Tom Lehrer died a few days ago. For many of us involved in any way with science or math (or many other things, too!), his songs were and are a deep and lasting and gleefully sharp influence. [The photo here shows Tom and a bunch of us having coffee about twenty years ago. One […]
Helen Arney, and the magazine Chemistry World, and a whole bunch of friends, have added new bits to Tom Lehrer‘s song “The Elements.” The tune was written long ago by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and…). Here are videos of that version, and an earlier version in Japanese by relatives of Ig Nobel Prize winner Theo […]
Three days after James Watson (of eventual molecular-structure-of-DNA fame) was born, Tom Lehrer (eventual author and singer of “The Elements” and much more) was born. Make of that what you will. This month, each of them becomes 90 years old. Andrew Robinson wrote an appreciation of Tom Lehrer, in Nature magazine.
There’s a new way to teach and learn mathematics, replacing the old new way to teach and learn mathematics. The previous new method replaced previous previous new methods. NBC News 4, in Washington, DC, describes the newest of the new: An Iowa woman jokingly calls it “Satan’s handiwork.” A California mom says she’s broken down […]