tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74371483173277686102024-03-19T00:49:21.388-07:00Liberal Arts ChemistryLiberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-59838841725863227692013-03-07T20:00:00.000-08:002013-03-07T20:00:58.470-08:00100<div>
So this is what the 100th post looks like. I started this blog so that I could participate in the chemblog culture that flourished back in the early days. I wanted to be anonymous for a number of reasons mostly having to do with my students. Anonymity on the web is of course a delusion (or illusion) as many of the anonymous chembloggers found out. If anything, the anonymity was a paper wall kept intact by an honour system more than anything else.<br /><br />I made the trek back to my alma mater today and came across my first research lab. </div>
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<br />It was 1982 and the departmental Synthetic Main Group research group had suffered a string of unfortunate explosions the most recent one had mangled the fingertips of the senior graduate student and they needed "a pair of hands" to continue the work. I was the undergraduate student with the highest marks in inorganic chemistry and was offered the job. They had a small lab filled with debris and my first job was to clean it out. That first day I was told to wash out a rack of dirty 1 liter flasks left by a post-doc. I remember one flask went into the sink of hot soapy water and started to hiss and I immediately ducked below the edge of the sink just before a resounding boom that brought the entire floor to the door. <br /><br />It turned out I had an aptitude for the work and six years later I would have my PhD.<br /><br />My PhD supervisor is in the process of shutting down. A lifetime of paper, equipment and chemicals must be processed, disposed, stored or given away. I thought I would be more nostalgic than I was even when I looked through the doorway of my old lab and saw back thirty years. I did not even take the chance to pick up a souvenir.<br /><br />I guess I am in a mood to let things go. Live well.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-988788292284115162013-03-05T05:25:00.000-08:002013-03-05T05:25:33.619-08:00How To Make Little ChemistsThe webartist Gavin Aung Than draws the remarkable illustrated quote website "<a href="http://zenpencils.com/">Zen Pencils</a>" and today's selection was a quote from Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/canadianspaceagency">link</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/02/26/chris-hadfield-photos-from-space_n_2768497.html#slide=2157665">link</a>)(who admittedly has a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/10/orbital_duet_astronaut_chris_hadfield_sings_a_duet_with_bare_naked_ladies.html">fawning geek and nerd fanbase</a> that has probably made him a little overexposed).<br />
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That said, Hadfield and the artist Than have combined to make a poster that should be in every classroom and beside every child's study desk (forget children, I'm putting it by my desk). When I first read it I was transported to the space under the basement stairs where the family let me set up my "lab" when I got my first chemistry set at the age of twelve. <br /><br />My parents were survivors of the Depression, both orphaned by circumstance and forced to leave school into lives of grinding servitude and so they did not really understand my motivation or obsession. But they encouraged me and glory of glories they left me alone to discover the wonder of the set piece labs "from the book" but also the "off the book" labs that mostly made bad smells and nasty mixtures. Once in a while, however, something would work and I would ask "I wonder what that was?" which was followed by "where would I go to find out?". Now I know and the journey has fed my family, mowed my lawn and paid my bills and for that I am grateful to a family that gave me space to learn.<br /><br />As I have said in the past "curiosity, nurtured by love, leads to the extraordinary"<br /><br />The full artwork is well worth your time to have a look (<a href="http://zenpencils.com/comic/106-chris-hadfield-an-astronauts-advice/">link to artwork</a>).<br />
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-65420599349148636492013-02-22T04:34:00.000-08:002013-02-22T04:34:43.298-08:00The Truth About Big Pharma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A normal Friday serving of brilliance from <a href="http://xkcd.com/1177/">XKCD</a></div>
Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-71707478640957069812013-02-19T09:48:00.000-08:002013-02-19T09:48:47.864-08:00So Why Exactly Do We Encourage Students to Study Chemistry?<a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2013/02/do-you-want-fries-with-that-bsc.html">I have posted on this before</a> but I stumbled across a <a href="http://dustinland.com/archives/archives566.html">Dustinland</a> comic that pretty much captured my message ... and my hope for the students I teach.
