Category Archives: Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets

PopSci: “Comments can be bad for science”

Posted on September 24, 2013 by cicada

Popular Science just announced that they’re turning off reader comments on at least some science articles: It wasn’t a decision we made lightly. As the news arm of a 141-year-old science and technology magazine, we are as committed to fostering … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama, Science in culture & policy, Science Journalism, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

A Murmuration of Cheese Balls: when nature enters the Uncanny Valley

Posted on August 19, 2012 by cicada

Murmuration, in addition to being a perfectly lovely word, also captures one of the most wonderful phenomena one can encounter in nature. Behold, one of the loveliest viral videos of recent years: Did you get goosebumps? Thomas Jackson’s series “Emergent … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Neuroscience, Science, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets, Wonder Cabinets, Yikes! | Comments Off

A truly great comment policy

Posted on June 26, 2012 by cicada

I quit having comments long ago because I barely have time to post (as the timestamp on my last few posts demonstrates) much less weed out spam and deal with trolls. But if I did have a comment policy, I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Frivolity, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

Lunch Break: The Constructal Law

Posted on March 22, 2012 by cicada

I’ve been reading a book called Design in Nature, by Adrian Bejan and J. Peder Zane. It’s an extremely thought-provoking book and I haven’t fully decided what I want to say about it, so my review is still coming, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Books, Design, Education, Film, Video & Music, Science, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

taking choices back from technology: David Imus’ old-fashioned new map

Posted on January 21, 2012 by cicada

Slate recently had a story by Seth Stevenson on Oregon mapmaker David Imus, who spent thousands of hours painstakingly crafting a two-dimensional wall map of the US. While yet another schoolroom wall map might sound like a complete nonstory, Imus’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Education, Maps, Retrotechnology, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off