May 31, 2009
3 Quarks Daily Announces Four Annual Blog Prizes: The Quarks!
June 21, 2009, NOTE: The winners have been announced. See here.
June 11, 2009, NOTE: See list of seven finalists by clicking here.
Dear Readers (and Writers!),
I have some exciting news to give you: in the interest of encouraging and rewarding good writing in the blogosphere, we have decided to start awarding four prizes every year in the respective areas of Science, Arts & Literature, Politics, and Philosophy for the best blog post in those fields. Here's how it's going to work:
Starting next month, the prizes will be awarded every year on the two solstices and the two equinoxes. So, we will announce the winner of the science prize on June 21, the arts and literature prize on September 22, the politics prize on December 21, and the philosophy prize on March 20, 2010.
About a month before the prize is to be announced we will solicit nominations of blog entries from our readers. The nominating period will last approximately one to two weeks. At the end of this time, we will open up the process to voting by our readers. After this period, we will take the top twenty voted-for nominees, and the four main daily editors of 3 Quarks Daily (Abbas Raza, Robin Varghese, Morgan Meis, and Azra Raza) will select six finalists from these, plus they may also add a wildcard entry of their choosing. And finally, a well-known intellectual from the field will pick the winner, runner up, and third place finisher from these, and will write some short comments on the winning entries.
Just for fun, the first place award will be called the "Top Quark," and will include a cash prize of one thousand dollars; the second place prize, the "Strange Quark," will include a cash prize of three hundred dollars; and the third place winner will get the honor of winning the "Charm Quark," along with two hundred dollars.
(Welcome to those coming here for the first time. Learn more about who we are and what we do here, and do check out the full site here. Bookmark us and come back regularly, or sign up for the RSS feed.)
*
The 3QD Prize in Science, 2009, Judged by Steven Pinker
As I said, the winners of this prize will be announced on June 21, 2009, so we don't have as much time as we'd like for the nominating and voting processes. Here's the somewhat tight schedule:
Today:
- The nominating process is hereby declared open. Please nominate your favorite blog entry in the field of the natural and social sciences by placing the URL for the blogpost (the permalink) in the comments section of this post. You may also add a brief comment describing the entry and saying why you think it should win.
- Entries must be in English.
- The editors of 3QD reserve the right to reject entries that we feel are not appropriate.
- The blog entry may not be more than a year old from today. In other words, it must have been written after May 24, 2008.
- You may also nominate your own entry from your own or a group blog.
- Guest columnists at 3 Quarks Daily are also eligible to be nominated, and may also nominate themselves if they wish.
- You may also comment here on our prizes themselves, and this post, of course!
June 1, 2009
- The nominating process will end at midnight (NYC time) of this date, so this time around there is only a week to submit nominations.
- At some point on this day, the public voting will be opened.
June 8, 2009
- Public voting ends at midnight (NYC time).
June 21, 2009
- The winners are announced.
This year, the winners of the 3QD Prize in Science will be selected from the six finalists by Steven Pinker, who will also provide some comments about each of the three winning entries. We are honored to have him as our final judge, and would like to thank him warmly for his service.
One Final and Important Request
If you have a blog or website, please help us spread the word about our prizes by linking to this post. Otherwise, just email your friends and tell them about it! I really look forward to reading some very good material, and think this should be a lot of fun for all of us.
Best of luck and thanks for your attention!
Yours,
Abbas
Posted by Abbas Raza at 12:00 AM | Permalink
Comments
Very interesting and exciting development at 3QD. One question: how can one remember what Science columns were written over the last year? Is there a way to see the list, which would remind us of the post and we may then go back and read it again before voting?
Posted by: Tasnim | May 25, 2009 9:46:01 AM
Sorry, there is no way to see a list of just the science Monday columns. You can browse the Mondays page by author, that's about it.
Posted by: Abbas Raza | May 25, 2009 10:08:21 AM
Steven Pinker as a judge? Great!
Out with that ghost in the machine!
Posted by: Dave Ranning | May 25, 2009 10:39:46 AM
http://community.myfoxla.com/blogs/Brendatucker/2009/
05/25/Comment_to_a_recent_blog_entry_by_Razib_on_his
_blog_Gene_Expression
Posted by: Brenda Tucker | May 25, 2009 1:15:02 PM
Is this the "Fourth" Annual Blog prizes, because I only count three actual prizes?
Posted by: Brenda Tucker | May 25, 2009 1:31:42 PM
http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2009/03/voluntary_amputation_extra_phantom_limbs.php
Posted by: Mo | May 25, 2009 2:39:03 PM
I wonder where history will fall in these categories? It has the characteristics of both a social science and a humane letters field. Should we nominate in both, depending on the blog post in question?
