The heart is a symbol of love, and on this Mother's Day, let's consider the cardiovascular changes in a pregnant mother. As the sole provider of nourishment to the baby, the mother's cardiac output (blood volume) increases by 50% during pregnancy...that's an extra liter and half. Her heart will enlarge and beat faster, by about 15 beats/min. The growing fetus pushes her heart upwards and to the left. She will need more red blood cells to carry extra oxygen, although the increased numbers do not keep up with the blood volume. The higher requirement for iron and the dilution of red cells in blood can make mama-to-be tired and anemic.

❤ A pregnant woman is hypercoagulable: more likely to form clots. This is thought to be an evolutionary precaution against hemorrhaging after delivery, but it puts the motherat ... more »

2013-05-11 16:54:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

And since I forgot the #shakespeareanlolcat yesterday, I have two of them today as a result (appropriately enough for #Caturday of course) - here is the first one. The quote is from Hamlet: An eye like Mars, to threaten or command. That would be Mars, the Roman god of war; it comes from Hamlet's description of his father:

See what a grace was seated on this brow;
Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself;
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command;
A station like the herald Mercury 
New lighted on a heaven-kissing hill:
A combination and a form indeed
Where every god did seem to set his seal
To give the world assurance of a man.
This was your husband.

Details at the Proverb Lab: http://goproverbs.blogspot.com/2013/05/shakespeare-like-mars.html

2013-05-10 17:10:21 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

David Sedaris's Thoughts on Correlations and Associations

Though I harbor a decade-long nerd crush on Stephen Colbert and an acute nerd crush on Apollo Robbins, I agree with my grad school buddy Tara that if Sedaris and Stewart ever took their show on the road together, I'd be a groupie.

"Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" author David Sedaris explaining some of his ideas, theories, and general statistics with Jon Stewart.  This is truly hilarious social psychology at its finest:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-9-2013/david-Sedaris

Hope you enjoy this Friday Funny :-)

2013-05-10 00:39:49 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

To knock or not to knock? That is the question
via - http://psychcomedy.com/

2013-05-07 22:33:43 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

I Will Survive

Did you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive

So goes the classic song sung by Gloria Gaynor and written by Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars.

And so think resilient people studied by developmental psychologists like Dr. Anne Masten at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development. 

I was just talking about risk factors and protective factors in my class yesterday (eh hem.  students pay attention now!)  In the face of adversity (like poverty or homelessness), some children end up doing better than "expected," and they are labeled resilient. 

Why does this happen?  The children have some sort of protective factor that buffers the effect.  This protective factor can be a characteristic of the child (like high IQ or a special talent) or it canbe so... more »

2013-05-06 18:08:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

How Do We Operationalize "Famous?"

Recently, some family that's way cooler than I am visited for my son's birthday.  During the visit, we engaged in a conversation about famous actors and singers.  Now I know I'm a nerd, but there were a number of people on their list that I had never heard of. 

And then came the discussion of "what ever happened to [insert name of yet another person I had never heard of]?"

You know...the reality TV stars and the one-hit wonders and the researchers who allegedly "cured" something...?

http://www.improbable.com/2013/05/05/very-famous-people-are-famous-for-more-than-15-minutes/ 

2013-05-05 13:58:08 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Sean Kenney is a Lego master who brought his work to the Lauritzen Gardens.  500,000 Lego bricks, 27 sculptures.  Just gorgeous work.  A few live plants and koi thrown in for good measure.  For more information about the artist, check out http://www.seankenney.com/

2013-05-02 20:07:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is May?

Work crews try to keep ahead of an early May blizzard.

© 2013 Gordon A. Runkle

#ffs   #fml   #minnesota  

2013-05-01 23:01:56 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 4 +1s)

Cheerful Pareidolia

It's nice to know there are so many happy inanimate objects around me.

http://mashable.com/2013/05/01/happy-faces-pareidolia/

2013-05-01 17:54:51 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

NSF award winning video showing voyage of music inside ear

2013-04-30 00:41:40 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

A Lady Beetle Balloon

Another balloon creation in honor of Chris Mallory's birthday.  Unlike the spider, this one is really easy to make. 

Take a red 260 and inflate it a little more than a hand. 
Tie and create a small pinch twist (the head)
Make four one-inch bubbles, taking care to give them each an extra twist.
Attach the last twist of the fourth one-inch bubble to the head and lock in place with a twist (It should form a circle of balloon bubbles)
Tuck the 2-3 inch bubble that remains into the circle (gently pull it through)

there will be a tail of uninflated balloon that you can use to attach it to a stick, a plant, a kid's wrist, etc.

Decorate with a marker.  This one has 7 spots and looks a little grumpy.

#happybugsdaychrismallory  
 

2013-04-29 13:08:16 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Late for Spider Sunday

but right on time to wish +Chris Mallory  a very  #happybugsdaychrismallory   or, as some would say #happybugsdaychrismalloryallupinyogrill  

All the best to you, Chris. 

