Tag Archives: women in science

Book review: The Tenth Muse

Posted on October 30, 2021 by tkflor

This is a review of The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung, that I posted on Goodreads. The notion of the tenth muse, who is reborn in every generation as a mortal gifted woman drew me to read this book. The … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, fiction, literature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Nothing is going to change

Posted on January 13, 2016 by tkflor

It’s an issue I was determined to avoid in this blog and for a good reason. A lot has been written (and blogged, tweeted…) about sexual harassment of female students in STEM. Reading Sean Carroll‘s blog-post, “We Suck (But We … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, physics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forty-two

Posted on June 20, 2015 by tkflor

“Tell us!” “All right,” said Deep Thought. “The Answer to the Great Question…” “Yes..!” “Of Life, the Universe and Everything…” said Deep Thought. “Yes…!” “Is…” said Deep Thought, and paused. “Yes…!” “Is…” “Yes…!!!…?” “Forty-two,” said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, cosmology, fiction, mainstream fiction, physics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women in science: whom to ask for advice?

Posted on June 4, 2015 by tkflor

Through copse and spinney marched Bear; down open slopes of gorse and heather, over rocky beds of streams, up steep banks of sandstone into the heather again; and so at last, tired and hungry, to the Hundred Acre Wood. For … Continue reading →

Posted in academia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Inge Lehmann: Discoverer of the Earth’s Inner Core

Posted on May 13, 2015 by tkflor

“You should know how many incompetent men I had to compete with — in vain” Inge Lehmann. Quips aside, Inge Lehmann was a pioneering seismologist who discovered that the Earth has both an inner and an outer core.

Posted in physics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Shadow World – an unusual hero’s journey

Posted on March 28, 2015 by tkflor

“If this is about anything, it’s the boundary between creation and madness, art and science, the natural and the artifactual. Characters are fictional although some are inhabited by amalgamated aspects of real people. The science is factual but I insert … Continue reading →

Posted in cosmology, fiction, literature, physics, science fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Guest post: Using fiction to explore realities for women in STEM

Posted on February 14, 2015 by tkflor

Originally posted on Tenure, She Wrote:
Today’s guest post is by blogger T.K. Flor, who has a PhD in physics. Ten years ago, Lawrence H. Summers, then president of Harvard University, sparked a controversy by attributing some of the under-representation…

Posted in fiction, lab lit, literature, physics, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Emmy Noether: the mathematician who discovered the connection between Symmetry and Conservation Laws

Posted on February 1, 2015 by tkflor

“It is only slightly overstating the case to say that physics is the study of symmetry.” P.W. Anderson (Nobel Prize in Physics 1977)“More is Different“, Science, 177, 4047 (1972). By symmetry, Anderson writes, “we mean the existence of different viewpoints … Continue reading →

Posted in physics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Professors in children’s books

Posted on January 14, 2015 by tkflor

I was looking for information on how women scientists are portrayed in fiction when I found a blog post by Melissa Terras (professor at University College London) on how children’s books portray scientists and other academics. Here is an excerpt: … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stars and dreams

Posted on December 27, 2014 by tkflor

“I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream.” Vincent van Gogh “Love what you do and do what you love. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it.” … Continue reading →

Posted in cosmology, fiction, mainstream fiction, physics, self-publishing, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment