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Cornus florida L.
Flowering Dogwood
Cornaceae -- Dogwood family
B. F. McLemore
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is one of America's most popular ornamental trees. Known to most people simply as dogwood, it has other common names, including boxwood and cornel. The species name florida is Latin for flowering, but the showy petal-like bracts are not in fact flowers. The bright red fruit of this fast-growing short-lived tree are poisonous to humans but provide a great variety of wildlife with food. The wood is smooth, hard and close-textured and now used for specialty products.
The range of flowering dogwood extends from extreme southwestern Maine west to New York, extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, central Illinois, and central Missouri; south to extreme southeast Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, east Texas; and east to north Florida. A variety also grows in the mountains of Nuevo León and Veracruz, Mexico (11).
-The native range of flowering dogwood.
Precipitation within the range of flowering dogwood varies from 760 mm (30 in) in the North to 2030 mm (80 in) in the southern Appalachians. Warm season precipitation varies from about 510 mm (20 in) in southern Michigan to 860 mm (34 in) in northern Florida, and annual snowfall ranges from none in Florida to more than 127 cm (50 in) in the North (15). Average annual temperature is 21° C (70° F) in the South and 7° C (45° F) in the North, with temperature extremes of 46° to -34° C (115° to -30° F). Growing season ranges from 160 days in southern Michigan to more than 300 days in Florida (12).
The species grows on soils varying from deep and moist along minor streams to light textured and well drained in the uplands. It is found most frequently on soils with a pH of 6 to 7 (15). Dominant soil orders (with typical suborders in parentheses) in the range of flowering dogwood, in decreasing order of importance, include Ultisols (Udults and Aquults) in the South and East, Inceptisols (Ochrepts) in the Appalachians, Alfisols (Udalfs) in the Midwest, Spodosols (Orthods and Aquods) in New England and Florida, and Entisols (Psamments) in scattered areas of the Southeast (14). Seedling survival is low and the species is virtually absent on poorly drained clay soils. The frequency of flowering dogwood in forest stands increases as drainage improves and soils become lighter in texture.
Flowering dogwood grows well on flats and on lower or middle slopes, but not very well on upper slopes and ridges. The inability to grow on extremely dry sites is attributed to its relatively shallow root system. It is one of the most numerous species in the understory of loblolly pine and loblolly pine-hardwood stands in the South. As these stands progress toward the hardwood climax, dogwood remains an important subordinate species.
Flowering dogwood is considered a soil improver (7). Its leaf litter decomposes more rapidly than that of most other species, thus making its mineral constituents more readily available. Dogwood foliage decomposes three times faster than hickory (Carya spp.); four times faster than yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), and white ash (Fraxinus americana); and 10 times faster than sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and oak (Quercus spp.) (15). In addition to its rapid decomposition, dogwood litter is an important source of calcium, containing 2.0 to 3.5 percent of this element on an oven-dry basis. The range of major mineral elements, in milligrams per kilogram of foliage (parts per million), is as follows: potassium, 4,000 to 11,000; phosphorus, 1,800 to 3,200; calcium, 27,000 to 42,000; magnesium, 3,000 to 5,000; and sulfur, 3,800 to 7,000. The range of minor elements, in mg/kg (p/m), is boron, 23; copper, 7 to 9; iron, 240 to 380; manganese, 30 to 50; and zinc, 3 to 28 (15).
Dogwood leaves concentrate fluorine and may contain 40 mg/kg (p/m) compared to only 8 mg/kg (p/m) for apple (Malus spp.) and peach (Prunus spp.) leaves grown under similar conditions. In one study, fluorine increased from 72 mg/kg (p/m) in June to 103 mg/kg (p/m) in October, while that of black cherry (Prunus serotina) increased from 5.6 to 11.3 mg/kg (p/m) (15).
The wide geographical range of flowering dogwood, and the diverse soils on which it is found, is indicative of a large number of associated species. Dogwood is specifically mentioned in 22 of the 90 Society of American Foresters forest cover types (3). Cover types range from Jack Pine (Type 1) and Beech - Sugar Maple (Type 60) in the North to Longleaf Pine (Type 70) in the South. Common associates include white, red, and black oaks Quercus alba, Q. falcata, Q. velutina), yellow-poplar, sassafras (Sassafras albidum), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and longleaf, loblolly, shortleaf, slash, and Virginia pines (Pinus palustris, P. taeda, P, echinata, P. elliottii, and P. virginiana). A complete list of species found with dogwood would include a majority of the trees growing in the Eastern United States.
Flowering and Fruiting- Flowering dogwood has many crowded, small, yellowish perfect flowers, borne in terminal clusters in the spring before the leaves appear, and surrounded by four snow-white, petal-like bracts. The bracts form "flowers" 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) across and provide a spectacular display in the springtime. Occasionally, trees with salmon-colored or light-pink bracts are found in nature. Pink and red flowering dogwoods and other cultivars with special ornamental characteristics are commonly propagated from clones by commercial nurseries. Dates of flowering range from mid-March in the South to late May in the North.
The clustered fruits of flowering dogwood are bright red drupes about 13 mm. (0.5 in) long and 6 mm (0.25 in) in diameter with thin, mealy flesh. Each fruit contains a two-celled, usually two-seeded, bony stone. In many stones, only one seed is fully developed. The fruits ripen from September to late October (10). Trees grown from seed commonly flower and produce fruits when 6 years old. Flowers also have been observed on trees of sprout origin at 6 years, when stump diameter is 19 mm (0.75 in), and height is 1.2 m (4 ft).