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-7483484754978583262013-02-18T11:07:00.000-08:002013-02-18T11:07:38.567-08:00Time for Chemistry to Get Religion<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>"</i></b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.</span><span style="font-size: 0.65em; font-style: italic;"><b><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-size: 0.65em; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24442A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup></b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> So he began teaching them many things</span><b><i>"</i></b> Mark 6:34<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Acts-8-30" id="en-NIV-27207"><b>“<i>Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.</i></b></span><b><i><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; vertical-align: top;"> </sup>“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me</i></b><i>?”</i> Acts 8: 30-31<br /><br />And then there is this on the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/16/tech/innovation/science-exploration/index.html?hpt=hp_c1">CNN Main Page</a> today:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2012/07/is-chemistry-actually-science.html">I have posted on this topic before from a different perspective</a> but </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/02/18/what_would_go_into_the_chemistry_museum_displays_anyway.php">In the Pipeline</a> raised the issue today by asking <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">If you had to build out the chemistry hallway at the museum, then, what would you fill it with? Suggestions welcome</span>"</span> and it has been taken up by others in the chemblogosphere (read comments). The issue seems to be that museum chemistry exhibits indicate that chemistry is seen as old and static</span>. If I understand the nature of the comments it would appear that museums would be forced to create exhibits that a) require consumables and maintenance and b) are dangerous and generate hazardous waste that would have to be dealt with in order to create chemistry museum exhibits that are memorable and chemical. Yes, that is it exactly chemistry is all about: explosions and toxic waste, why don't we just live up to the stereotypes?</div>
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<br />I think we all know that the very aspects of chemistry that drew us to it as a discipline are not museum friendly. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't try but we need to be grounded in real world practicality.</div>
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No, we in chemistry need to get religion. The kind of religion that permeates our lives and cause people to ask why we are different. The kind of religion where it is the responsibility to all of the members to be totally convinced that spreading the good news of chemistry is crucial to our development as a society. We need to be willing to adopt the attitude in the two bible passages above. To find teachable moments everywhere and be unfailingly positive in our message that chemistry unveils a separate and vital truth.</div>
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There was a time when it was actually like this and the example to us all was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday">Michael Faraday</a> and his public lectures. If we really think that the subtle truths of chemistry can be communicated by static posters then you have never been to an ACS poster session (cattle in a feedlot are treated better and have more space). If you think that making spectacular science "safe" by putting a layer of safety glass between the observer and the experiment is the way to go then history has been a poor teacher. To paraphrase Jurassic Park "entropy finds a way". No not safety glass, we need to be between the observer and experiment. We all need to be shepherds and explainers.</div>
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PS for the record if we are going to create chemical museum exhibits with consumables and maintenance details then one would have to consider the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment">Miller-Urey Experiment</a> as the most accessible "God Chemistry" for all it's flaws.</div>
Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-65430719246943427062013-02-11T05:38:00.000-08:002013-02-11T05:38:22.413-08:00Monday Musing: Reductionist and Incremental is not WinningI love the comic "Calvin and Hobbes" indeed, I was one of the collectors when the comic came out in its first run and I grieved when Watterson closed the comic down in one of the most classy ways that something as beloved as C&H could possibly be ended.<br />
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That said, the comic industry berift of new ideas continue the comic series as a zobie re-run, but Calvin and Hobbes re-runs are better than most new comics so I keep an eye on it. This was todays comic:<br />
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<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/02/10">LINK TO COMIC</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2bPDIr9OAgRIUaQrS7FV98HvvwKd2s_iOBJhXohpeMCncBwzESTAIqAxlZLqWkMNzuDJuAoPkT4EtRR3Qq6ppegX6cH3ej4GY42TnuxCmwK81i1FD7c_Dk_XxvqL5izGVTv-iF4E2Dt-/s1600/ch130210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2bPDIr9OAgRIUaQrS7FV98HvvwKd2s_iOBJhXohpeMCncBwzESTAIqAxlZLqWkMNzuDJuAoPkT4EtRR3Qq6ppegX6cH3ej4GY42TnuxCmwK81i1FD7c_Dk_XxvqL5izGVTv-iF4E2Dt-/s1600/ch130210.jpg" height="276" width="400" /> </a></div>
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And this is the relevant detail: </div>
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Our science is incremental and reductionist and our symbol is the mole.
That is kind of apt for the way society views us ... and dangerous. We have lost the hearts and minds of the population when chemical is synonymous with disaster. We need a cultural icon to replace Pauling, a popular science spokesman akin to Sagan and we need to have a dramatic, clearly chemical, Khunian revolution on the order of solving the Origin of Life. </div>
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And we need them now. </div>
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Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-65687558954730069222013-02-10T10:01:00.000-08:002013-02-10T10:01:52.557-08:00Of all the metals I would have guessed CeriumMust be fortified with meteorites.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/nSRjXfR.jpg">LINK TO ORIGINAL IMAGE</a></div>
Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-65117593682650828272013-02-08T10:36:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:36:24.702-08:00You Show Me Yours and I'll Show You MineIn keeping with my liberal arts and sciences tendencies I keep an eye on the "<a href="http://www.3quarksdaily.com/">3 Quarks Daily</a>" blog and <a href="http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2013/02/cartoonists-take-science-seriously.html">this post today</a> will probably consume my weekend. In the post a reference is made to a science posting by Alan Boyle of the MSNBC "<a href="http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/">Cosmic Log</a>" who in turn passes on this great little video by Henry Reich.<br />
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What is brilliant about this is the sharing of daily science feeds that people follow. I must admit that there are some links that appear in the video and the subsequent linkage chain (check the comments all the way through the links above) that I was unaware off and will now have to obsessively plumb for interest and teaching references.<br />
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It is always an astonishing thing to suddenly realize a) that you have been swimming in the kiddy end of the science internet pool and b) life is too short to allow a person to swim the in the deep end of the science internet pool and still do productive work. It is to my great shame that I will sit down after class to eat my lunch and catch up on the internet only to look up a couple of hours later and wonder how on earth I ended up on a webpage describing the recipes for the Napoleonic Army during its retreat from Russia.<br />
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I pretty much keep a distant eye on the internet with Google Reader (I know, I know but you pretty much have to dance with the girl you brought to the party unless you have the time to meet a whole new girl and learn new dance steps and who has time for that?). That said, I have thought for a while that the small amount of the internet that I do keep an eye on was consuming too much of my time and now this. To my eyes, as I look at the blog rolls, the chemical and science internet that I follow is pretty much a sub-set of what other people follow. I wonder if I were to do the desert island thing and only be allowed ten internet links to follow what I would select. Perhaps Snowmageddon will afford me some time for reflection. I have to hurry home before they close the roads. Stay safe people.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-70150751921763029032013-02-05T05:49:00.000-08:002013-02-05T06:26:23.024-08:00Do You Want Fries with that BSc?It would seem that the concerns on the <a href="http://chemjobber.blogspot.ca/2013/01/babs-graduates-having-hard-time.html">job market for chemists</a> and the <a href="http://www.contractpharma.com/issues/2007-01/view_lowe-down/the-lowe-down-med-chem-migration-/">migration of jobs</a> traditionally held by the comfortable technocrats that made up the bulk of the ACS is not discipline specific.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/130204.html">Today's Sheldon</a></div>
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I like Garrison Keillor and I like this response to his cutting remarks about unemployed graduates. Cognitive dissonance has always been the wayward child of delusion. <br />
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<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/02/05/essay-critiques-garrison-keillor-his-jokes-about-english-majors">Click to follow link to whole article</a></div>
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"<b><i>According to <a href="http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/whatsitworth-complete.pdf">one major study</a>
produced by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce, the median income for English majors with a bachelor’s but no
additional degree is $48,000. This figure is just slightly lower than
that for bachelor’s degree holders in biology ($50,000), and slightly
higher than for those in molecular biology or physiology (both $45,000).