Posted by: Jonathan Dresner | May 25, 2009 3:11:44 PM
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2008/09/variational-principle.html
Posted by: Bee | May 25, 2009 3:26:04 PM
Two awards named after up-type quarks, and one named after a down-type quark? Now that's just strange.
Posted by: onymous | May 25, 2009 3:58:48 PM
I nominate two posts by Terry Tao:
http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/sailing-into-the-wind-or-faster-than-the-wind/
http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/the-black-scholes-equation/
The first demonstrates how a boat on a frictionless ocean can, starting from rest, move up to twice as fast as the wind in the direction of the wind, solving a problem that was the subject of much discussion in the blogosphere last year. He also relates this to the well-known phenomena by which boats with friction manage to sail directly upwind.
The second post gives a (relatively) accessible introduction to the Black-Scholes option pricing formula that underlay much economic speculation over the past decade or two, and showed clearly how it depends on certain assumptions about changes in the price of the underlying commodity.
Posted by: Kenny Easwaran | May 25, 2009 5:47:49 PM
http://neurowhoa.blogspot.com/2009/03/believer-brains-different-from-non.html
Posted by: NeuroWhoa | May 25, 2009 6:19:16 PM
Here's one by me, detailing some online psychology experiments. People seemed to like it.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/08/18/top-ten-online-psychology-experiments/
These are by a fantastically fussy and funny science blogger, not moi:
The Neurology of Twitter
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2009/04/neurology-of-twitter.html
"A preemptive blog post that reports on the predicted results from the inevitable functional MRI study of Twitter
activation, before anyone can publish the actual findings."
Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word)
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2008/11/intersex-for-lack-of-better-word.html
"The intersection of art, science, and neuroendocrinology."
Voodoo Correlations in Social Neuroscience
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2009/01/voodoo-correlations-in-social.html
Epic author comments!
Do Mirror Neurons Control Hard-ons?
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2008/06/mirror-neurons-control-hard-ons.html
"Do 'mirror neurons' control the magnitude of your erection while viewing 50 second porn clips? A skeptical view."
Posted by: Sandra Kiume | May 25, 2009 7:52:37 PM
http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2008/10/prairie.html
This is a photoblog I wrote after exploring a restored section of prairie in Wisconsin. That grass is really something!
Posted by: Cheryl Rofer | May 25, 2009 8:48:05 PM
The Physics of Fantastic Contraption
http://blog.dotphys.net/2008/10/physics-of-fantastic-contraption-i/
This post examines the popular game Fantastic Contraption and sets up some experiments to determine its physics.
Posted by: Rhett | May 25, 2009 10:27:52 PM
I nominate my following post which is part of an ongoing series on conscious and unconscious processes in the brain- http://the-mouse-trap.blogspot.com/2009/05/major-conscious-and-unconscious.html.
Perhaps Pinker will not like the lingering ghost in the machine- but at least I hope he reads my post;-)
Posted by: Sandeep Gautam | May 26, 2009 12:48:21 AM
I nominate three blogs for your consideration, as they all provide thoughtful and stimulating comments on science and science policy:
In no particular order:
Cosmic Variance: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/
Loom: http://scienceblogs.com/loom/
2020 Science: http://2020science.org/
Posted by: Joerg Heber | May 26, 2009 7:53:59 AM
Sorry for not including links to actual blog posts. So here I try again with blog posts of the three blogs mentioned above that I found highly interesting (and original!) to read. Though I have to add that the sum of their posts is greater than the parts...
Cosmic Variance: scientific reality applied to time travel: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/05/14/rules-for-time-travelers/
Loom: Carl identifies and highlights problems in the way the Ida paper was published: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/05/21/science-held-hostage/
2020 Science: on C.P. Snow's "Two-cultures" http://2020science.org/2009/05/06/cultural-smokescreens/
Posted by: Joerg Heber | May 26, 2009 8:37:17 AM
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2009/05/poor_poor_ida_or_overselling_a.php
Posted by: Laelaps | May 26, 2009 11:02:54 AM
I nominate Sheril Kirshenbaum's memorable post from Discover Blog's The Intersection:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/03/25/singled-out/
Posted by: WhiteLabCoat | May 26, 2009 11:04:38 AM
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/07/09/dawn-of-the-picasso-fish/
Posted by: Carl Zimmer | May 26, 2009 11:30:18 AM
What a great idea, Abbas and other editors. By making the awards for single posts, you really do concentrate on writing. Here's my trouble -- I am wavering, with so many marvelous science posts to choose from, any one of which would make a superb winner. Wondering -- would you suggest a nomination limit per reader? Or...