Seed Production and Dissemination- Dogwood usually produces a good seed crop every other year, but seeds on isolated trees are frequently empty. Thus, seed collections should be made from groups of trees. In a Texas study, 88 percent or more of trees 9 cm (3.4 in) in d.b.h. and larger bore fruit each year. Year-to-year differences were more pronounced in the smaller diameter classes. Average fruit production was 185 kg/m² of basal area (37.9 lb/ft²) (9).
The yield of stones per kilogram of fruit ranges from 0.19 to 0.46 kg (19 to 46 lb/100 lb of fruit). The average number of cleaned stones per kilogram is 9,920 (4,500/lb). Clean, air-dried stones may be stored in sealed containers at 3° C (38° F) for 2 to 4 years (2). Birds and other animals are the primary agents of seed dissemination, although some seeds are scattered by gravity.
Seedling Development- Natural germination of flowering dogwood usually occurs in the spring following seedfall, but some seeds do not germinate until the second spring. Germination is epigeal. Stratification of freshly collected seed at 5° C (41° F) for periods up to 120 days is recommended for overcoming embryo dormancy (2).
Seedlings usually show rapid root growth. In one greenhouse study, an average 6-month-old seedling had 3,000 roots with a total length of 51.2 in (168 ft), compared to 800 roots with a total length of 3.7 in (12 ft) for loblolly pine (15).
This species grows nearly all summer but stops temporarily during periods of adverse conditions. In a Massachusetts nursery, flowering dogwood displayed a height growth pattern different from that of any other species studied. Seedlings grew from April 24 to September 4, and 90 percent of the growth occurred from May 15 to August 18. The most rapid growth occurred during the first week of August (10).
In a North Carolina Piedmont study, flowering dogwood seedlings were planted under three situations: (1) in an open field, (2) under pine stands, and (3) on the margins of pine stands. Survival was significantly higher on the margins of pine stands than on the other two sites, but there was no significant difference in survival between the open field and the pine forest. The intermediate light intensity of the margins apparently provided some advantage. Growth of seedlings was greater in the open than on the margin of the pine forest. Seedlings in the forest were smallest (15).
Transplanting flowering dogwood seedlings with a root ball is preferred over bare-root transplanting, although both methods can be successful (4). Plants entering their third year are well suited for planting in permanent locations. Plants of this age are usually 0.6 to 1 in (2 to 3 ft) tall and can be lifted easily without excessive disturbance of the root system.
Vegetative Reproduction- Flowering dogwood reproduces by sprouting and sprouts most profusely when cut in late winter. Height growth of sprouts is known to increase with increasing stump diameter. The species also reproduces extensively by layering. Other means of vegetative propagation include softwood cuttings in summer, hardwood cuttings in winter, grafting in winter or spring, suckers and divisions in spring, and budding in the summer. Vegetative reproduction is necessary to propagate plants for characteristics such as fruit retention and color of bracts and fruit.
Flowering dogwood roots readily from cuttings taken in June or immediately after the plants bloom. Cuttings from young trees usually show better growth and survival after rooting than cuttings from mature trees. Only terminal shoot tips trimmed to about 8 cm (3 in) in length and retaining two to four leaves should be used. Bases of cuttings should be dipped in a mixture of indolebutyric acid crystals and talc, one part acid crystals to 250 parts talc by weight (10). Cuttings are then set about 3 cm (1.2 in) deep in the rooting medium and grown under a mist with a photoperiod of at least 18 hours.
The red form of flowering dogwood is difficult to start from cuttings and usually is propagated by budding in late summer or grafting in winter (6).
Growth and Yield- The maximum size obtained by a flowering dogwood is 16.8 in (55 ft) in height and 48 cm (19 in) in d.b.h. as recorded in the American Forestry Association's register of champion trees. Heights on good sites of 9 to 12 in (30 to 40 ft) are common, with ranges in d.b.h. of 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16 in). On poorer sites, d.b.h. of mature trees may range from only 8 to 20 cm (3 to 8 in). Near the northern limits of its range, dogwood is a many-branched shrub (15). Height growth in the southern Appalachians is reported to be fairly rapid for the first 20 to 30 years, but then it practically ceases. Individual plants may live for 125 years. Annual growth rings are usually 2 to 4 mm (0.06 to 0.15 in) wide (12).
Flowering dogwood seldom if ever grows in pure stands. Thus, because it is usually a small, understory tree, little or no information is available concerning growth and yield on a per-acre basis. Moreover, it is treated as a weed tree in timber stand improvement operations more often than it is grown for its commercial value. One estimate has indicated that yields of 12.6 m³/ha of boltwood (2 cords/acre) may be cut on good sites, but it takes 15 to 20 times the area to obtain half this amount in other locations (15). No estimates of the volume of flowering dogwood are available for the entire range of the species. One writer noted that in six Southern States, where production is concentrated, a volume of 2.82 million m³ (99.8 million ft³) in trees 12.7 cm (5 in) d.b.h. and larger was shown by inventories made between 1962 and 1971 (12). This indicates a supply of more than 2.55 million m³ (1 million cords) within the six States.
Rooting Habit- The extensive root system of flowering dogwood is extremely shallow. This fact undoubtedly accounts for the susceptibility of this species to periods of drought.
Reaction to Competition- Flowering dogwood is an understory species and is classed as very tolerant of shade. Maximum photosynthesis occurs at slightly less than one-third of full sunlight (15). It is tolerant of high temperatures. Soil moisture usually is the limiting factor. In Southern forests, dogwood leaves are often the first to wilt in dry weather. Continuing drought may cause leaves to fall and dieback of tops to occur.
Damaging Agents- Because of its thin bark, flowering dogwood is readily injured by fire. Its profuse sprouting ability may actually increase the number of stems in fire-damaged stands, however (12). Flooding also is detrimental to flowering dogwood.