It’s the same for students who received their bachelor’s in public
policy or criminology (both $48,000), slightly lower than for those who
received their bachelor’s in criminal justice and fire protection
($50,000) and slightly higher than for those who received it in
psychology ($45,000).</i></b>" <br />
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In the spirit of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricoeur">Ricoeur</a> I say:<br />
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In the light of all that I know I choose to believe that my discipline is not only a benefit to society and a salve to my curiosity but also a viable career path for the generation that will follow me. They will find a way and society will need us, keep calm and chemistry on.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-16798131395111254922013-01-21T08:54:00.000-08:002013-01-21T08:54:41.615-08:00Monday Meditation: A Voice Not ReplacedCarl Sagan has simply not been replaced by our scientific community. We continue to mine his words and thoughts which are quickly becoming dated for their scientific content and yet when he spoke about the meaning and purpose of science his words are timeless. <a href="http://zenpencils.com/">Zen Pencils</a> is a web comic of particularly good artwork coupled to selected quotes and the artist has chosen Carl Sagan again for his medication "<a href="http://zenpencils.com/comic/100-carl-sagan-pale-blue-dot/">A Pale Blue Dot</a>". The artist has also taken some pains to provide links to audio and video of the quote and previous artistic interpretations. It is all worthy of a Monday meditation.<br />
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I must note that the "Saints and Sinners" panel has only three scientists (that I see at least). I think that lets us off easy.
Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-59192721953257229142013-01-16T09:47:00.000-08:002013-01-16T09:47:49.470-08:00Personal Protective Equipment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2013/01/16">Link to comic</a></div>
<br />I am Canadian. My family moved from the US during the time of the American revolution and has farmed it's small patch of Canada for over 200 years. I grew up in a hunting family within a community steeped in a hunting culture where it was expected that if you killed something it was for food or money, trophies were for city people. It was all long guns though. For my 16th birthday I got my own 20 gauge shot gun and for my 18th birthday I got my own rifle. I have had any number of near accidents with guns handled by either the young (watch where you point a loaded gun!) or idiots (watch where you point a loaded gun you idiot!). Indeed, one of the great traumas to happen to my family was a hunting accident that resulted in a death.<br /><br />In an earlier lifetime I supervised a research group and when I wasn't writing papers I was writing grant applications. One of the grants that I was awarded was with a company in New Jersey that required me to travel down to the mothership once a year to justify my past funding and beg for more. It was altogether the most enjoyable part of the my career as a research academic. The company probably treated me like any other employee but to a tenure-track academic it seemed like I was handled like royalty.<br /><br />One year, by coincidence, I was attending a conference in Philadelphia which was very close to the mothership and I sent a message to my company handler that I was nearby and would be happy to give a preliminary update. The company was very pleased and my handler offered to drive to Philadelphia to meet me in person. The night before we met I had walked to a nearby restaurant and took a shortcut off the main streets that resulted in my coming in contact with some very aggressive street people. I would not say that I was mugged but my personal space was violated and my contributions seemed less than voluntary.<br /><br />Anyway, it was getting dark again when my company handler Louis showed and said that since the company was paying the bill why don't we grab a quick meal at a nearby restaurant? I said sure and we headed to the restaurant as the dark descended. I tried to keep Louis on the main streets but he headed straight down the darkened side street in a confident stroll. Same street people, completely different attitude, one guy asked "please?" and Louis gave him a fistful of pocket change like a nobleman passing out charity.<br /><br />When we got to the restaurant, I marveled at Louis's confident street smarts and the difference in the attitude of the street people. Louis smiled and revealed that his confidence was largely due to the fact that he was carrying three handguns, one in his armpit, one on the small of his back and one in an ankle holster. He noted to me that it was his opinion that the street people knew he was carrying as well. Later that night Louis gave me a lesson on how to tell American from Italian handguns by the way the trigger moved.<br /><br />I asked Louis if he wore guns to work and his eyes got a bit mysterious and the conversation moved on. I have to assume that large American chemical companies have a handgun in the workplace policy and that American universities must have a no handgun on campus policy but I am also surprised that handgun related incidents at research group meetings are not more common. Rage happens and access to handguns could not in anyway make dealing with a group member in a rage any easier.<br /><br />My American cousins remain in my prayers. Take care, make good decisions.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-55932341348790720982013-01-11T05:39:00.000-08:002013-01-11T05:39:17.317-08:00Group WorkThe reality of teaching a chemistry laboratory is that for reasons of economy and sound pedagogical principles, group work, in smaller and larger groups, is fairly common. Part of my job in assessing student work is often noting in my records if a student in a group is a leader, follower or floater. What I had not perceived was a probably sub-conscious selection process that distributed the "super students" among the groups with the weakest students in the hopes that their example would inspire. A false hope. Indeed, just this last semester I had a "super student" come to me and ask to work alone not in a group because "no matter what group you put me in my mark will be lower than if I worked alone". I explained the pedagogical theory and that it was a required component of the course that would be factored into her subjective evaluation. Honestly, she narrowed her eyes and in white-lipped fury told me that she thought I was being unreasonable. She was my first super-student-home-schooled-mark-lawyer. Why do I feel this is just the beginning of a new demographic? <br /><br />Just 16 years to retirement I am at my career Wednesday.
