How to make smart health choices

It surprised me no end that NCBI has now hopped on the ebook/online book bandwagon and is offering free books online.  This one, in particular, is a good idea -- however, the people who could benefit from it most are probably going to fall out of the chair from boredom after trying to read it.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63638/

And that's a real problem.  The well educated can follow their logic and make a lot of use of their information (particularly interesting was their evaluation of research on diets and evaluating which one might be best) but the average person who has been trained by media to read in sound bytes and to "turn off" or "turn away" after the 300 word limit or so. 

And here we reach one the threads of my dissertation -- the information is out there and the "information rich" can find it.  The "information poor" can't access it directly (for example, some of the people I've worked with who have poor reading skills and poor memory retention.  The book is a real gem for "information source points" which can summarize and present it to the information poor.

The graphic at the beginning of Chapter 5 is one that really should be printed out and kept by everyone, asking critical questions such as "what will happen if I wait and watch?" and "How do the benefits and harms weigh up for me?" and "do I have enough information to make a choice" are listed as suggested steps in the process towards making a decision.  Scenarios and anecdotes in each section make this a thought-provoking read.

Recommended.

Desperately Seeking Science Education

Are in-school "special programs" starting to replace science education in this age of teacher and education cutbacks? A rash of "just in time for schol to start" articles about science education suggests that teachers and schools are turning to special programs to help interest kids in science and teach them some basic concepts. And it's no wonder -- if a recent study in California is any indication, students are getting less than 40 hours of science education for the entire school year!

Quantum Camp (is one of a number of programs designed to supplement this lack by bringing science education by science teachers into the classroom. They bridge the gap between education and entertainment and spark curiosity with interesting experiments and even by incorporating music and storytelling.


But -- as an ex-teacher, I have to ask just how effective this is. While it's better than nothing (20 hours per year), 30 minutes of excitement does not replace five hours of drilling and practice. While kids will become engaged with experiments like mentos and cokes, will they remember and understand the reasons why this process happened -- and will they be able to apply these scientific principles in the future. Can someone educated by science entertainment go beyond the simple and start asking the complex questions and making the sophisticated connections needed for good science research?

I have already seen how kids use videos on message boards to "make" a point without really understanding the background of the question and the material. It's a troubling idea when you consider the reports that we're falling behind on science education.

Quantum Camp: http://news.yahoo.com/science-education-takes-quantum-leap-silicon-valley-070408132.html

Guerilla Science music and science experience http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-with-moxie/2011/08/10/guerilla-science-blends-music-and-science-at-escape2ny/

Science storytelling http://www.scienceteller.com/