Little is known of the pest status of insects associated with wild flowering dogwoods, but many insects have been identified attacking cultivated ornamentals. The dogwood borer (Synanthedon scitula) is a noteworthy pest of cultivated flowering dogwood. Other damaging insects include flatheaded borers (Chrysobothris azurea and Agrilus cephalicus), dogwood twig borer (Oberea tripunctata), the twig girdler (Oncideres cingulata), scurfy scale (Chionaspis lintneri), and dogwood scale (C. corni) (1). Dogwood club gall, a clublike swelling on small twigs, is caused by infestations of midge larvae (Resseliella clavula) and is a serious problem in some areas (10). The redhumped caterpillar (Schizura concinna), a tussock moth (Dasychira basiflava), io moth (Automeris io), and scarab beetles (Phyllophaga spp.) are among the numerous leaf feeders attacking dogwood (1). Introduced pests of flowering dogwood include the Japanese weevil (Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus) and Asiatic oak weevil (Crytepistomus castaneus) (8).
Basal stem canker, caused by the fungus Phytophthora cactorum, may girdle the tree and is the most lethal disease. Target cankers (Nectria galligena) sometimes occur on the trunk and limbs, and Armillaria mellea has been found on dogwoods. Leafspot (Cercospora cornicola) attacks seedlings, and Meliodogyne incognita causes severe root galling, associated with dieback and premature leaf fall in seedlings. Twig blight, caused by the fungus Myxosporium nitidum, may cause dieback of small twigs. Leaf spots and dieback of flowers are caused by Botrytis cinerea, Elsinoe corni, and Septoria cornicola, while Ascochyta cornicola may result in shrivelling and blackening of the leaves (7). Verticillium wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum) attacks dogwood (15), and the cherry leafroll, tobacco ringspot, and tomato ringspot viruses have been isolated from dogwood leaves (13).
Noninfectious diseases include sunscald, mechanical and drought injury, and freezing. Dogwood reproduction is often browsed heavily by deer and rabbits.
Flowering dogwoods are extremely valuable for wildlife because the seed, fruit, flowers, twigs, bark, and leaves are utilized as food by various animals. The most distinguishing quality of dogwood is its high calcium and fat content (5). Fruits have been recorded as food eaten by at least 36 species of birds, including ruffed grouse, bob-white quail, and wild turkey. Chipmunks, foxes, skunks, rabbits, deer, beaver, black bears, and squirrels, in addition to other mammals, also eat dogwood fruits. Foliage and twigs are browsed heavily by deer and rabbits. The quality of browse may be improved by controlled burns in the spring, which increase the protein and phosphoric acid content.
Flowering dogwood also is a favored ornamental species. It is highly regarded for landscaping and urban forestry purposes.
Virtually all the dogwood harvested was used in the manufacture of shuttles for textile weaving, but plastic shuttles have rapidly replaced this use. Small amounts of dogwood are used for other articles requiring a hard, close-textured, smooth wood capable of withstanding rough use. Examples are spools, small pulleys, malletheads, jewelers' blocks, and turnpins for shaping the ends of lead pipes (12).
Near the northern limits of its range, flowering dogwood becomes a many-branched shrub (15). Other than this, little is known of population differences other than the tendency for fruit weights to decrease with decreasing latitude and increasing length of growing season (16).
More than 20 cultivars of flowering dogwood are sold commercially in the United States (17). Four clones of flowering dogwood most commonly propagated as ornamentals are Cornus florida f. pendula (Dipp.) Schelle, with pendulous branches, Cornus florida f. rubra (West.) Schelle, with red or pink involucral bracts, Cornus florida f. pluribracteata Rehder, with six to eight large and several small bracts on the inflorescence, and Cornus florida f. xanthocarpa Rehder, with yellow fruit. Another cultivar, called Welchii, has yellow and red variegated leaves and is offered commercially (17).
In addition to these clones, Cornus florida var. urbaniana, a variety found in the mountains of Nuevo León and Veracruz, Mexico, differs from the typical species by its grayer twigs and larger fruit (15).
Flowering dogwood is not known to hybridize with other species.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Microsoft Stack Ranking is not Good Management
There are some excellent follow-up comments in my post about how Microsoft's current review stack ranking system seems completely busted and unfair. While I truly believe there are solutions to it, the solutions will neither be easy nor readily agreed upon. But our system is busted and we have to walk away from trending great performances downward, demotivating our employees, and giving people a reason to keep around their poor performers to ensure the bottom of the curve is always easily occupied.
A few questions considering the comments and the current review season joy:
- What do employees want and need in order for them to provide fantastic customer-pleasing results?
- We have a bunch of stinker leads still. How do we identify them? What do we do with them?
- What can the stack ranking system be replaced with?
The Washington Post recent had an article called "The Mark of a Good Manager." What makes a good manager? One that empowers and trusts their employees with meaningful work and a manager that is available for engaged conversation and is respectful of questions (a challenge for Microsoft). I have a great lead now, but I've had some leads who perfected the, "Huh? What the hell do you want?" gaze when I dropped by their office to clarify an implementation detail.
What the hell do I want? To get you to do your job.
Folks know that managers get a separate people review rating in addition to their individual rating. I haven't seen this given a whole lot of attention. A problem with the review rating is that it's still something negotiated by the lead and their management. Shouldn't the reports (from the very bottom of the hierarchy) have some kind of say? Folks might actually fill out the manager feedback if they knew there was a spot to rate their boss and have it stick. Sure, there might be some sycophantic and burning revenge bits in there but out of this noise would be the stars and the clunkers. Love your stars, get rid of your clunkers.