<br /><br />Anyway, <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/betty/">Betty</a> is a cool little comic that occasionally has some material relevent to education and last week the series was on group work. There is some truth here.<br />
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-17573793524823895732012-11-24T13:31:00.000-08:002012-11-24T13:31:25.924-08:00Sometimes the Students are the TeachersThere is not much to say about this other than to celebrate a life lived and a chemistry department willing to work with a student and a family to allow this to happen. [<a href="http://chem.ubc.ca/about/news/0011710/camille-gregorys-simple-wish-complete-bsc-chemistry">LINK</a>]. Godspeed.<br />
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-30640514943431544102012-11-22T07:44:00.002-08:002012-11-22T07:44:55.519-08:00Chem Way to DieOur discipline selects for over-achieving, pessimistic introverts so our natural inclination is to appreciate gallows humour. That is probably why I get such a kick out of this PSA from England that is making a hit on the internet.
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IJNR2EpS0jw" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />
I decided that I would offer an Extra Credit challenge for my students in lab courses to re-write this catchy little tune for chemistry in a "Chem way to Die". For full marks they have to upload a youtube video of them singing your stanza and the refrain. So for example:
<br /><br />"Light a candle in solvent stores.
<br />Use a bunsen burner to make smores.
<br />Over-nitrate toluene.
<br />Use an open flask to make a phosphine.<br /><br />
Refrain
<br />Chem way to die
<br />So many chem ways to die
<br />Chem way to die-ie-ie
<br />So many chem ways to die"
<br /><br />I understand that there will always be killjoy haters that will point out that one should not make fun of safety rules and that people have actually been hurt in these kinds of accidents. Well. haters have to hate ... I choose to laugh.
<br /><br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-18351091680505939122012-07-30T06:48:00.001-07:002012-07-30T06:57:23.245-07:00Keep Calm and Chemistry On<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today's <a href="http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2012-07-30/">Dilbert </a>made me think of <a href="http://pipeline.corante.com/">Derek Lowe</a> and <a href="http://chemjobber.blogspot.ca/">Chemjobber's</a> recent reflections on Big Pharma. Not funny, not funny at all. A salute from a quiet academic backwater to the chemical industry survivors out there in the industrial version of the "<i>The Perfect Storm</i>" (who have to decide if they are going to ride out the storm even if it means riding the boat to the bottom because their captain has gone Ahab). </div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><i><b>"Bad is never good until worse happens."</b></i> <br />Danish Proverb<br />
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OK, I take back everything that I said before. Chemistry has to be a "true" science because it is the only science that is instantly recognizable *as* science. Let's face it, most academic mathematicians and physicists can be mistaken for members of the custodial staff while biologists and geologists can be mistaken as hippie survivalists. If you want to convey the image of science with limited artistic time chemistry is where you go. For example in today's episode of the webcomic <a href="http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/the-flirtatious-flosser/">Bug</a> this panel shows up:</div>
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Lab coats, safety glasses, test tubes, e-flasks and phenanthrene are all most definitely icons of chemistry that are shorthand to popular culture for "Science". So there you have it, chemistry is not a science because it uniquely addresses a fundamental question of existence ... it is a science because our culture needs us. Huh.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-39930094935086089502012-07-19T07:08:00.000-07:002012-07-19T07:08:45.949-07:00Is Chemistry Actually A Science?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It turns out that if it weren't for people searching for chemistry cartoons, incest or posts about cleavage about half the visits to this blog would disappear. So I gotta say "Welcome!" to those of you that like cartoons and boobies, this little blog would have closed down long ago without you.<br />
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Anyway, one of the webcomics that I monitor is "<a href="http://amultiverse.com/2012/07/09/boson-buddies/">Scenes from the Multiverse</a>" for its science themed cartoons and the recent discovery of energy fluctuations that may be evidence of a trace from the Higg's boson showed up in the <a href="http://amultiverse.com/2012/07/09/boson-buddies/">webcomic</a>. It made me laugh and then I decided that it might be a nice little smirk to include in my atomic structure lecture for intro chem.<br />
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It would be a little addition that I could make when I introduce sub-atomic structure and the differences between fermions, bosons and those small irritating Mexican hairless dogs.<br />
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It did however get me to thinking about what defines a science as a discrete intellectual and philosophical entity.<br />
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It would appear that everyone is jumping on the "Science is a Continuum" / "Abolish the Departments" mentality but the one department that always seems to get "merged" is the chemistry department. Why is that? One could argue that this would be proof that Chemistry is indeed the Central Science. One could also argue that it is proof that Chemistry is in fact a Franken-science made from the margins and pieces of other true Sciences.<br /><br />Indeed, one chemblogger who has successfully "gone pro" is the author of "<a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2012/07/16/why-i-am-a-chemist/">The Curious Wavefunction</a>" who in <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2012/07/16/why-i-am-a-chemist/">his maiden post</a> on the Scientific American site addressed this issue. I would not want to put words in his mouth so will simply quote what he said:<br /><br />"<i><span style="color: black;">The overall aim is to point out the
central place that chemistry has in our world and to demonstrate that it
is very much the human science.</span></i>"<br /><br />This resonates nicely with the thesis of an introductory chemistry text, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-First-Edition-Peter-Mahaffy/dp/0176606254"><i>Chemistry: Human Activity, Chemical Reactivity</i></a>" (that I have used the past couple of years) by <a href="http://www.kingsu.ca/academic-departments/chemistry/peter-mahaffy.html">Peter Mahaffey</a> of Kings University College in Alberta, Canada. It is however, not one that I think fits the reality that we live in.<br /><br />For the most part, we are somewhat defined by the company that we keep and one could argue that Chemistry is the Industrial Science, Physics is the Military Science and Biology is the Human Science. If we want to promote our science we can emphasize what happens at our margins but it would seem most responsible to me to focus (if not obsess) about what we do that actually pays the bills, keeps the lights on and buys the kibble. And for Chemistry that would be our intimate, and at times, frightening link with Industry.<br /><br />But that still doesn't answer the question if Chemistry is a distinct or discrete science. As I thought about this I was reminded of a blog post by <a href="http://blog.chembark.com/2011/01/06/whitesides-deutch-on-whats-wrong-with-chemical-academia/">Chembark</a>. I would argue that what allows a science to be distinct from the other sciences is the nature of the "God Question" that the science can uniquely address and answer. Does the science have at its core, key principles that allow it to address or know things that only God would know? Does the Science allow us to answer the snake in the Garden by saying "We are not "like God" we are Gods"? <br /><br />Oppenheimer caught this when at Trinity he quoted from the Bhagavad-Gita <br /><br />"<i>Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds</i>".