Author Archives: kiwinerd

Essay 6 (posted a week early)

Posted on 2013/03/13 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, Here’s the statement of the Essay 6 question, given a week earlier than scheduled, to help you plan the final three weeks of your semester better. Essay 6: bullsh!t This final essay is worth 8% of your final … Continue reading →

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Reminder about question topics for Test

Posted on 2013/03/13 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, If you haven’t started studying for our 60-minute 15% Spring Test on March 20th, it is time to start right now. Don’t forget to condense your notes onto your 2-sided Aid Sheet. The Test questions will be divided … Continue reading →

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Spring Oral grade distribution

Posted on 2013/03/13 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, I will be emailing you your individual Spring Oral presentation grades in a few hours. In the meantime, here’s the class distribution: Cheers, Prof. P.

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No office hours Mar27

Posted on 2013/03/13 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, I’ll be flying down to Washington DC on March 27th (on short notice, for a 3-day business meeting) in the early evening.  Since it is an international flight, I will need to leave downtown right after our Week … Continue reading →

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Next week: scientific scandals

Posted on 2013/03/06 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, Next week is our ninth of the semester, and we will focus on scientific scandals. Most of the cases we will discuss happened when scientists went off the rails and committed ethical sins. But there is a significant … Continue reading →

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Spring Test: reminder and practice tests

Posted on 2013/03/06 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, This is just a reminder that the Spring Test will be held in two weeks — on Wednesday 20th March, in-class (in MP606) for one hour, starting at exactly 2:20pm and finishing at exactly 3:20pm. NO lateness excuses can be accepted. If you are … Continue reading →

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Illness-based grading delay

Posted on 2013/02/26 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, I had planned to clear my piles of grading over Reading Week. But on Monday I discovered an infection in my dominant eye, so I could hardly read for the whole week. Then on Saturday I came down … Continue reading →

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Essay file naming etiquette

Posted on 2013/02/16 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, May I make a suggestion for how you name the electronic files that you send me as your essays? Please do not just name your next email attachment “Essay6.pdf” because that does not tell me your name nor … Continue reading →

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Reading for Feb 27

Posted on 2013/02/13 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, Next time we will continue developing our ability to tell science apart from pseudoscience. We will discuss the material in Chapter 12 of Carl Sagan’s famous book “Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”. Please … Continue reading →

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Reading for Feb 13

Posted on 2013/02/11 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, This week we get to focus on recognizing pseudoscience for the first time. Woohoo! We will begin with a list of seven indicators of pseudoscience that was put together by a wonderfully cranky and incredibly smart older physicist … Continue reading →

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