ChemEd X contributors and staff members are continually coming across items of interest that they feel others may wish to know about. Picks include, but need not be limited to, books, magazines, journals, articles, apps—most anything that has a link to it can qualify.
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The dustcover for this book promises it to be an anti-chemistry diatribe, but I found the book itself, with the exception of a chapter near the end ("The Seat of the Plague") to be relatively even-handed in its treatment of the subject. It is full of interesting anecdotes about the history of polymers and their overwhelming impact on mankind.
Robert Ehrlich teaches physics at George Mason University. This is the third book by him that I have read recently.
"The Flight from Science and Reason" is the proceedings of a conference by that name that was held in New York on May 31-June 2, 1995. I wish I could have been there!
"Born to Rebel" provides quantitative data in support of a novel interpretation of the importance of birth order to personality development, evolution, and history. Many are comparing its insights to those of the author's hero, Charles Darwin.
The state of the environment is widely assessed to be very poor and worsening, despite the contribution of chemists and other scientists to the understanding and the amelioration of mankind's influences.
I picked up this volume because its title suggested that it would encourage hands-on science activities that are essential to good teaching and effective learning. Unfortunately, I discovered on reading it that the author combines a deep antagonism for the scientific "establishment" with credulity for numerous fringe ideas.
How can little green men from Mars not be a "Pick of the Month"? This article has received a huge amount of notice in the popular press, and you've almost certainly heard about it by now. If you click on the highlighted word "Science" above, and you have a personal or institutional subscription to Science, you can read the complete text of the paper for yourself, online.
This book is a nearly ideal choice for summer reading. It is small and short, it tells the fascinating, true story of John Harrison, who may have contributed more than any other individual to the establishment of the British Empire. Working alone, the self-taught Mr.
If you are among the many high school and college chemistry teachers who have adopted the American Chemical Society's curricula, Chemistry in Context for college students or Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom) in secondary school, you will find that Morris Shamos will challenge the very basis of what you are trying to do, as well as the whole idea of "scientific literacy".
Did ancient Parthians know how to make electricity with batteries? An object discovered in 1936, during excavation of Khuyut Rabbou'a, near modern Baghdad, has raised speculation that they might indeed have.