<br /><br />That, I think, would be an adequate philosophical place to start the discussion on whether or not Chemistry is a distinct science and as <a href="http://blog.chembark.com/2011/01/06/whitesides-deutch-on-whats-wrong-with-chemical-academia/">Chembark</a> indicates for Chemistry that would be the Origin of Life. Oddly enough, our philosophical distinctiveness rests in an obscure and neglected backwater of our science that we would apparently like to hand over to the Biologists and the half-breed Biochemists so they can get even more Chemistry Nobel prizes. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the Physicists have put their "God Question" at the forefront of their science and committed almost all their time and treasure to it. What will we learn from that?<br /><br />50 Days to First Lecture, gotta go do something small, derivative and publishable. Keep Calm and Chemistry On.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-42211882352445026492012-07-09T07:39:00.000-07:002012-07-09T07:39:30.568-07:00Selling With Chemistry: Dentyne Gum<div style="text-align: left;">
Well, it seems I am on a thing about updating previous posts. In previous posts <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2011/04/action-elements-periodic-table.html">here</a> and <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2008/12/science-sells-blue-rage-bullet.html">here</a> I had noticed the use of chemistry and the icons of chemistry to sell things. I observed that certain icons such as the periodic table, test tubes and Erlenmeyer flask have a high positive penetration in the minds of the general population.<br />
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So the advertizing companies are at it again with element symbols and the periodic table:</div>
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<b><u>List of Elements</u></b><br />
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<b>Fr</b> Friendly<br />
<b>Fd</b> Friendly<br />
<b>It</b> Intellectual<br />
<b>St</b> Stylish<br />
<b>Ri </b> Mr. Right<br />
<b>Rn</b> Mr. Right Now<br />
<b>Rb</b> Rebellious<br />
<b>Tr </b> Trouble<br />
<b>Be </b> Blue Eyes<br />
<b>Co</b> Confident<br />
<b>Wi</b> Wild<br />
<b>Ir</b> Irrisistible<br />
<b>Ht</b> Hottie<br /><br /><br />
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At the end there seems to be some semblance of a period table structure and it would appear that Wild and Hottie bear a group relationship but the structure is variable suggesting that they are in fact attempting to show molecular bonding interactions.<br />
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I also see that they have two symbols for Friendly (Fr and Fd) which suggests an isotopic relationship between the two. I would assume that Fr is reserved for short lived friendships while Fd is for long termed friendships.<br />
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All in all it seems to align with my assertion that the benign chemical icons can be used in pop culture without alarming people. So why the universal negative response to the word "Chemical" and the sinister popular image of complex chemical glassware?<br /><br />I am supposed to be doing a structural analysis on a new crystal structure but am finding my mind is easily wandering. Three posts on a nearly moribund chemblog in one week is clearly an alarming symptom of work avoidance.Time for a vacation.Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-33831410397067489532012-07-04T20:48:00.000-07:002012-07-04T20:48:52.807-07:00Selling With Science : Inappropriate Laboratory BehaviourAgain in the spirit of updating a <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2010/09/cleavage-reactions.html">previous post</a> on a related topic this video was brought to my attention for its blatant abuse of laboratory safety rules (again with the stiletto heels in the laboratory). The protagonist in this educational video is Heather who works in a lab called "Mad Hair" and she obviously does not keep up with the recent blog postings on the incompatipility of lab solvents and electronic devices (<a href="http://syntheticremarks.com/?p=2822">LINK</a> from <a href="http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2012/07/03/they_dont_make_these_things_to_have_dichloromethane_poured_on_em.php">LINK</a>) because around 0:25 she is clearly manipulating organic solvents on the same bench as her colleagues computers. As well, given her fantasical bangs it is clear that she should re-read my <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2011/01/chemistry-in-cartoons-hair.html">previous post</a> on hairnets. Just who is the safety officer for this "Mad Hair" lab anyway?<br /><br />
The use of lab coats to accentuate rather than cover was not something I had considered possible before. In the words of the immortal G.I. Joe "Now you know ... and knowing is half the battle."<br /><br />
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(PS: to be fair, as a graduate student working in synthetic Main Group chemistry using Fluorine and anhydrous HF as solvents this would be a fair approximation of our impression of the lax safety rules in the biochemistry research lab below ours.)</div>Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-76108798876680971082012-07-04T11:53:00.001-07:002012-07-04T11:54:45.357-07:00My Precious Metals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was born in 1961 and in the late 60’s my father noted to
me that the coins in Canada were changing from silver to nickel and that I might
want to set aside any silver coins that came into my hands because “they might
be worth something someday”. And so at the tender age of 7 I started my coin
collection and for the next 40 years I simply filtered the silver coins out of
my pocket change. The last time that one popped up in my change was five years
ago and it was a very abused 1968 Canadian dime (50% silver). We all know how
marriages work and so considering how tight money was for us through my
graduate, post-doc and tenure-track years it was amazing to me that my coin
collection survived. True, I did end up selling the folding money collection but the
coins just sort of flew under the radar. Until recently.<br />
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So a “family expense” came up involving my brother and in a tense bargaining
session that included the statement “he’s your brother, if he needs money it
can’t come from our savings” I realized that perhaps it was time to liquidate
my circulated silver.<br />
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Now in a <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2011/06/manufacturing-peak-silver.html">previous post </a>I mentioned that the value of silver has increased to the
point where unless the coin is a true rarity or in mint condition the highest value
of a circulated silver coin is its melt value. So, for example, a simple,
circulated 1965 Canadian dime now has a “melt value” of $ 1.71 which is a 17x increase
in the value of the coin that I filtered from my pocket change. Dad was right.<br />
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I needed some money so I gathered up my scrap silver coins and headed down to
the local coin collector shop. Once the coins were counted and assessed it
turns out not a single one of my scrounged silver coins had a value over melt
and as far as I know they are currently being melted into bullion ingots. As I
said in my <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.ca/2011/06/manufacturing-peak-silver.html">previous post</a> that, can only make the surviving coins more valuable.
