Monthly Archives: August 2016

You Get The Teachers You’re Willing To Pay For

Posted on August 20, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Or not pay for, as is the case in the U.S. (boldface mine): You know what is a legitimately bizarre-to-the-point-of-being-funny choice for a political platform? “The job of teachers is too easy.” Yet this, in essence, has become a standard … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 1 Comment

Links 8/19/16

Posted on August 19, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: The FDA Wants To Make It Harder To Buy And Sell Poop Polio Returns to Nigeria for the First Time in Years High in their treetop nests, this biologist discovered the truth about eagles Snails Are … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 8/19/16

Omaha And Dirt Roads: The Unsustainability Of Suburban Infrastructure

Posted on August 19, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

I might have mentioned once or twice how the truly hard problem isn’t the urban housing cost crisis (there are way to fix this; we just don’t want to do it), but the fiscal unsustainability of the suburbs: While Paul … Continue reading →

Posted in Urban Planning | 1 Comment

Links 8/18/16

Posted on August 18, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Rare Arabian sand cat spotted by scientists after ten year search (IT THEN PROCEEDED TO KNOCK THE BREAKABLE THING OFF THE TABLE BECAUSE IT FUCKING COULD) Health officials say lack of Zika funding will stymie vaccine … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

At Long Last, The Dupont Circle Metro Station Nightmare Is Over

Posted on August 18, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Or maybe not: The chillers, which use water to help cool air pumped into the stations, stopped working last summer due to leaks in a 40-year-old pipe that feeds water into the system. Metro originally estimated it would repair those … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Transportation | 1 Comment

Student Test Scores And Understanding Your Data

Posted on August 18, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

One thing I’ve noted over the years is that, when it comes to teacher evaluation through student testing*, you have to understand the limitations of your data. Most scores, either percentiles or reported numeric scores, are non-linear, which means that … Continue reading →

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Links 8/17/16

Posted on August 17, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: The FDA just greenlit releasing mutant Zika-killing mosquitoes in Florida How should we deal with vaccine hesitancy, refusal, and antivaccine beliefs How to Beat Dengue and Zika: Add a Microbe to Mosquitoes Projected NRSA salary scale … Continue reading →

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Winter Olympics 2078: Nuuk?

Posted on August 17, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Future generations will most likely despise us for our unwillingness to do much about climate change (boldface mine): But preliminary results of an ongoing study published Friday in the journal Lancet warn that infrastructure and security issues could be dwarfed … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming | Comments Off on Winter Olympics 2078: Nuuk?

When Campbell’s Law Collides With Organ Donation

Posted on August 17, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

I’ve written before about the effect Campbell’s Law has on education in the U.S., but for those who don’t know what Campbell’s Law is, I’ll turn it over to sociologist Donald Campbell: The more any quantitative social indicator is used … Continue reading →

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Links 8/16/16

Posted on August 16, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: NEJM article doubles down on resistance to data sharing I’ve Spent More Than 300 Hours in the Deep-Sea Twilight Zone How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease Maya tomb uncovered holding body, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 8/16/16