Scientific Journals are for Kids!

The journal Frontiers for Young Minds is very cool!

It is "an open-access scientific journal written by scientists and reviewed by a board of kids and teens."

Here is some text from their online blurb:

That is why distinguished scientists are invited to write about their cutting-edge discoveries in a language that is accessible for young readers, and it is then up to the kids themselves – with the help of a science mentor – to provide feedback and explain to the authors how to best improve the articles before publication.

As a result, Frontiers for Young Minds provides a collection of freely available scientific articles by distinguished scientists that are shaped for younger audiences by the input of their own young peers.

I approve!

(Tip of the cap to Petter Holme.)

Is There a Mathematical Formula for How Long it Takes for a Child to Ask "Are We There Yet?"?

Well, I find the formula to be rather dubious, though I am highly amused to see it.

I was looking at Dwight Barkley's Wikipedia page, and I noticed that apparently he is also known for deriving an equation to estimate how long it will be until a child in a car asks the question "are we there yet?"

You can read about it (and see the equation) in this short article.

Redshirts

Wow, this press release from Cornell University has made me realize that there is another meaning of the term "redshirt" besides the one that comes from Star Trek.

Given the meaning that originated in Star Trek, the press release's title amused me considerably.

A Brief Note on Bratty Children and Their Bratty Parents

There ought to be a special place in Hell reserved for people who seem to be perfectly content with their children bothering strangers in a cafe (e.g., ones who are trying to work) just so they can scroll through the messages on their phone.

I don't need to be distracted with a child crashing into my leg with the bicycle that he's riding indoors.

Believe it or not, I actually like children and can be very good with them, but at least tell your brat when this happens that he's not supposed to do this! That's why the kid is a brat.

(OK, I'll stop now.)

Slacker

Best. Demotivational Poster. Ever.

OK, it's not actually the best one ever, but it is pretty damn good! This is for all of my friends who have children. I encourage all of you to make your own version of this picture.

The Eyes Have It

Wow, this bit of research is really awesome. A 12-year-old kid used a Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual (the article doesn't indicate which edition) to help his father with some psychology research! The key thing they were testing was whether people are still drawn to look at eyes even when they're not in the center of a head. They wanted to distinguish whether people looked others in the eye only because of where the eyes happened to be located or at a deeper level. Awesome! I approve! I think this team might well have an Ig Nobel in their future... (Also, it just goes to show that beauty is indeed in the eye(s) of the Beholder.)

Another win, by the way, is the lead author's affiliation: "Lord Byng Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada". Sweet!

(Tip of the cap to "I Fucking Love Science".)

Like Father, Like Son

Tonight's Los Angeles Dodgers starting lineup includes 4 players whose fathers played in the Major Leagues: Dee Gordon (Tom), Tony Gwynn Jr. (Tony), Jerry Hairston Jr. (Jerry), and Scott Van Slyke (Andy). Hairston Jr.'s grandfather Sam also played in the Majors. Also on the Dodgers current roster are Iván DeJesús Jr. and Justin Sellers, whose fathers also played in the Major Leagues. So we could get up to 6 chips off the old block in a starting lineup at once. I wonder what the record is?

Precocious Murder Eyes

How does one get this good at 'murder eyes' at that age? Wow, this demotivational poster is fantastic.

Realism Redefined

Here is what some children's drawings would look like if they were painted using a "realistic" style. Sweet!

(Tip of the cap to Kevin Hickerson.)

Space Oddity: The Children's Book

Yes, really: David Bowie has recreated the song "Space Oddity" as a children's book.

Stay tuned for the sequel "Ashes to Ashes", in which Major Tom becomes a junkie. That can teach the kids about both drugs and economics.

If anything is both awesome and "awesome", then I think this is definitely it.

(Tip of the cap to Craig Montuori.)

Picture of the Day

This particular demotivational poster is probably the best one I have ever seen. Awesome! I approve!

(Tip of the cap to Jing Xu.)

Google, Sesame Street, and the Count

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street (which wikipedia claims is tomorrow), Google is doing its usual bit of front page customization. The character they are using for this customization is Count von Count. I approve! (In certain D & D games, allusions to The Count sometimes became somewhat common, and I was definitely guilty of some of them.) Moreover, the number being used for 'e' is \epsilon. I doubly approve! Way to go, Google!

On second thought, it's probably supposed to be a '3' turned backwards, but I insist on thinking of it as an \epsilon!

(Tip of the cap to Ravi Montenegro.)

The only thing missing was a player to be named later

In a decision of amazing perspicuity, a women traded two children for a bird. $175 also changed hands, but the CNN article to which I link didn't indicate which direction the money went. All that was missing was a player to be named later.

Names for my children?

This comment comes from one of my former Caltech SURF students:

P.S. One last random comment--I always thought your name should be a type of beer, like a porter that you drink out of a mason jar? (I'm still working out the kinks) so I tried googling "Mason Porter" but all I could find were your websites and some mediocre folk band. Anywho, when you have children I think you should name them so that it matches with your last name, something like "Stout" or "Double" or maybe "Telly". During rotation this year I found an unused nametag at a Ricketts lunch with the name "Ernest Lee". It made me really happy.

Comment: I'm amused.

Congratulations to Jeff Mach!

Jeff (Lloyd, class of 96) sent an e-mail that his brother's wife gave birth to a new daughter. So, while the kid isn't Jeff's, he did send an e-mail bragging about it, so congratulations are in order. (Because if somebody is that happy, then it doesn't matter if it's their kid.)

Congratulations to Steve Van Hooser

Steve Van Hooser's wife Liz brought forth a new daughter (Katherine ["Kate"]) two months ago. Here are pictures from the first month and the second one.

Steve is a postdoc in neuroscience at Duke and will remain there for a few more years.