It was an odd feeling letting go of
something that I had collected over 40 years of my life and reminded me of that
line from “The Lord of the Rings” about how if someone cannot let go of
something when they are in need then they are slaves indeed.<br />
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Coin collecting shops are interesting places and they really do not like extensive
written records of transactions that leave a taxable paper trail so generally
your best deal is some kind of barter. I knew how much cash I needed and once I
had that there was still some significant silver left. So do I keep it or trade
it?<br />
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Now, I have never had the gold bug, I collected the silver because it was in my
pocket change. I once had a first year chemistry student attempt to bribe me with
a gold coin (“I brought this for you” was what he said as he slipped it on my
desk at an appointment to discuss his failing grades and I had to remind him to
take it when he left). That is the closest that I ever was to owning a gold
coin.<br />
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So I have about $ 1000 of silver left and I look down and ask what I could
trade for my silver in terms of gold. I figured, why not? At least the volume
would be less. That is how I ended up with a couple of five gram
Johnson-Matthey gold ingots and two quarter ounce Austrian gold coins. It was
astonishing to see the pile of silver and its equivalent in gold. I mean, I
have had toe-nail clippings bigger than the 5 g ingots (don’t ask). What is
crazy is how owning this small hoard of gold has made me obsessive (perhaps not <a href="https://gaussling.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/gold-spikes-while-other-pgms-remain-quiet/">Gaussling</a> obsessive but getting there) about the value of silver and gold. Note
the value profiles for silver and gold. I have highlighted the day that I made
the transaction. It was a good day to sell silver but a horrible day to buy
gold. Go figure.<br />
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<a href="http://bullion.nwtmint.com/spot-price-charts.php">LINK</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Dp6OkfCG70nP2hmrmfWeWjEKydQeF4ItJlDeAbWLMMKkPeTP2RsSUXDlhyRoA2EAE2Mec5oiXejknZLayFWMiWIJN_OKUZmO0Xiup5XRPOEEBxryzs94Qo4xHNcQ3N2O2E7DhDDKTF4O/s1600/Silver040712.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Dp6OkfCG70nP2hmrmfWeWjEKydQeF4ItJlDeAbWLMMKkPeTP2RsSUXDlhyRoA2EAE2Mec5oiXejknZLayFWMiWIJN_OKUZmO0Xiup5XRPOEEBxryzs94Qo4xHNcQ3N2O2E7DhDDKTF4O/s400/Silver040712.bmp" width="400" /></a><br />
Anyway, I realized that I had an opportunity to expand my first intro chemistry
lab. The first lab is mostly safety and lab policy related but we do density measurements
to get their notebooks set up, generate data and show how to do combat
statistics. As part of the lab I have some heavy gauge wire samples of copper,
aluminum, silver, lead and platinum (leftovers from a misbegotten youth spent
with the electrochemists) which we mass and then determine their volume by
water displacement in 2 mL graduated pipettes (no, I do not let17
years olds wander off with the platinum, they do the precious metal
measurements on the demonstration bench under my unblinking eye). It works
great, the students get a kick out of handling precious metals and gold would be an interesting addition so at the suggestion of the
coin dealer I went to a jewelry store where he knew they made their own jewelry
from gold.<br />
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So, I get buzzed into the jewelry store and I have to beat my way past the excessively
pretty and polished women at the jewelry counters and make my way to the back
corner where there sits … a pure, unvarnished stereotype right down to the hairy,
man cleavage with heavy gold chain. I am explaining my request to this guy and
he dismisses me saying that they don’t sell gold and that they are constantly
pestered by people who want to make their own gold jewelry. It is then that I open my daytimer to show them my university business card and he sees the gold coins and ingots.
Suddenly, I have two stereotypes in front of me offering me cash for what I have.
Now that I have their attention I explain to them that I would like to trade
one of the quarter ounce gold coins for an equivalent mass of heavy gauge, pure gold
wire. As a straight out exchange they get the coin purity premium in exchange for
their time. This requires the advice of “Pop-Pop” (which, as an interpretation of
what happens next, must be their grandfather who actually works the gold). So
now I have three stereotypes talking to me (one in heavily accented English)
and when they finally realize what I am asking it becomes a love-in.