First, I'd want to fire the bad managers. But as a compromise, I'd look back at their individual contributions and if they were happy and productive good employees, I'd give them that chance to side-step back into an individual contributor world. Make this part of an effort to flatten management all-around and get more talented contributors back spec'ing, developing, testing, and all that other work. Decide that managers are going to plain just manage, and manage super-well.
Back to the stack ranking system. I was in Borders at
The article deals with the classical story of a team that did a fantastic job all around but now the manager is faced with stack ranking her employees. She says they all are the best (4.0) and has to deal with the consequences. I certainly recognized the listing of dysfunctional consequences that result from the competitive stack rank system:
- Competition.
- The perception of unfairness.
- The perception of impossibility.
- Suboptimization.
- Destroying intrinsic motivation.
Something I didn't realize is that good ole Deming himself decried ranking review systems and I thank the article for bringing that up. Back when I was a Deming-nerd I didn't work for a stank-ranking organization so that particular key point was lost of me. The Deming article Gone But Not Forgotten has the following succinct gem:
- Remove barriers that rob people of joy in their work. This will mean abolishing the annual rating or merit system that ranks people and creates competition and conflict.
I'd like to hear from the Microsoft executive who thinks they have greater insights into team leadership than Deming.
Our current review system lacks honesty and integrity when you have to fit people to a curve and then tailor your feedback according to where they ended up. You're lying to them about their accomplishments so that they can be fitted into a compensation model. You can't give them truly honest feedback during the rest of the year because the end-result-curve may not match your kudos.
The only feedback I see mandated to give people during the year? Give them feedback and "message" them if they are at risk of getting a 3.0 so that it's not a surprise. We spend more time preparing the soft-landing for bad-news that folks who are doing great don't get to hear it.
We have to grow up and come up with a review system that encourages truth, encourages recognition, and encourages people to be their best without having to kick their peer in the shin ("I don't have to run fast - I just have to run faster than you!"). And don't get trapped in the mindthink that truthful feedback is tightly coupled with compensation.


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Details on the Protector class of Forsaken World
Theyre nine feet tall, carry hammers the size of people, and are regularly seen carrying dwarves on their shoulders. Theyre the Stonemen, aka the Protector class. This class is where the tank in the word tank comes from. Looking as if theyve been carved out of a granite slab, the Protector class is a race of men made entirely out of stone. Naturally, this allows them access to a vast array of abilities to both absorb incoming attacks, as well as deliver bone-crushing assaults.
In a group formation, the Protector is the first line of defense in keeping everyone else out of harms way. With aggro-generating attacks and shouts, the Protector keeps the enemies attention focused entirely on him. As a Protector absorbs incoming damage, their special racial ability known as Fury gradually accumulates. many skills and abilities become more powerful with more Fury accumulated. Therefore, the longer a fight lasts, the more powerful a Protector becomes! Some skills directly consume Fury points, for a quick boost to damage or protection abilities. Wise use of accumulated Fury points can easily turn the tide of a battle.
This class is perfect for players interested in both dominating the battlefield with their presence, while simultaneously keeping everyone else out of harms way. Its also great if you want to be twice as tall as every other class in the game. They can also probably open jars really easily.


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The beginning of the HARD PART
As soon as I entered train station police lady came to me and asked for a permit. I explained her that it is coming later and took a ticket out of her hands. But the permit isn't coming at all...
After waiting for a while in a waiting lounge I decided to walk around a little bit as the police lady was watching me. And went to another waiting lounge leaving my bag with a monk and I saw some "white people" on my way, who just came from Lhasa. They are some guys from Canada and are travelling around much like I do just in a legal way. They adviced me a lots of things as the girl use to work in Lhasa for a tourist company.
Word by word and I asked about the permission and explained tbat I don't have one. They said it's impossible without it but she remembered that they do have the old one which they used to but with the expired date and issue date: 2010.08.06 and today is a 2010.08.17. They gave that permit to me and I added a nummber 1 with a black pen before 06 so it looks like it was issued just yesterday!:)
(the number "1" before "6" is my masterpiece - anyway - I don't understand a word what's written in there - just added "1" as I felt it might work - but none was sure about it - the Lithuanians did not had such a stamp in their permit... ) :)
I got back to lounge and I met a guys from Lithuania who where travelling with permissions and we exchanged with information and showed to each other the documents we have. They where leaving with previous train.
Shortly after they left the Police lady came to me and asked for a permit. I showed just a one part of it - the part with no personal names on it and explained that the second part is in Lhasa with my tourist agent (I lied) and the company who was just there took the rest of documents as the group they're travelling is bigger and They told me that this document will be enough for me. Police lady asked me for a passport and gave back a permit and a passport after checking a Chinese visa in it.
The guys from Lithuania had a copies of the permit. I believe it is possible to fake them as they do not check the numbers. Luckily for me...:)
The train has been delayed for two hours so it is departing at 18:46 instead of 16:46. I afraid to leave the waiting room as I see it as already passed obstacle and I'm not willing to shine around much as the less noticeable I behave the better even if once 8 got through with my lies and a fake permit. I don't like to lie and I feel actually really bad because of it but I guess that in current situation this is the only way to continue my journey.
I hope my permit will work in a train but at least after the police saw and accepted my story I feel a bit more relaxed and have an inside feeling that I do have a permit even if I don't - that inside feeling makes me more powered in my lies. And it's good. Kind of confidence which I was lacking. A lack of confidence which held me back and because of which I stayed in Tianjin for so long as everybody was scaring me.
With my new Tibetan friend we speak using gesture only as non of us understands each other. So even if I'm speaking I'm doing it in my mother tongue -Latvian.:) The monk knows that I'm travelling without a permission and it seems like he does not like it, but ... Life is life!:)
But finally - I got on the train which is very modern comparing to the one's I've driven before. It has got much more space in a doorways and it seems like it's brand new.
