Author Archives: Chris Rowan

More on the Japanese earthquake

How this weeks’ earthquake fits into the overall tectonic picture in the western Pacific.
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Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geology, tectonics

Is getting tenure Mission Impossible?

Over at Galactic Interactions, fellow Scibling Rob Knop has announced that he’s leaving academia for a job at Linden Labs, the people who run Second Life. Even though that particular phenomenon leaves me a little bemused – I have enough … Continue reading

Categories: academic life, ranting

Earthquakes in Japan

Update: A more detailed analysis of this earthquake can be found here Japan was hit by a couple of large-ish earthquakes yesterday. According the USGS moment tensor solutions, the first magnitude 6.6 was caused by the rupture of a normal … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geology

I just have to face the fact that I’m a scibling redshirt

Just like Sam Rockwell’s character in Galaxy Quest, I fear that my role in Scienceblogs:The Movie will probably involve being vaporised within the first five minutes, probably as an anonymous victim of cross-fire in the opening flame-war (Religion? Framing? Maybe … Continue reading

Categories: bloggery

In defence of the scientific paper

Janet brings us some rather vitriolic criticism by Sir Peter Medewar: The scientific paper in its orthodox form does embody a totally mistaken conception, even a travesty, of the nature of scientific thought. The argument seems to be that the … Continue reading

Categories: academic life, public science, publication