A new faculty member faces his demons
Author Archives: Pat Bowne
Theory Towers
Over the years I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with theory. Love: theory is powerful, for explanation and prediction and actually doing stuff theory is distancing, both requiring and allowing you to set your emotions aside for a while theory puts … Continue reading
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Ghost Drum by Susan Price
I would say it’s rare for me to read the first in a series and then go immediately and buy the rest of the series, but it’s not. However, that won’t keep me from saying good things about Ghost Drum! … Continue reading
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Night Calls by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Because I missed the sale, Cat Kimbriel was kind enough to send me a free copy of Night Calls with no strings attached – but since I devoured it in a day and enjoyed every minute, it deserves a review! I … Continue reading
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It’s Just Too Hard to Learn, I Guess
I have the nicest, most analytic and open-minded set of online friends possible, but there is one topic on which I can always start an argument with someone. All I have to do is post something against demonizing groups of … Continue reading
Posted in rants, real life, Uncategorized
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It Comes Down to Stovewood
Young leftists. On the one hand they’re in the news too often as intolerant, illiberal, and not valuing free speech. Some of them get minimum-wage cafeteria workers discharged when their ethnic food comes from the wrong class, make jokes about burning political opponents alive, … Continue reading
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Is Not Being Persuaded a Survival Strategy?
I’m reading this book about how people change their minds, written by an activist and apparently for activists. I just finished the chapter outlining all the ways people refuse to change their behavior even though they *claim* to be swayed by … Continue reading
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The Secret Life of Flies by Erica McAlister
Before there were robotics nerds or computer nerds or science-fiction nerds there were natural history nerds, and this book is for them. It’s that modern rarity, a popular science book that might have been written in 1940; the most advanced … Continue reading
Posted in From the museum, reading, real life
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Biology Leads the Way in Graduate School Transparency
I could not be prouder of my discipline than I am today, after reading about the movement for transparency in graduate school outcomes. Anybody who cares enough to read my blog will know that I’ve gotten so desperate about the … Continue reading
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Why I am not Burned Out on Writing
Kristine Kathryn Rusch has had a few writing posts about burnout lately. This one came at an odd time for me, because I have just had an ‘aha’ moment with the WIP which reminded me why I’m not burned out … Continue reading
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Escaping from YA
The Atlantic has an article up today about why so many adults read YA literature. It has a whole big section fighting back against the idea that YA is escapist literature. I can’t imagine how anybody would think YA is escapist … Continue reading
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