My real journey begins. From this moment I'm illegal. I'm a smuggler who smuggles in myself. I'm gonna wait until the next station which might be in about 3 to 4 hours and then sneak under the chairs so I could continue my trip unnoticed until Lhasa - the beginning of HARD PART II... :)
Just noticed - about an hour after my entrance into a train the police patrol containing three policeman where doing a checkoff documents and tickets. I went in a doorway for a cigarette just with my ticket in a hope that when they will get till me I will tell them that the rest is in my bag and hopefully they will skip the detailed check - but it did not worked. The police went back with me in a saloon and checked my passport, visa and ... permit, off course. AND I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D
Thank's God! So far - so good.


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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Penises of the Animal Kingdom
[left to right: Whale, Elephant, Giraffe, Bull, Horse, Pig, Porpoise, Ram, Goat, Hyena, Dog, Man]
Read more at the Improbable Blog (check also this link for a video on how penises work; not as simple as you would snigger).
As a bonus, Jim Knowlton gets to teach courses with cool titles, like the Human Gross Anatomy at the Indiana University. The closest cool (or hot?) homophone that I get to teach is the 'Pennes' bio-heat equation, which looks like this:
Tamil writings
I also have a Tamil language website, with essays/articles mostly on Science and Carnatic Music and occasional asides.
Interested readers are also welcome there.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes approach recognises and encourages learner-centred learning.That is from a document (pdf download) recommended to me; for assisting primarily 'academics with teaching and unit of study development commitments' in writing their 'learning outcome' in 'higher education courses'.
BTW, 'unit of study', in a language which address Chennai auto drivers as 'transport executives', means 'subject' (a la Thermodynamics).
2011 Read Book List
From experience while exposing such lists in blogs, let me add two things. Yes, its only my vanity that exposes such a list. What other primary reason a blog is for? Secondly, the list here doesn't include the 'technical stuff' one gets enamored by and endures with, during 'office hours'. That would be an overkill, even by the narcissist standards of an academic.
Now for the list, beneath the fold...
Saturday, July 28, 2012
John Timmer in Ars Technica: Epic fraud: How to succeed in science (without doing any).
Early Computing's 'Deal With the Devil': Marc Perry interviews George Dyson, dwelling on themes from Dyson's new book -- Turing's Cathedral -- on the early history of Computer Science.
Nick Rowe: Selection bias and disagreement in blogging.
Greg Downy at Neuroanthropology: Talent: A difference that makes a difference.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
With minor exceptions in plot elements and one neat idea notwithstanding, Railsea, the latest by China Mieville, a talented author at that, fits snugly into the above category.
Railsea has one neat idea. <SPOILER> What if our railroads become in a near-enough future, a sea, a maze of crisscrossing never-ending rails laid on a terrain of 'dangerous Earth'. Railsea as a symbolism for uncontrolled industrialization and associated deprecation. And mankind train-travels on Railsea as voyages on ships commandeered by noble captains bloodthirsty for Railsea monsters as life-ambitions (all domestic and gentle animals of our times have become megasize Railsea 'man-eaters'), as philosophies; </SPOILER> to far-off forgotten lands, salvaging washing machine wrecks of the 'past'; consulting charts and maps to sunken treasures... Pirates of the Caribbean (all four parts) meets Treasure Island meets Mobydick yielding a sum of the parts that is way less than each of the parts.
Railsea is an adventure tale, i.e. an attempt at that. Its target readers age mentally somewhere between a tween and an adult, too old to rejoice in a Treasure Island and too young to enjoy a Sense of an Ending (Julian Barnes); too modern for the directness of a Mobydick too impatient for the relaid Ulysses (James Joyce), too distracted to comprehend a Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco). The narration has all the elements tailor made for the genre: short dialogues interspersed with narrative that is also short, peppered with bombastic words perhaps to keep the needle of Fog Index reasonably above comprehension, all sectioned in short chapters of length between a page and five; Oh, BTW, the 'and' is printed throughout as &, with an original, lame, idea that reasons its form with rails (China, ayyoo!).
Railsea is science fiction, i.e. an attempt at that. A silly idea taken seriously, way too seriously by the author. Yes, there will be fans who will take it even more seriously, rave on, to interpret and infuse meanings into the copious blandness of a story that chugchugs sedately with blips of action frenzy, to the most predictable of endings even a P. G. Wodehouse could better. The book is a telegraph pre-script for an inevitable screen-script of a mega summer action blockbuster. Brace self, it could become one; such writing doesn't deserve anything better. Pools of joy and waves of sorrow are drifting through my annoyed mind...get the drift, 'young adult'?
Christopher Priest in a recent criticism of the 2012 ACClarke Award nominees had this to say on China Mieville and his Embassytown (I am selectively quoting portions, without traducing Priest but to drive my point):
Miéville has already won the Clarke Award three times – which is not his fault[...] However, a fourth award to this writer would send out a misleading and damaging message to the world at large: it suggests that not only is Mr Miéville the best the SF world can offer at the moment, he is shown to be more or less the only writer worth reading.[...] Although Miéville is clearly talented, he does not work hard enough.[...] He also uses far too many neologisms or SF nonce-words, which drive home the fact that he is defined and limited by the expectations of a genre audience.[...] A better writer would find a more effective way of suggesting strangeness or an alien environment than by just ramming words together. Resorting to wordplay is lazy writing. [...] I also find Miéville's lack of characterization a sign of author indifference [...] unless he is told in clear terms that he is under-achieving, that he is restricting his art by depending too heavily on genre commonplaces, he will never write the great novels that many people say he is capable of. In the short term, to imply that this (Embassytown) is the best science fiction novel of the current year by giving it a prize, or even shortlisting it for one, is just plain wrong.After reading Railsea, I agree with Mr.Priest -- whether a Mr. Scalzi agrees or not. I will not pre-order another book by China for some years.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Coming out
Two moving accounts:
Ashwin Nayak in In Theory: Turing Centennial Post:
We were walking through art galleries in San Francisco when Luca brought up the Turing centenary events that were taking place around the world. None of the events celebrating his work referred to Turing's homosexuality. Luca wondered whether the celebrations would be complete without revisiting this aspect of his life. As a response, he was thinking of having a series of guest blog posts by contemporary gay and lesbian computer scientists about their experiences as gay professionals. How would they compare with those in Turing's times? [...]
