Annals of Improbable Research

The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) is a science humor magazine. It's hard to describe what you find here; suffice it to say that, if you like science and you have a good sense of humor, you'll enjoy what you see. (Think of AIR as the National Lampoon for smart people.) Footnotes: (1) If you liked the old Journal of Irreproducible Results, you'll enjoy the AIR. (2) These same people also give out the annual Ig Nobel Awards to honor people whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced".


Web:

http://www.improb.com/
http://www.improb.com/airchives/airchives-top.html


Bad Science

l


Web:

http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadScience.html


Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs evolved about 225 million years ago, and became extinct about 65 million years ago, thriving for 160 million years. In modern terminology, dinosaurs are land-living reptiles, members of a group known as archsaurs ("ruling reptiles"). Among today's animals, birds are thought to be the closest relatives to dinosaurs, with crocodiles being somewhat more distant relations. Dinosaur trivia: Around the turn of the century, certain fossils were thought to be those of a brontosaurus. Actually, the head and body were mixed up, and the real name for the animal is apatosaurus. There never really was such a thing as a brontosaurus.


Web:

http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/dinobase/dinopage.html
http://www.dinodata.net/
http://www.dinosauria.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/dinolinks.html

Usenet:

Google Newsreader alt.dinosaur

Listproc Mailing List:

List Name: dinosaur
Subscribe To: listproc@usc.edu


Earth and Sky

"Earth and Sky" is a popular radio presentation that is aired daily on hundreds of stations in the U.S., Canada and the South Pacific, as well as on various international networks. Each day the show provides a short discussion of one scientific topic. The Web site offers transcripts from the actual shows. You can read about the most current show, or search for one that interests you.


Web:

http://www.earthsky.com/


Folklore of Science

Science is rich in folklore, legends and mysteries. This Usenet group is for the discussion of various folklore topics as they relate to science. The Web page contains a listing of science-related urban legends. Will a penny falling from a great height kill someone? Will hot water freeze faster than cold water? Why does the moon look smaller when it is overhead than when it is near the horizon? Visit the Web site and find out the answers to these questions and more. (By the way, the quick answers are no, yes and it's an illusion.)


Web:

http://www.urbanlegends.com/science/

Usenet:

Google Newsreader alt.folklore.science


History of Science

The history of science is the story of our systematic and endless quest to understand the nature of ourselves, our world and the universe in which we live. When you study how science has evolved, you are studying the very best efforts and accomplishments of mankind throughout the centuries.


Web:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/science/sciencesbook.htm...
http://www.gsu.edu/other/timeline.html
http://www.rit.edu/~flwstv/presocratic.html
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~losinp/science.html

Usenet:

Google Newsreader soc.history.science


Human Evolution

Human evolution is the theory of the origin of human beings. In particular, evolution explains how man and the apes descended from common ancestors and how, about five million years ago, our most immediate ancestors (hominids) began the development that would result in our own species (Homo sapiens). There is a great deal of foolish and ignorant thought (and talk) among people who believe that mankind was created supernaturally. As far as I am concerned, the more people learn about science, the better off we all are, and here are some places to start.


Web:

http://www.modernhumanorigins.com/
http://www.talkorigins.org/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/evolution.html

Usenet:

Google Newsreader talk.origins


National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government. Its purpose is to promote the progress of science within the United States. Toward this end, the NSF funds a great deal of research within the science and engineering disciplines, as well as awarding many graduate scholarships. The NSF also promotes the use of computers in science research and education. If you are a technical researcher or grad student, you can't go far without bumping into the NSF.


Web:

http://www.nsf.gov/


Oceanography

The Earth has one large interconnected sea of water, covering 71 percent of the planet's surface. Traditionally, we divide all this water into four main oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Taken together, these oceans cover about 139,400,000 square miles (361,000,000 sq km) and contain about 322,280,000 cubic miles (1,347,000,000 cu km) of water. The average depth is about 12,230 feet (3,730 m). Oceanography is the study of the ocean and the life it supports. As such, oceanography integrates biology, chemistry, geography, geology, physics and meteorology into one marine-oriented field of study. Here are some Web sites that contain particularly good collections. I have also included the Web sites of two of the main oceanographical research organizations in the United States: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (California) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Massachusetts).