Posted by: Elatia Harris | May 26, 2009 11:44:41 AM
Oh, BTW -- Science bloggers read this! Just went to Carl Zimmer's blog (click on his name coupla comments upstream...) He's made it so easy for me. Links to some of his greatest posts of the year on today's main page.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | May 26, 2009 11:47:26 AM
I'd like to nominate Carl Zimmer's Dawn of the Picasso Fish:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/07/09/dawn-of-the-picasso-fish/
Great story telling that brings science to life.
Posted by: Andrew Maynard | May 26, 2009 12:03:46 PM
My Nominee: The End of The Age of Man? by Observations of a Nerd
http://observationsofanerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/end-of-age-of-man.html
Posted by: Christie | May 26, 2009 12:13:40 PM
Andrew, Carl had already nominated that post. I know there is something by you that has also been nominated. Good luck!
Elatia, one reason not to have a nomination limit per reader is that it is unenforceable with the technology that we have. But I should point out that multiple nominations of the same author's posts will possibly serve to dilute the votes any one of those posts gets in the voting round next week. So, nominating more than one post by the same author is probably not a good idea.
But I leave the strategy to those who are trying to win!
This is already fun...
Posted by: Abbas Raza | May 26, 2009 12:22:03 PM
Tetrapod Zoology is /the/ most scientifically satisfying blog out there.
Here are two of my favorites from recent months, but the blog covers so much ground that I recommend you peruse it a bit until you find something of interest to you.
http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/03/passerine_birds_fight_dirty.php
http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/05/mekosuchines_2009.php
Posted by: Morgan | May 26, 2009 1:21:37 PM
I see the logic of that, Abbas -- thanks. I'm all over FB with this. All over my database. Perhaps there should be a non-cash award for the most rewarding/fatiguing comment thread, here on 3QD alone.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | May 26, 2009 2:22:45 PM
I nominate 2020Science blog
Blog entry: http://2020science.org/2009/03/20/blogging-the-demise-of-science-journalism/
Posted by: nanotürkiye | May 26, 2009 2:45:05 PM
OK, I had better nominate something of mine, because nobody else will.
http://scienceblogs.com/sunclipse/2008/10/the_necessity_of_mathematics.php
People seemed to like this one, too:
http://scienceblogs.com/sunclipse/2008/11/reverse_the_baryon_flux_polari.php
Posted by: Blake Stacey | May 26, 2009 2:51:55 PM
Some stuff that people seemed to enjoy:
http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2009/03/the_value_of_stupidity.php
http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2009/03/the_serotonin_system_and_all_t.php
http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2009/03/depression_post_4_the_serotoni.php
Posted by: Scicurious | May 26, 2009 3:19:11 PM
I nominate 2020 Science for the following post:
http://2020science.org/2009/03/20/blogging-the-demise-of-science-journalism/
Posted by: Michal Galdzicki | May 26, 2009 4:15:28 PM
Thanks Abbas. I am looking forward to reading the winning posts.
Slightly unrelated. How did the May 15 talk go? I thought I shall be reading about it here.
Posted by: Manas Shaikh | May 26, 2009 6:33:41 PM
There's nothing about this in the rules that I can see, but at Crooked Timber Henry makes the argument for not nominating "high profile" bloggers (such as himself and his co-bloggers at CT)--which to my mind would include the writer-bloggers at Seed/Science Blogs.
http://crookedtimber.org/2009/05/25/the-quarks/
Abbas, does that accord with your intention, or were you hoping for this award to be completely merit-based, regardless of profile?
Posted by: Chris Schoen | May 26, 2009 7:52:58 PM
Chris,
I am hoping completely merit-based. So go ahead and nominate "high-profile" bloggers with no guilt... :-)
Manas,
I hear it went extremely well. I am hoping one of the 3QD people will write about it sometime soon. Thanks for asking.
Posted by: Abbas Raza | May 26, 2009 9:17:29 PM
I hereby nominate Dave Gorski's antivax post: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=384
Made of win.
Posted by: Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer | May 26, 2009 10:50:44 PM
Hmm, I see, self-nomination may be the only way to get something in...
A Blog Around The Clock: Why social insects do not suffer from ill effects of rotating and night shift work?
A Blog Around The Clock: Circadian Rhythm of Aggression in Crayfish
A Blog Around The Clock: Co-Researching spaces for Freelance Scientists?