Standard Deviation ("... true story of a student currently studying at IIT-Madras...") [P. 20 in the pdf]:
Hello. You do not know me. Even the people around me don't really know me. Because I have a secret, something I've kept to my world for a very long time; something I wish to reveal. But not confess; that makes it sound criminal. I need closure and for that, I must be true to myself. So here goes.
I'm gay.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Sacre Bleu
I watched Woody Allen's Oscar winning Midnight in Paris a week before I read Sacre Bleu, the poster of which also used that color blue! The Paris they both depict, a cauldron of creativity and culture, is inspiring and inviting. While the movie glorifies the city and its dwellers in the 1920s, the book is more expansive in its period. Both are positive and entertaining. Surprisingly, the book doesn't utilize the Surrealists of the 1920s -- introduced effectively by Woody Allen in Midnight... -- may be because they didn't use Sacre Bleu, or more to the context, didn't paint real life. Nevertheless, Moore's book has an all star line-up of painters and artists spanning several centuries. Should not reveal more to avoid spoilers, but I was reminded of Danny Ocean's (of Ocean's Eleven) comment, which goes something like: "I always get confused with Manet and Monet; I know one of them is a painter and the other died of Syphilis." I also liked the way Oscar Wilde (and his creation The Picture of Dorian Gray) and Michelangelo are weaved into the main story. But that also prompts my crib. When Moore took a perspective to include sculptors and writers, persons involved in creative pursuits in fields other than painting, I expected him to give a scientist the same treatment as other Creators. Such a character is already there, begging to be 'mused' with all his eccentricities and ludicrous contraptions, in Professeur Bastard.
Don't expect a Coyote Blue or anything that Chris has written earlier. The plot here is even more intriguing and the exploration of the 'what ifs', ambitious. The narrative is taut, the humor, as usual, whacky and sophisticated. In fact, the humour is underplayed (barring the penis fixation, but then it is after all our Chris). Moore's baker protagonist Lucien and family are also likable characters churning up lively banter and bread (with rats). Moore cites enough books and on-field research at the end that made the characters and Paris authentic. He glosses over the explanation for iridescent colors -- which I wouldn't hold against him. I liked the characterization of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, present throughout the book as an ebullient, congenial drunkard of a painter, unlike the one-dimensional recluse portrayed in the movie Moulin Rouge. Sacre Bleu, in my opinion, is the best work of fiction by Christopher Moore. And yes, I don't think Chris ruined Art for everyone. He has entertained it for me in radiant colors.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Timequake is an autobiography. An autobiography can be told only as a 'timequake', a set of events that cannot be altered to suit our convenience and comfort. It has to include all the mistakes, wrong turns and consequences. Timequake is also a fiction. Fiction, as a fertile imagination of the mind of the writer (even as he plays the autobiographer in the same book), is not affected by any 'timequake'. Fiction lives many a life in the mind of the author, even as he relives his life in a timequake. Kurt Vonnegut is the autobiographer. Kilgore Trout is the writer - an alter ego of Kurt. They both recount their stories and life, through 'time quake' and before and after. They even meet, rejoice, relive as they recount. Timequake (1998) is one of the later writings of Kurt Vonnegut (passed away in 2007), is also the most moving of his books, if not the most disturbing (thankfully). The Kurt and Kilgore of Timequake did remind me of the haunting lines of Paul Simon, "Old friends, old friends, sat on their park bench like bookends.... how terribly strange to be seventy..." They do bring out that sigh but they were also uplifting.
If you are getting introduced to the writings of Kurt Vonnegut through this book, be prepared for an exasperation that should turn into fulfillment only as you finish reading the book. For veteran fans of Kurt this feeling is neither new nor artificial. I got introduced to Kurt through Breakfast of Champions, a whacky, funny and seemingly pointless collection of loosely tied up events, sometimes bizarre and sometimes poignant, narrated presumably by the same guy. After going through Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, Bagombo Snuff Box, Welcome to the Monkey House... I have come to expect the exasperation and fulfillment. Books of Kurt works at least in two layers; as individual events, funny and reflective, frivolous and poignant and as a collection with a thread of common message: we, humans, are made of this (war) and this (peace).
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Research side-effects
As I was reading my recent research, the kid peeps in with a "Whats this stuff Appa?" and so I gushed exposition from all my science outreach tentacles.
Here is the result.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
El Naschie Update
excessive and unwarranted and amounted to an abuse of his position as Editor-in-Chiefand he has
failed to provide any documentary evidence whatever that his papers were the subject of peer review,let me give my bloggers' update.
Firstly, I had queried in my second post then, about the peer reviews of those 290 papers. I suggested those PRs to be published in the open to clear the name of EN, if he is a deserving scientist who is 'wronged' by 'libelous criticisms' of 'jealous academicians'. That those peer reviews are non-existent according to the current ruling provides a closure to my post.
