Top posts
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Route maps in flight magazines
Today I travelled with Lufthansa. This has been a long time I have not flown with this airline. When I picked up the flight magazine and started looking at the company’s routes, an old story came to my mind. A few years ago I was travelling to Mauritius...
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Height: feeling short, average, or tall
I have been travelling these last few weeks and found out that it would a good idea to spend my waiting time at airports to write something for the blog. While travelling one thing you notice immediately is how different you are and look compared to people...
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“The structure of scientific revolution” by Thomas S. Kuhn, a hard-to-read essential book
I am an academic researcher and as anyone who belongs to a small community with all his unspoken rules, customs, and idiosyncrasies, I am curious but also a bit scared to read about how we, as a community, behave. When I met someone who is much more inclined...
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Open peer review
I do not usually read The Economist magazine. One may agree or not with the editorial standpoint of the magazine but it provides weekly international news contrary to national publications except the Courier international in France. The science section...
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Moving
One stressful human activity is definitively moving since our societies are mostly sedentary. Moving to the same country is already complicated, moving abroad to a town and country where we have never lived before is almost an adventure. What is the best...
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ABCD de l'égalité
Education of children is one of the most sensitive issues in our societies. Every parent is concerned and every parent has his or her own view. That makes consensus difficult. Debates on education also reflect the state of the society in a country. Divides...
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Loneliness
The skeleton of an old woman has been found 7 years after her death, not in an isolated house in a small village. No, she was found in an apartment block in town. She died alone and isolated. Studies show that more and more people suffer from loneliness...
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Writing nonfictions
A major aspect of my work as astrophysicists and leisure involves reading and writing. Reading and writing reports, scientific articles, press releases, emails, blogs. Like many I was struggling in putting in words my thoughts, especially in English,...
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Personal website
Paradoxically my registration to social networks have been motivated by my professional life. I registered in Facebook because I was organizing a public talk. A recent grant application form asks about a website. I decided to buy the domain name www.astrowing.eu....
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The Big Bang Theory's actors salary
I just read that the actors of the TV show The Big Bang Theory are getting a pay-rise. They will earn around 1 million euros per episode. This is over 20 years of my current salary as researcher. The actors have definitively great talent and the show...
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Do we need to have a knowledge of philosophy of science to be a good scientist?
Things are never completely settled. I thought that after a PhD and a few articles I would be a seasoned researcher until I discussed with someone with a dual degree in astrophysics and philosophy. That troubled me. Did I miss something essential during...
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Rehearsal, critics, and presence
When we rehearse, either in preparation of an important scientific presentation or for a play, we have to leave our pride at home. Most critics are advices to get the best out of us. At our play rehearsal, a few fellow actors or actresses seem to have...
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Scientific presentation and graphic design
Graphs are central in scientific communication but most scientists are not trained in graphic design. It is therefore not surprising to see a large scale in the quality of the figures and slides that are shown in papers and presentations. The same way...
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Is the show “The Big Bang theory” good or bad for the public’s perception of astronomers?
Socially, scientists are like the general population. A few may lack general social skills, other may be particularly outgoing but most of them are just plain “normal”. Sitcoms are designed to exaggerate contrasting personalities to create easy comic...
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Coldplay - The Scientist
The interpretation of song lyrics depends on your state of mind and on your own experience. I should not listen to this song. Maybe because it reminds me some of my past mistakes. But this is a beautiful song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLm_aSP36...