2013-04-26 22:59:41 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

How Babies Learn to Be Human

Every parent has the formidable task of civilizing his or her kids.  A colleague posted this on another social network, and it's an interesting read:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/how_babies_work.html
 

2013-04-25 23:39:57 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"Tuna Melt" by A-Trak is one of the most elaborate Rube Goldberg videos we've ever seen. Purists may notice a few edits, but the overall effect is still amazing.

What do you think of "Tuna Melt?" http://on.mash.to/Zlz4vt

2013-04-25 03:03:06 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

2013-04-24 22:39:38 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Black Coffee Please

Any sweetness or dairy is added by the donut or pastry I get on the side.

And I'll drink to the way the Oatmeal nails the idea of what a perfect cup of coffee really is in this guest post created for a coffee blogger:

http://en.ilovecoffee.jp/posts/view/71

2013-04-24 00:38:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Is Facebook (or some other social media) Good or Bad?

Some form of this "question" was brought up not only in a recent class discussion in one of my classes, but also in a discussion that happened during a class I observed.

It seems like people have strong opinions on the matter. 

http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/03/is-the-internet-goodbad-for-you-and-other-dumb-questions.php

Now this question/ comment did not come up in the research methods class that I teach, but if it did , I would have talked a bit about how scientists operationalize and define questions.

2013-04-21 23:05:14 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

A Crappy Pictures Just for the Sunday Crowd

My son (who has an autism spectrum disorder) is learning in his social skills class how to logically explain his position on a topic.  He's not quite there yet, but this blog entry reminds me of his progress. 

http://crappypictures.com/mama-i-want-a-rat/

Bonus (and I won't ruin the punchline for you) is the pet that the mom who writes this blog ends up with.



















(spoiler alert)





Happy Spider Sunday

2013-04-19 02:14:11 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Grading Papers

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1576

2013-04-19 01:31:08 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

'Étonne moi!' Diaghilev once challenged Cocteau. +Helen Pearson explains why that's a great mantra for science writing.

2013-04-18 19:21:49 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

2013-04-18 00:54:51 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 8 +1s)

Before continuing with the day's science news, I just wanted to share this. An eighth grader in New York, annoyed with the perpetual flux of exceptionally stupid but legally-mandated standardized tests, composed a test of her own. I rather like this one.

Standardized testing, as it stands, is a perfect example of looking for your keys under a lamppost. You want to measure whether teachers and schools are being effective, so that you can reward and repeat successes, so you need to evaluate; but evaluating something useful is hard, so you evaluate something easy instead. The result is more than just a waste of everyone's time: it's a readjustment of the entire school system to be good at these tests, even when being good at them is directly at odds with teaching.

If you want to make testing useful, there are two simple (but not easy) things you need to do.

(1)... more »

2013-04-16 23:55:58 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

Humanity Rising

2013-04-16 20:34:31 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I saw this ad by Dove today and it reminded me of this piece I wrote some time ago. I like to read it every once in a while to remind me to be kind to myself.

------------------------------------------------------

The Words Inside My Head

I find myself writing little of actual content lately. My mind stretching before me like a huge blank canvas. I used to write. I used to write words worth reading. Some funny, some sad. I'd sprinkle them about liberally, a glittering array of sparkly gems.

They were shiny, my words, and I had a pocket full of them.

My hands slip idly into my pockets but find them empty. I shake my head, confused. Now where could I have left them?

Did you ever notice how we have words in our head? Words that are afraid of the light? Mean spirited little things we tell ourselves and then hide in the corners of our... more »

2013-04-16 13:52:09 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

As a college instructor, I wonder what the best social media distraction for students with laptops in a lecture is. 

That's a tough question, but I bet +Charlie Hoover will know.



#HappyBirthdayCharlieTheGeek  
#AskTheGeekQuestionOfTheDay  

#AskTheGeekAQuestionDay  

2013-04-16 00:51:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Resources for Parents

From the National Child Traumatic Stress Network: http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types/terrorism

I wish these resources did NOT have to exist, but in case you, your child or another parent or teacher needs them...

2013-04-16 00:29:33 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 6 +1s)

Instead of resharing photos of victims, let's reshare this:

• Red Cross Disaster Relief donations: https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId=prod10002 

• Red Cross blood donations: http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood

2013-04-15 00:25:19 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Planting Trees will Cause World Peace?

I am sitting in the tundra of Minnesota watching sleet and freezing rain fall.  Covering the ground is a blanket of snow from our recent freak three day April snowstorm. 

Minnesota winters get a little old, especially when they overstay their welcome into the spring.

Adding "weather" to the list of things I miss about Illinois.