[To digress, I wrote a subsequent post on the necessity for open peer reviewing to avoid EN-like mishaps, which is a relevant issue worth discussing at nanopolitan. Later.]
Back when this scandal broke out, I picked it with trepidation, by providing quotes from two links in my first post, one from John Baez and the other by Jacques Distler, both well respected physicists (n-Category Cafe group blog; Azimuth blog by John). Among others, Bee (Sabine) had also linked to John's post, while discussing the EN-issue at her Backreaction. The comments section of that post was closed by her due to excessive sock-puppetry.
You will not find those original posts by John and Jacques anymore on their sites. This vanishing act happened around Jan 2009, just a month or two after their original posting dates (~ Nov 2008). I suspected then that both could have received possible legal threats from EN. There is some tangential corroboration now from Quirin Schiermeier (Nature reporter who wrote the article on EN), who while writing about his "EN libel experience", says:
[...]those who raised their voices, in blogs or letters, were silenced by his threats of litigation.[in above quote, his = EN]
In this context, it is scary to note what QS observes about UK libel laws,
[...] English libel law can stifle justified discourse, including open scientific discussion. The burden of proof falls too heavily on the defendant to prove what they said was true, not on the accuser to show that it is false. The law is therefore more likely to stifle free speech and suppress legitimate criticism than defend the interests of science or society at large [...]Even in Feb 2009, one Jason started a blog El Naschie Watch and collected all news and "facts" about EN -- many of which were shown to be false or duped claims; browse the archive of that blog. ENW blog also linked to the original posts of John and Jacques, and after similar bafflement about their disappearance, had the time and tenacity to scrounge the internet archive to restore their content.
Here it is, in a suitably titled, That Hard-to-Find Baez Material.
But, back then, when the posts of John and Jacques disappeared, I felt shafted. I resolved never to pick up a discussion from blogs authored by those who I am not acquainted with. May be now John Baez would write about why he removed his criticism from n-Category Cafe. May be he won't. We all move on.
Chronicles of Extreme Publishing
Two items:
El Naschie loses his case against Nature.
Short version: As chief editor of a journal, the man published tons of papers that were widely deemed to be of very poor quality. A Nature story on his retirement, and raised doubts about the peer review process for the man's papers. The man sued Nature for libel and lost.
In a section headed "The implausible absence of documentation", the ruling also says that El Naschie "failed to provide any documentary evidence whatever that his papers were the subject of peer review". The ruling states, "I am satisfied that his papers were not the subject of any, or any proper, peer review at all."
Back when the scandal broke, Arunn had a couple of link-filled posts on l'affaire El Naschie.
A New Record in Retractions
An inquiry panel in Japan has recommended retraction of over 170 papers by Yoshitaka Fujii. [See also: Retraction Watch posts Report: Fujii faked data in at least 172 papers and Does anesthesiology have a problem? Final version of report suggests Fujii will take retraction record, with 172]
Thanks to Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi for the e-mail alert.
What if ...
... academics produced a trashy, checkout-counter magazine?
Check out the examples -- Linguistics Today, Grammarian, and Werd -- in Mark Liberman's post at Language Log.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes
Each of the story in the book is an "untold mystery" by Watson in the original; cases that were solved spectacularly by Holmes, whose time hasn't come then for public consumption. For instance, "The Affair of the Aluminium Crutch", the third story here, was mentioned in the introductory passages of "The Musgrave Ritual". That ploy, while regaling the reader, unfortunately also sets his expectation high. Premonitory came when I read in the first story titled Baron Maupertuis, a sentence "There is certainly more likelihood of picking up Moriarty's trail again if we take up Lady Beasant's consultation, than if we sit here sucking pipes." Sucking pipes? That usage should have given the game away that the author is belabored to put on this writing style that does not come natural for him. But I am nit-picking; so I thought and I persisted my reading. All the usual suspects from Prof. James Moriarty to esoteric Spaniards were there. But the stories, one after another, came with an original title by Doyle, and gloriously fell flat. Even an introduction of a uni-sex character (Watson, there are many other forms of attachment between two men), with a reference to the "esteemed and now infamous Mr. Wilde", couldn't save the book. If these are the stories that go with the titles mentioned in passing as "untold mysteries" in the originals by Doyle, by writing them, Paul Gilbert provides now a good reason why they deserve to remain untold.
Having bitten once, I should have shied. I picked another book of similar purpose, a more recent "Between the Thames and the Tiber: Further Adventures by Sherlock Holmes" by Ted Riccardi. I gave up midway through the third story in this collection, which thankfully, also had 'original titles'. There is no additional cause for dislike in this case. Seriously, what these 'stories' -- for, I wouldn't dare anoint them 'mysteries' -- uniformly lack in plump is the fine art of deduction that Doyle originated and enunciated so well through his Sherlock to unravel a seemingly unsolvable mystery through logical appraisal of clues and facts that were at times merely over the top but neither impossible nor implausible. There are more such attempts to write 'Sherlock Holmes mysteries' by other authors (counted seven). I only hope some of those stories pass muster in the mystery and deduction department. Because, with no real talent in English writing, even I can construct Sherlockian sentences (the only thing going right for these books). Like this: After having brought on my undivided attention to bear upon some of the purported mysteries, delivered in wads of accentuated Victorian text, in two manuscripts by seemingly different authors, nevertheless bereft of any real mystery or deduction whatsoever, I could only throw up my arms now in remonstrance and ejaculate, "Catastrophe."
Imagining Creativity
The goal of "Imagine," according to its subtitle, is to tell us "how creativity works" — to offer a scientific, mechanistic account of a seemingly ineffable phenomenon. And what distinguishes the scientific from other modes of thinking is not its technology, level of detail or even subject matter, but its ability to discover reliable cause-and-effect relationships. The clarity of physics and chemistry is rare in social science, but this is no license for presenting interesting speculations as settled truths.More...
