Wow! Richard Feynman had a younger sister who also earned a PhD in Physics! Impressive! Cool! But, wow!, when she was young, her mom said to her “women’s brains can’t do science.” Good for Joan in being independent and dong science anyway! She also had to deal with sexist women teachers.
Read MoreTeach Historically, Teach Inductively
Teach historically. Students need to learn the logic, concept-formation, fallacy identification, induction (i.e., generalization), conceptual integration (i.e., making connections, or “theory building”), and thinking skills that only teaching historically (or in a related way) affords. In “Teaching Heat: the Rise and Fall of the Caloric Theory,” Dr. Michael Fowler (UVa), writes: In my experience, there […]
Read MoreFeynman On Science
“The job of a scientist is to listen carefully to nature, not to tell nature how to behave.” Dr. Richard Feynam, Nobel Prize winner in physics
Read MoreReasonRx Podcast Episode 25 Award-winning Teacher Scott Harris: What’s Wrong With Science Education and How To Fix It
In this episode, Scott, Melanie, and Michael provide and discuss evidence that science education is broken and in need of help, then discuss some ways to fix science education (and education in general). Also available on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Overcast, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Deezer, Spotify, and Castbox. And more. To support the show and […]
Read MoreComment on the Nature of Science
Measuring the Angle of the Sun Above the Horizon
Field Notes on Logic and Context 11-4-16
Field Notes on Word Problems 11-15-16
Be Aristotelian, Not Platonic
An idea key to science and successful life — and good education — happens from about 1:24 to 1:56, in this video excerpt from the 1996 movie Infinity, about the great physicist Richard Feynman. “You got to look at the bird. You got to listen to the bird. You got to try to understand what […]
Read MoreEtymology of “Second” (I.E., One-sixtieth of a Minute)
The interesting etymology of “minute” and “second.” I learned about “second” from Calculus Made Easy by Thompson. The word “second” came from the Latin “secunda pars minuta,” meaning “second diminished part.” ”one-sixtieth of a minute of degree,” also “sixtieth part of a minute of time,” late 14c. in geometry, from Old French seconde, from Medieval […]
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