Category Archives: Did you Know?

Did you Know?

Spelling Matters

Looking over the document, however, I noticed three spelling errors on the first page, one of which was in the candidate’s field of expertise, which she had described as “complimentary medicine.” I glanced at my colleagues. Would anyone else mention it? If not, should I?

I hesitated for two reasons: First, I was the only humanist on a committee of psychologists, and I didn’t want to seem like a nit-picker; and second, I was a newcomer to the institution and unfamiliar with protocol. Still, when everyone else expressed approval of the candidate, I couldn’t stop myself. In my experience, I said, egregious misspellings in a résumé are grounds for instant rejection. When asked for examples, I pointed to the phrase “complimentary medicine.” Two members of the committee still did not see a problem, compelling me to explain the difference between “complimentary” and “complementary.”

 

Spelling Matters – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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New Bill Would Put Taxpayer-Funded Science Behind Pay Walls

Right now, if you want to read the published results of the biomedical research that your own tax dollars paid for, all you have to do is visit the digital archive of the National Institutes of Health. There you’ll find thousands of articles on the latest discoveries in medicine and disease, all free of charge.

A new bill in Congress wants to make you pay for that, thank you very much. The Research Works Act would prohibit the NIH from requiring scientists to submit their articles to the online database. Taxpayers would have to shell out $15 to $35 to get behind a publisher’s paid site to read the full research results.

via ProPublica.

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Real-Life Examples Of How Google’s “Search Plus” Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy

Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land says:

The new Google “Search Plus Your World” feature — which I’m now simply calling “Search Plus” — has just gone live for me. Huge debate erupted yesterday over whether it somehow favors Google+. I can see now that it clearly does, even more than I thought.

So be very aware, please.

Real-Life Examples Of How Google’s “Search Plus” Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy.

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Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist, 2011

Man Asian Literary Prize, generally the most interesting one in the Man Booker stable, has been released.

The shortlist:
Jamil Ahmad – The Wandering Falcon
Jahnavi Barua – Rebirth
Rahul Bhattacharya – The Sly Company of People Who Care
Amitav Ghosh –River of Smoke
Kyung-Sook Shin – Please Look After Mom
Yan Lianke – Dream of Ding Village
Banana Yoshimoto – The Lake

via The Millions

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Spain’s Cervantes prize goes to Chilean poet Parra

Chilean poet Nicanor Parra has won the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, for his influential work mixing everyday slang with traditional verse.

The 97-year-old poet, essayist and physics graduate was announced the winner Thursday in Madrid by Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde.

He published his first book of poetry in 1937 and eventually adopted the style he called anti-poetry, introducing colloquial language into traditional poetry, the Spanish Culture Ministry said.

He has won the Chilean National Literature Award twice — in 1969 and again in 1981 — and his work has been translated into many languages.

The €125,000 ($170,000) prize honors writers who contribute to the richness of Spanish-language literature, and generally alternates between Spanish and Latin American writers. Last year, it went to Spain’s Ana Maria Matute.

Other front-runners this year included Ernesto Cardenal of Nicaragua and Uruguay’s Eduardo Galeano.

First handed out in 1976, previous winners include Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru and Spain’s late Camilo Jose Cela, who also won the Nobel prize for literature.

 

Spain’s Cervantes prize goes to Chilean poet Parra – Yahoo!.