Sunday, July 08, 2012
The Shallows
Short review (of Shallows): Our increased online activities cultivate an increased level of distraction in us than the internet-noisome-free English lit of yore. Is(n't) Google making us stupid? Perhaps yes, according to Shallows, after chapters of eloquent analysis with a detectable tinge of panic. Analysis that is mostly valid for a library or a dictionary or even a shopping mall. All are sources of such 'distractions' that rewire our brain to make us want something else on the rack than what we hold in our hand. Each of the chapters in The Shallows definitely provides in lucid text, well researched information on the evolution of reading in humans, culminating into an argument for 'unplugging' our reading. Ironically, by then, the argument for 'absorbed reading' is blunted by the prose. So, Is Google making us stupid? But do we need Google to make us so? For instance, if we find online activities distracting and hurting an endearing task we were sure we like to do now -- like writing a book named Shallows -- why not reduce online activities or pull out the internet cable? I am checking this one for the past few months with my online writing -- to minimize my "internet distraction" in order to write a book. It seems possible and not as painful as Nick Carr panics in his book. If we are incapable of discerning, deciding and acting on our priorities, do we need a Google to pronounce us stupid?
Long review: If you have read the above 'link-free' paragraph in one go on your screen, you are perhaps too much into IntraWeb you would already have stopped reading books. Or perhaps you are totally 'unplugged' to retain your ability to grasp my sententious paragraphs above, albeit online. In either case, you don't need The Shallows, leave alone my long review of it to help you decide on its reading. Evgeny Morosov in a best-of-2011-put-down suggested, "This is a book that should have stayed a tweet," about a Jeff Jarvis book. I won't dare to suggest such a verdict for The Shallows with its well researched content. But when viewed as a long argument for a 'patented, off-line un-distracted, concentrated reading', I certainly felt The Shallows could have remained Is Google Making Us Stupid.
Nanopolitan Gets a Co-Blogger
I am pleased to announce that Arunn Narasimhan is now a co-blogger here.
Arunn has been blogging on and off at several sites, and I have had many occasions to link to his posts. It's fantastic that, in a conversation yesterday, he and I came up with the idea of his joining Nanopolitan as a co-contributor.
The sidebar and the About page have been modified to reflect this change, and each contributor now has a separate "Intro" page: Abi and Arunn.
Over to you, Arunn!
The Higgs! The Boson!
The Hunted (cartoon), by Abstruse Goose.
Do you still want to see this Odd Particle I've found? (cartoon), by Noise to Signal.
A sonnet on a Higgs-like particle (video) by Vi Hart.
BoingBoing: Gettin' Higgy With it: A Roundup of Higgs Boson Jokes on Twitter.
Closer Home. On the one hand, The gods of the particles ("The Higgs bit we know. But the boson? Western science is overlooking India's contribution to the discovery") by Amit Chaudhuri, and For the Indian Father of the 'God Particle,' a Long Journey from Dhaka by Samanth Subramanian.
On the other hand, Higgs and the subcontinent by Rahul Siddharthan; and also on the other hand (a very snarky one!), Putting the Bose in boson. And my fist in your face-on by Achintya Rao.
Extreme Academia
Russia: Drunk professor forces students to sit through 23-hour-long science exam.
Germany: University sues over early graduation: "The School of Economics and Management in Essen is asking the court to make former student Marcel Pohl, 22, pay an extra $3,772 after he obtained his degrees in only three semesters instead of the usual 11."
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Impact(!) of Mathematical Equations in Biology Papers
... The density of equations in an article has a significant negative impact on citation rates, with papers receiving 28% fewer citations overall for each additional equation per page in the main text. [...]
That's from the abstract of a recent PNAS paper: Heavy use of equations impedes communication among biologists by Tim W. Fawcett1 and Andrew D. Higginson of the University of Bristol.
Uri Simonsohn's Killer App
It has been reported to be pretty good at flagging fraudulent data in research publications -- so good, in fact, that it has already led to resignation of a Dutch scientist; according to this Science Insider story, it has forced another (unnamed) perpetrator to resign.
And for all that, the killer app -- a new statistical technique -- is yet to be published.
Science Insider has been covering this very interesting development which, apparently, is sending panic waves into the community of social psychologists:
Philosophers, Wikipedia, ...
... and infographics!
Lots of stuff for philosophers and historians to nibble at, and (eye) candy for the rest of us...[Addendum: a bigger, richer infographic of all the influentials in Wikipedia.]


text:
The Supreme Court Monday rebuffed efforts by states to block funding to Planned Parenthood.
It left in place two lower court opinions that said that states violate federal law when they terminate Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates who offer preventive care for low income women.
It would have taken four justices to agree to hear the issue, and only three conservative justices -- Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch -- voted to hear the case.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared to side with the court's liberals in not taking up the case -- showing an effort to avoid high-profile abortion-related issues for now.
Roberts and Kavanaugh "likely have serious objections," said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. "But such votes seem to be a signal that they would rather avoid contentious, high-profile disputes for now, at least where possible."
The case concerned whether states can block Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates that provide such women with annual health screens, contraceptive coverage and cancer screening.
Thomas wrote a dissent for the three conservatives, saying the court isn't doing its job.
"What explains the Court's refusal to do its job here?" Thomas wrote.
"I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named Planned Parenthood," he wrote.
"But these cases are not about abortion rights," he said. "They are about private rights of action under the Medicaid Act. Resolving the question presented here would not even affect Planned Parenthood's ability to challenge the states' decisions; it concerns only the rights of individual Medicaid patients to bring their own suits."
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