Tales of Nonscience

now.

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 23:24:00 -0500

Yesterday, as I was sitting in a restaurant eating lunch, I heard a huge bang. I looked over to my left, and there he was – the elderly shop owner – sitting on the floor. Someone had spilled a little water, he slipped, and down he went. After a few seconds of collective panic, we were informed that he just twisted his ankle, and was, for the most part, fine. Because it created such a commotion, we started talking to the table next to us, and the woman sitting at that table posed a hypothetical question: “Isn’t it strange how life just… happens?”

She was right. As we move forward in time, calmness can turn into tragedy in less than a second. Earthquakes, car crashes, rogue waves, storms, floods, falls. There are times when we just can’t escape the things that are beyond our control. The tragedy at Sandy Hook was NOT beyond our control.

Our system has failed us. For too long, advocates of gun “freedom” have been citing their “right to bear arms,” and anything that interferes with this notion is unconstitutional. But, when our forefathers drafted the Bill of Rights, it was in the context of bayonets and Smith and muskets, not semi-automatic weapons suitable for the front lines. There comes a point when your “right” to own a gun should be trumped by my right to NOT have my kids or teacher husband get murdered for going to school. NOW is the time to implement stricter gun legislation. Now is the time to say to ourselves “let’s not let next time be in our schools, our malls, our movie theaters, our public spaces.” Let’s not let the next victims be our kids, our friends, our mothers our brothers, fathers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, coworkers.

NOW is the time to act, but no matter how hard we work for now, now can NEVER replace yesterday. Let’s take one single step together. Let’s go beyond shaking our heads and updating a Facebook status. Let’s harness this grief, fear, anger, despair, guilt, confusion… and do something. It doesn’t have to by much – a community vigil, a prayer with friends, an unofficial gathering at your school or workplace. That one tiny step, when taken together, can lead to something bigger and better.

Let’s come together and make change happen, for without change, we keep exposing ourselves to more of the same.

Seeing double was never so scary!! (Taken with Instagram)

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:40:07 -0400

Seeing double was never so scary!! (Taken with Instagram)

Oh scientists and their sense of humor… (Taken with...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:03:58 -0400

Oh scientists and their sense of humor… (Taken with Instagram)

“A new tower rises above the skyline.” #DNC2012...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:46:05 -0400

“A new tower rises above the skyline.” #DNC2012 (Taken with Instagram)

Live long and prosper. (Taken with Instagram)

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:04:14 -0400

Live long and prosper. (Taken with Instagram)

From the archives: #sunset under #highline park. #nyc (Taken...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:09:51 -0400

From the archives: #sunset under #highline park. #nyc (Taken with Instagram)

Her majesty. (Taken with Instagram)

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:21:56 -0400

Her majesty. (Taken with Instagram)

jtotheizzoe: Girls in STEM It’s not a secret that women (and...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:35:30 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

Girls in STEM

It’s not a secret that women (and pretty much any minority group) have uphill battle after uphill battle facing them when it comes to succeeding in math, science and engineering fields. Some of these are explicit (like the tilted playing field of the tenure system, which could take 100 years to level out), and some are more obscured (like the quiet social pressures that push them away from science). But what is clear is that it does not have to be the case.

I was really struck by this infographic’s ability to capture how quickly and precipitously women drop out of many fields of science once social pressures begin to take over.

I hope that projects like ScienceCheerleader, IAmScience, DoubleXScience and This Is What A Scientist Looks Like (<- bonus points if you can find me on that one) can continue to make this image a relic of the past and not a picture of the future.

(ᔥ EngineeringDegree.net, click here for enlargification)

love this #TIWASLL

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:51:31 -0500

lookslikescience:

Ricky Corder, M.S. Entomology

Photo by http://sarahbentham.com

One of my pics is up on Treeporn. treeporn: Trees along my...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:29:24 -0500

One of my pics is up on Treeporn.

treeporn:

Trees along my walk. Submitted by Jeanne.

A great new site, and a wonderful initiative! Here is my...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:53:54 -0500

A great new site, and a wonderful initiative! Here is my submission…

lookslikescience:

I’m a scientist, and my kid has temper tantrums.

-Jeanne Garbarino, PhD

@jeannegarb, Double X Science, The Mother Geek

Momday: On Parenting, science, and trust

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:57:26 -0500

Momday: On Parenting, science, and trust

After messing around with some camera settings, I managed to...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:57:02 -0500

After messing around with some camera settings, I managed to take my very first picture of the moon. In full.

nownyc-notcool: Women, the root of all men’s problems. At...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:50:30 -0500

nownyc-notcool:

Women, the root of all men’s problems. At least, according to Carlton beer.

This is pretty awful.

The Story Collider, Fertilization, and Pregnancy Tests

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:53:20 -0500

The Story Collider, Fertilization, and Pregnancy Tests:

Last week, I had the absolutely wonderful opportunity to tell a story at The Story Collider, which is a venue for people to tell a tale about how science has touched their lives. My story,…

My Story Collider

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:56:11 -0500

My Story Collider:

In which I tell a story about taking a pregnancy test, giving birth, and perspective.

This holiday season, give the gift of health

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:47:47 -0500

This holiday season, give the gift of health:

I recently had the opportunity to tour a GlaxoSmithKline vaccine packaging facility in Marietta, PA with a group of other women. I was the only scientist in the group and the others, which…

The sting of rejection was much worse as a fourth grader

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:38:09 -0500

The sting of rejection was much worse as a fourth grader:

My Bronx grade school was pretty small and extremely underfunded. It was only through the generosity of a few neighborhood folk that we even had any extracurricular activities, which, for the girls…

Fertilization is another way to come together during sex

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:26:12 -0500

Fertilization is another way to come together during sex:

Part of my Pregnancy 101 series on Double X Science (doublexscience.blogspot.com)

Essential Tools for Scientists: blogging

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:18:52 -0500

Essential Tools for Scientists: blogging:

esstoosci:

Jeanne Garbarino recently discussed her observations about the science blogosphere (her Prezi about it, her post about it).

Her first point was that there is science communication directed to scientists, which takes the form of journal articles (e.g., PLoS ONE), conferences…