Category Archives: People

Original Fiction: “Conference” (final draft)

Posted on 20 January 2013 by Joseph Shoer

I had been trying to sell this story for a while now, but was not successful. There’s a bit of a catch-22 to selling a short story for the first time: without any feedback from editors and readers, there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Graduate school, Original fiction, People, Science, Science Fiction, Space, The Cathedral Galaxy | 1 Comment

Antitechnocracy

Posted on 14 January 2012 by Joseph Shoer

A reporter from This American Life did something interesting for today’s broadcast: she brought together a ninth-grade global warming skeptic and the executive director of the National Earth Science Teachers Association together in the show studio for a discussion. (Audio available here.) … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Science, Skepticism, Social commentary | Leave a comment

Atheist Vuvuzelas Making Noise in Texas

Posted on 7 December 2010 by Joseph Shoer

I sometimes find myself a visitor to College Station, TX and have, over the course of those visits, made a few acquaintances. Today, I checked out an item from the Bryan/College Station local news that involved one such acquaintance: Keri … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Skepticism, Social commentary | Leave a comment

Disconnects

Posted on 8 November 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Tonight, a friend of a friend came over to my apartment so we could all make chili together. During this process, we came to a point when we needed to defrost a bunch of ground beef. When I moved to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Gadgets, People, Science, Skepticism, Social commentary | 2 Comments

Good to See

Posted on 31 October 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Jon Stewart, and the 215,000 ± 10% people who came with him, make me very happy for America. This clip was a desperately needed break from the political cycle that has been going on since the 2008 election season. These … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Politics, Skepticism, Social commentary | Leave a comment

Science vs Religion on The Daily Show

Posted on 10 July 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Normally, I have great respect for Jon Stewart as an interviewer. On The Daily Show, he knows when to be serious and let his guests say their piece, but he’s also primarily a comedian rather than a journalist and so … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Science, Skepticism | 2 Comments

Impressions of Scientists: Before and After

Posted on 25 June 2010 by Joseph Shoer

Ten years ago, a seventh-grade class did an intriguing project. The students drew pictures and wrote descriptions of what they thought scientists were like. Then the entire class visited Fermilab, a US accelerator physics lab. After the visit, the students … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Science, Social commentary | Leave a comment