I'm thinking fondly of the beautiful blossoms that will probably be forming on the apple tree I planted in the backyard when I lived in south-central Illinois.  In fact, I posted a picture of them last year around this time https://plus.google.com/u/0/110638249768709144876/posts/UYN681ELSNa

Anyway, a friend directed me to this wonderful article on how to reduce crime.  Apparently, planting trees will do the trick :h... more »

2013-04-12 19:19:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Importance of Face to Face Communication

Dr. Maria Sera, a researcher in the area of language development at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, talks about the educational impact of parent child communication:

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/21949411/research-talking-to-infants-gives-kids-an-educational-edge

2013-04-11 17:53:49 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Correlation ≠ causation -- some wonderful examples

I love this top-10 list of funny correlations. Examples like this help illsutrate the danger of drawing causal conclusions from correlational evidence. The silliness of these examples means nobody would likely infer anything causal. It seems to me that most examples of inappropriate causal inferences come from cases in which the cause is plausible and fits with pre-existing biases. No such biases for these :-).

2013-04-11 17:45:30 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Should Instructors Ban Laptops in the Classroom?

Some of the students in my teaching seminar have a policy in which they ban the use of laptops in their undergraduate classroom.  I haven't done that yet because I know a number of people who like to take notes that way, but...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512002254

2013-04-11 00:48:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

We <3 your brains! For the month of April, 100% of the Neurodiversity t-shirt v2.0 proceeds go to The Autistic Self Advocacy Network in honor of Autism Acceptance Month: http://j.mp/XD8XkC

2013-04-09 18:34:33 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

Oh, kudos to +Christina Talbott-Clark who found the extended version of this Tom Lehrer song where he does it ...... in Base 8.
"Base 8 is just like Base 10, really...if you're missing two fingers."

2013-04-08 16:50:03 (4 comments, 6 reshares, 10 +1s)

I admit it, I'm a #whovian  and a gardening geek and this Thyme Lord is awesome
#gardening   #doctorwho  

2013-04-08 00:52:06 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

The Physics of Singing in the Shower

Even the muppets living on Sesame Street knew that singing in the shower somehow makes your voice sound better (thought it's not clear that singing in the bird bath improved Big Bird's sound...). 

What causes the improvement in sound quality? Part of is it just the confidence you gain in singing when you assume nobody else is around to hear you, but a lot has to do with the physics of your shower.

The +Exploratorium  has a wonderful explanation here:  http://goo.gl/ZoES9

Briefly, the design of most showers has an impact on the volume, the reverb, and the bass content of your singing. 

From the +Exploratorium  site:

Volume 
Hard, smooth surfaces - like bathroom tile - absorb very little sound. Sounds reflect back and forth between the walls of the shower before dying away.By co... more »

2013-04-06 15:23:18 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Think Outside the Box

I love collecting stuff like this to show to my child development students. 

Remember those shape sorter puzzles we all had as kids?  This toddler's task is to put the shapes into the box. 

I guess no one suggested exactly how that should be done.   And so here a young child shows some rather creative problem-solving skills:

Toddler gives up trying to figure out which hole the shape fits in

and okay, perhaps she's thinking inside the box...

with a shout out to a former colleague who posted this (limited) on another social network.

2013-04-05 15:58:07 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Friday Funny:  They Blinded Us With Science Selfies

This just cracked me up.  For the science everyday crowd. 

http://www.jacksofscience.com/chemistry/awkward-science-stock-photography/


And with a shout out to +Kara Federmeier  who shared this on another social network.

2013-04-02 23:18:26 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

2013-04-02 22:54:44 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"Open a middle-school textbook or look on the wall of a science classroom. There it is. Written like the Ten Commandments of science – THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Too bad it’s mostly a lie. Yes. I’m going there."

2013-04-02 19:46:42 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

You feeling lucky PUNK, cuz i need a head start :)

2013-04-01 20:21:15 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

FABULOUS. See it over at Ancient World Online blog!
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-open-acces-journal-journal-of.html

2013-03-30 15:11:11 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

I'll Get You, My Pretty!

In folklore and fairy tales, there always seems to be one story in which children are warned to behave and listen to their elders or some evil creature will steal them away.

I have been seeing this here and in other social media, and those Grimm tales are what I think of Every. Time.

Beware the Easter Bunny, my children.  Don't eat too many peeps, chocolate eggs, jelly beans, nor colored and hard-boiled eggs.  Because if you do, it's not the zombies you need to fear...

http://www.happyplace.com/15235/the-creepiest-easter-bunny-photos-ever-taken/page/1

Happy Easter.  Beware the Bunny. 

2013-03-29 03:23:18 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

"It was definitely nacho average crime." It goes on and on from there, especially including the comments.

2013-03-28 20:19:36 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Look?  This is What I Think About That Issue...

and you should think so too!

Social norms help to civilize us by providing us with an understanding of the "right" way to act in a particular context.  We look around us and, quite simply, can see what other people are doing.

Many of my facebook friends changed their profile picture to a pink equal sign on a red background (bonus points to those whose also included a nerdy enhancement like Adama's "So say we all." or the ST one, but I digress).  In addition, some people also posted something related to marital equality.

This is a very nice applied psychology post on norms related regarding the (potential) effectiveness of those profile pictures:
 http... more »