Pop-pop is pleased to have something unusual and educational to do and does not want to melt
the coin but does not have pure gold in wire form so goes back into the walk-in safe and brings out a zip-lock sandwich
bag filled with gold shot which he assures me is fine gold. I say that what I
would like is a 10 cm length of pure gold wire with a diameter of 2 mm. We talk
back and forth and it is clear that all three of them want to buy my little
hoard of gold but eventually Pop-pop heads back to the workshop with his sandwich bag of gold
shot. Meanwhile, the stereotype with the hairiest chest and the heaviest gold chain talks to
me about their bottle of diiodomethane that they use to separate the diamonds from the cubic zirconia ("when we get a mixed lot in") until the return of Pop-pop who has melted the shot and drawn out a length of
octagonal wire. He cuts off 10 cm and we check the mass, it is close enough
and I leave them a coin and walk off with the gold wire as a straight up
exchange. Everyone is happy and smiling except the very pretty and polished women at the jewelry counters (must be a union thing).<br />
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I realize that the value of the coin is that it is an official stamped coin and
there is no question of its purity but the gold in the wire is going to be a
real hassle to ever attempt to liquidate. I don’t care. The wire worked
perfectly and the density hit pure gold on the button and I had an amazing
meeting with Pop-pop and his family.<br />
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As a final note in this overly long, little to do with chemistry, summer excuse
for not doing work post. I found it interesting that if you go to the
Sigma-Aldrich website you see things like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtRMhvVA0hKWdGw-VVhxvCDRmVAUziSQ8Oxjp33CJ3n85ou1pRUYYQ5gNBLXbnmfXgco_ZyGY-TkL-JTSUG7PLn5iSeB4PN3jcohboErB-L3YiMyXadptN7mCKGvS8F7uJSJiUiPrLpKo/s1600/Gold040712SA.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtRMhvVA0hKWdGw-VVhxvCDRmVAUziSQ8Oxjp33CJ3n85ou1pRUYYQ5gNBLXbnmfXgco_ZyGY-TkL-JTSUG7PLn5iSeB4PN3jcohboErB-L3YiMyXadptN7mCKGvS8F7uJSJiUiPrLpKo/s640/Gold040712SA.bmp" width="640" /></a></div>
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Umm, 3 grams of gold for $ 739? The price of gold today is $ 1616 / oz giving $ 57 / gram. Now I understand that the fine people at Sigma-Aldrich have to make
a profit to pay for their amazing and ubiquitous catalog and their fine
customer service but I would suggest that a 430% markup is excessive even for
them. I did much better with Pop-pop and The
Stereotypes.
</div>
Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-27608255356980425342012-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:002012-05-09T06:01:13.898-07:00Science Cartoon: Why We Teach<a href="http://xkcd.com/">XKCD</a> is an astonishing webcomic capable of a spectrum of humour and insight that can lead one from <a href="http://xkcd.com/1048/">tears</a> to <a href="http://xkcd.com/1044/">activism</a>. It is hard to find a chemistry department where an XKCD comic is not featured on several doors. <br />
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That said, <a href="http://xkcd.com/1053/">todays comic</a> spoke directly to why I teach and articulated it in a way that I have always deeply felt but was never able to say. The opportunity to tell an old story to someone who has never heard it and be there when they have that wide-eyed moment of wonder is the jet fuel that drives science teaching.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5qgVR_zDnvab2TufOAFzNnqaf6quLAzQAms2UTOspEYDszhTHeMM2Bz0TLufQWoPIEBlBGSqcOZ7bYUj-Kx-vPXmBL87R1lzUAplQHJGEtJBSydomjCbO3Dz5jN4qFJXNiflvQkyG72D/s1600/ten_thousand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5qgVR_zDnvab2TufOAFzNnqaf6quLAzQAms2UTOspEYDszhTHeMM2Bz0TLufQWoPIEBlBGSqcOZ7bYUj-Kx-vPXmBL87R1lzUAplQHJGEtJBSydomjCbO3Dz5jN4qFJXNiflvQkyG72D/s400/ten_thousand.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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On the other hand, the fact that we teach in community not individually means that the jaded and experienced members of your class can be a real buzz kill when it comes to wonder. That of course would be the balancing aggravation to the joy of teaching demonstrative science.</div>Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-77202500535943275142012-04-13T13:04:00.000-07:002012-04-13T13:04:01.976-07:00Cancer is not the Winner HereYou often hear grieving parents say "parents are not supposed to out live their children". One could argue that given our typical student profile that professors are not supposed to outlive their students either. This has been a tough year at Liberal Arts University. A former student died tragically at the beginning of the year and the whole community grieved at the unfulfilled promise of the young man.<br />
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On a related note I had a different student about ten years ago roll through my classes. She was bright and hard working. Indeed, she spent a summer working for me on a project to convert my many lab procedures and manuals to a digital format that allowed me to get rid of dead tree manuals. I still use her files.<br />
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She moved on from this university and we stayed in touch. We did not agree on a few things that she felt strongly about and over the years she would friend me and un-friend me on Facebook as we drifted back and forth through each others lives. She was a valued former student that made the transition to friend.<br />
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She was never really a small woman, but active and fit and at times would try to lose weight with various diet and fitness plans. A couple of years ago as a motivational tool she took pictures of herself over the summer to track how she was doing with her current diet and exercise plan. Late in the summer of 2010 she noticed a small black mole on her leg. She died from melanoma two days ago and we buried her today. She was strong, and bright and funny right up to the end. On April 3 this year she posted this message in part:<br />
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"<strong><em>Please know that I love you all and have enjoyed having you be a part of my journey. I appreciate every bit of love and every word of encouragement more than I can express. Now, it's time for your own journeys. Go and continue what I can't. Cancer is not the winner here.</em></strong>"<br />