Web:

http://www.cln.org/themes/oceanography.html
http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/ocean/vl/
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/
http://www.scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/
http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/
http://www.whoi.edu/

Usenet:

Google Newsreader sci.geo.oceanography


Research Methods in Science

You need a certain kind of mind to be an organized and efficient researcher. Here are some discussion forums on the Internet that will give you lots of different places to talk about scientific techniques. The mailing list helps researchers in classification, clustering, phylogeny estimation and related methods of data analysis to contact other researchers in the same fields.


Usenet:

Google Newsreader sci.techniques.mag-resonance
Google Newsreader sci.techniques.mass-spec
Google Newsreader sci.techniques.microscopy
Google Newsreader sci.techniques.spectroscopy
Google Newsreader sci.techniques.testing.misc
Google Newsreader sci.techniques.testing.nondestructive

Listserv Mailing List:

List Name: class-l
Subscribe To: listserv@lists.sunysb.edu


Science Fraud and Skepticism

Science has a long, distinguished history. Unfortunately, science fraud has just as long a history (although less distinguished). These resources are devoted to a discussion of fraud in science, including current and recent events, as well as historical accounts of fraudulent science.


Web:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/skeptic-faq/
http://www.junkscience.com/

Usenet:

Google Newsreader sci.skeptic

Listserv Mailing List:

List Name: scifraud
Subscribe To: listserv@listserv.albany.edu


Science News

Now that we have the Net, life is certainly a lot better. For example, anytime you want, you can read the science news, all by yourself, in the privacy of your own home. When I was a kid, we had to learn about science on the street and, believe me, it was not always a pleasant experience. (Of course, in those days, boys had to grow up fast.)


Web:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.sciencenews.org/
http://www.scitechdaily.com/


Science Questions and Answers

When it comes to science, our curiosity is unbounded (well, it should be...), so it's great to be able to send questions to experts. The next time you are wondering about some scientific something-or-other, see if you can figure out the answer for yourself. If you can't, send it to one of the experts. Even better, when you have a spare moment, check out the archives of previous questions and answers. There's always something interesting to read.


Web:

http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/askmag.html
http://www.madsci.org/
http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_directory.cfm
http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/


Science Resources

There's a lot of science in the world (and even more outside the world), so it's not always easy to find what you want. When you are looking for information in a particular area of science, start here. You'll find science resources for a variety of disciplines.


Web:

http://www.amara.com/science/science.html
http://www.gggpages.com/
http://www.ncsu.edu/imse/
http://www.sciencemag.org/


Science Talk and General Discussion

Science is the organized, rational study of the nature of our universe. As a whole, science is broad, almost beyond description. I think of science in two ways: as a method of thinking and as a human activity. The activity of science depends upon three basic traditions: employing trustworthy methods for experimentation and observation, systematically classifying observed facts, and connecting a body of demonstrated truths in order to reach conclusions. Mankind already knows a great deal about our universe (including the planet on which we live and the nature of the biology it supports). A great deal of mankind's suffering is caused by widespread ignorance of basic scientific knowledge and the inability to apply such knowledge wisely. For this reason, I encourage you to use the resources I have prepared for this book to teach yourself more about science. I hope that, within the many scientific resources, you will find much to interest you. If you would like to talk about science in general, here is the Usenet group devoted to such discussions. Remember what I say: as much as anything else, science is a way of thinking. There is no better way to fulfill your birthright as a sentient human being than by studying the world around you and all its wonders. (Perhaps I can put it another way. My cat can't learn about science, so I have to do it for both of us.)


Usenet:

Google Newsreader sci.misc


Temperature

Here is everything you could want to know about temperature. Learn about global warming and our planet's temperature, temperature and health, temperature tools (such as unit converters), temperature sensors and calibration, thermocouples and more. When it comes to learning about temperatures on the Net, when you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you're still pretty cool.


Web:

http://grads.iges.org/pix/trop.ts.s.html
http://www.temperatureworld.com/


Why Files

A lot of news stories relate to science, but rarely do you get a chance to really understand the science behind the news. The Why Files start with topics from the news and go on to explore all kinds of interesting questions. If you care why things work the way they do, this site is for you. (Hint: When you have nothing to do and it's still a few hours to dinner, read the step-by-step description of coronary bypass surgery.)


Web:

http://www.whyfiles.org/