A Blog Around The Clock: The Shock Value of Science Blogs
A Blog Around The Clock: Defining the Journalism vs. Blogging Debate, with a Science Reporting angle
Posted by: Coturnix | May 27, 2009 12:33:39 AM
http://qbnets.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/pagerank-how-google-used-statistics-to-change-the-world/
Posted by: rrtucci | May 27, 2009 1:03:38 AM
Here two vblog posts from nano2hybrids.net:
1. A self-nomination:
http://www.nano2hybrids.net/view_post.php?postid=239
2. A nomination for one of the co-author of the blog (from the "big boss" actually)
http://www.nano2hybrids.net/view_post.php?postid=298
Both videos to show the real life of a scientist (first one shows a good day, and second one shows a harder day)
Posted by: Irene | May 27, 2009 4:41:32 AM
http://tomkow.typepad.com/tomkowcom/2008/05/blackburn-tru-1.html
The the metaphysical limits of science.
Posted by: Terrance Tomkow | May 27, 2009 5:48:59 AM
1. Science blogpost nomination:
http://horadecubitus.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
(reason - I liked the clarity and that it gave a rounded explanation of the problem and the context)
2. Literature (poetry):
http://elusivedepths.blogspot.com/
(The poems Gliding and Mohini Pisaasu).
Posted by: Shubashree Desikan | May 27, 2009 6:02:07 AM
http://scienceofrunning.blogspot.com/2009/05/smell-this.html
A post about a Harvey Society Lecture on the science of smell, at NYC's Rockefeller University.
Posted by: Julie | May 27, 2009 7:28:01 AM
http://southernfriedscience.com/2009/02/15/a-curious-case-of-convergent-evolution/
A case of convergent evolution from Darwin Day
http://southernfriedscience.com/2009/04/19/the-serpent-and-the-platypus/
The Serpent and the Platypus, convergence in snakes and platypuses
http://southernfriedscience.com/2009/02/16/the-ecological-disaster-that-is-dolphin-safe-tuna/
My co-blogger's take on the failure of dolphin safe tuna
Posted by: Southern Fried Scientist | May 27, 2009 8:11:42 AM
A post from my humorous biology/biodiversity blog, The Artful Amoeba:
http://frazer.northerncoloradogrotto.com/2009/05/23/moss-that-swings-both-ways/
(don't be fooled by the root -- you can also access it via http://theartfulamoeba.com )
I saw someone had had the daring to stick human genes into a moss(?!) and see what happened. I couldn't resist, and I'm proud I managed to write the whole thing without once using the term "Frankenmoss". Although I seem to have used it just now. Doh.
Posted by: Jennifer Frazer | May 27, 2009 9:54:48 AM
Ok, I'll throw these into the mix as well...
A Marine Biologist's Story
http://observationsofanerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/marine-biologists-story.html
Having Some Fun With Evolution
http://observationsofanerd.blogspot.com/2008/10/having-some-fun-with-evolution.html
Why I am not a Darwinist, but we should celebrate Darwin Day
http://observationsofanerd.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-am-not-darwinist.html
Posted by: Christie | May 27, 2009 10:11:58 AM
http://shirleywho.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/corpus-
callosum-1st-edition-of-open-science-round-up/
http://ways.org/en/blogs/2009/may/24/implementing_fant
asy_science_funding
http://ways.org/en/blogs/2008/dec/28/the_journal_scope
_in_focus_putting_scholarly_communication_in_context
Posted by: Daniel Mietchen | May 27, 2009 10:15:10 AM
Two self-noms, since everyone else is doing it and I can't find the posts I like on other blogs right now:
http://network.nature.com/people/eva/blog/2008/11/06/last-saturday
http://network.nature.com/people/eva/blog/2009/01/08/a-squishy-topic
Posted by: Eva | May 27, 2009 3:05:51 PM
The Ocean's Big pHat Problem
http://maukamakai.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/the-oceans-big-phat-problem/
Do Whales Have Ears?
http://maukamakai.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/do-whales-have-ears/
SHARK! (ahem, shark?)
http://maukamakai.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/shark-ahem-shark/
Baby-Making
http://maukamakai.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/baby-making/
Posted by: Kelsey | May 27, 2009 3:42:22 PM
I would like to nominate Rhonda Roland Shearer's truly excellent work fact-checking Jared Diamond's fabrications on violence in Papua New Guinea:
http://tinyurl.com/caa42t
Posted by: Chris Schoen | May 27, 2009 4:13:27 PM
I nominate this post by David Gorski:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=451
Posted by: Magnus | May 27, 2009 4:22:40 PM
One more:
Elatia's piece on Della Porta, from March, which was probably the best (original) science writing to appear on 3QD in the last year:
http://tinyurl.com/q3l65n
Posted by: Chris Schoen | May 27, 2009 4:37:18 PM
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