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There is one thing she she wanted us to do though, her last couple of years were dedicated to trying to get the message out to young people that they need to take care of their skin and as part of that she sent pretty much everyone she knew the video below in hopes that it might change one persons behaviour. So, Monica, this link is for you. Godspeed.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_4jgUcxMezM" width="640"></iframe>Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-82494275796895668372012-01-25T05:47:00.000-08:002012-01-25T05:57:33.668-08:00Rioting in the Ivory Tower I have been accused of the heinous social crime of always being the
smartest person in the room (or at least trying to prove it in subtle and not so subtle ways). In the 1980's I was a NATO exchange scholar
with a graduate student in Durham University (lovely little city near
Newcastle, huge cathedral and a prison). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0gE8eFG6zjRnlrLYJAcv-51xkAPEjB3hCP0xiDGa_-joJJecrr0OM953U0QzVFIqw8n6LS4i-hWCDyzeASKCDmub_zBTvLeqMgi7JSglt1y0yBIUAsxtRvsu0GwOOfoDlJMu3G3afkpY/s1600/Durham-HofGod-BAR.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0gE8eFG6zjRnlrLYJAcv-51xkAPEjB3hCP0xiDGa_-joJJecrr0OM953U0QzVFIqw8n6LS4i-hWCDyzeASKCDmub_zBTvLeqMgi7JSglt1y0yBIUAsxtRvsu0GwOOfoDlJMu3G3afkpY/s320/Durham-HofGod-BAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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During my time there a nationwide coal miners strike occurred. In the
fiery social crucible of the desperation that was Thatcher's England a
scholar in the sociology department at Durham U. published a study that showed that
the coal miners that moved to where the coal mines were profitable were
in fact many IQ points higher than the miners that insisted on not
moving and working coal pits that were economically unfeasible. Durham
county was a county with old unfeasible coal mines that were now filled
with angry miners with below average intelligence. This was not a good
time to publish this study. I can remember looking out the chemistry
department window and seeing mobs of miners wandering the campus
ostensibly with the intent of dragging him out of his ivory tower and
introducing him to some learning from the School of Hard Knocks.</div>
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Thus I read with some amusement an article today that assesses the
intelligence of the inhabitants of the various silos in the Ivory Tower.
As anyone who has read the educational literature in the past 20 years
knows intelligence cannot be reduced to a simple number but must respect
the multifaceted character of multiple intelligences. What it does
basically is not identify the intelligent but it really, really does
expose to ridicule the less intelligent disciplines. Really. Go have a
look, it statistically shores up all the stereotypes and suppositions
that we have about the people we work with.</div>
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In my opinion Chemistry comes out of this looking pretty good. The
authors make the claim that History ranks high because many historians
were in fact interested in science before they saw the light of the
humanities and therefore history is an anomaly among the humanities. It
made me laugh.<br />
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And this is their crucial graphic (go to the article to see it in all its statistical glory).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMhYLj5PctirE-QVxefXb59pWeGzrm0xRVwEzCAtZsZdsqd7wRhtOmSOXltF1GjLtePr3oINyd_Z51YO_-n50HsBo_tBxMDyPhvS0HgPe7zGUiDdAv_DC8VTejfWgGUe1FAgnTbsmM-Nv/s1600/schematic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMhYLj5PctirE-QVxefXb59pWeGzrm0xRVwEzCAtZsZdsqd7wRhtOmSOXltF1GjLtePr3oINyd_Z51YO_-n50HsBo_tBxMDyPhvS0HgPe7zGUiDdAv_DC8VTejfWgGUe1FAgnTbsmM-Nv/s320/schematic2.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
This is the link to the article (<a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/01/classicists-are-smart/">LINK</a>).<br /><br />
This whole issue make me think of the famous <a href="http://xkcd.com/">XKCD</a> cartoon:<br />
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-21423852936730955582012-01-23T05:10:00.000-08:002012-01-23T05:10:46.462-08:00Back to an Old Theme: Periodic Table AbuseGiven previous posts <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.com/2011/04/periodic-table-of-fictional-materials.html">here</a> and <a href="http://liberalchemistry.blogspot.com/2011/04/action-elements-periodic-table.html">here</a> on related topics I stumbled across this interesting graphic in a <a href="http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/the_periodic_table_of_met/">Weird Universe</a> post today.<br />
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Now, this kind of treatment of the periodic table is not new but there has been some real thought put into maintaining group and periodic integrity so I would surmise that someone behind this graphic knows some chemistry. In any event I see the legend information box contains an interesting mix of philosophy and "meat chemistry".Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437148317327768610.post-62198693608202682752012-01-17T05:42:00.000-08:002012-01-17T05:42:52.552-08:00No Longer FunnyCartoon today repeats the comedic stereotype of the science / chemist as explosion prone and disconnected from reality (<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2012/01/17">LINK</a>). The light of recent events and anniversaries for us in the chemical community these stereotypes are no longer funny, if they ever were.<br />
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I wonder sometimes about society and its need to create a risible stereotype of scientists so that we can be mocked, of course the other stereotype is the evil mad scientist so I guess bumbling clown is a step up. On the other hand if you will excuse the expression, I see the dude is wearing gloves, if not safety glasses.<br />
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To be fair to this cartoonist, <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump">Speedbump</a> has a reasonably informed view of scientists and it shows up now and again.<br />
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<br />Liberal Arts Chemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596792160119000781noreply@blogger.com0