280,951 Post-It Notes

280,951 Post-It Notes, and a lot of spare time.


EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Or click here to view it full screen (worthwhile).

Biostatistics vs. Lab Research

I had this same conversation just this morning!



Somehow I doubt the full humor of the situation will be apparent to most people, but this conversation occurs at my job on an occasional basis. A sample size of N=3 is a barest minimum for even a t-test, and on that basis alone probably isn't enough, but I'm willing to set that aside for the bigger issue, because it depends on the question.

It is a matter of the question asked. Not all experiments are the same, nor are all samples the same. In my conversation this morning, there was a basic misunderstanding of the sample unit. There was a sample size of N=3 in one group (treatment), and another group of 3 serving as a control. The problem (well one of the problems) was that the controls were not used as an independent group, but rather as a way to normalize each of the first 3. Instead of having two groups of 3 each, that we really had was a single group of 3 pairs of subjects (matched pairs). This lead to a few hours of trying to untangle What had been done versus what needed to be done. Frustrating, but then education is an important part of my job too.

Thor's Hammer?

From POPSCI - Trapping Lightning in a block of acrylic.

There are many unusual things to see around Newton Falls, Ohio—the Wal-Mart with hitching posts for Amish buggies, the Army base with helicopters and tanks proudly arranged on hills—but I was here for the most unusual thing of all: the local Dynamitron. I was here to make frozen lightning.

Click over to POPSCI for the full story and a video. Cool stuff.

[Found on Proof] 

Scientopia Goes Online

Many of the diaspora from Scienceblogs have reconvened at a new site, including several I read regularly. Check out Scientopia to see what these science bloggers are up to.