J. Harlen Bretz, Spatial Thinker part of Earth and Mind:Posts
The work of geologist J. Harlan Bretz is reconsidered through the lens of spatial cognition. Bretz interpreted the scablands of Washington and Idaho as the result of gigantic floods let loose when the waters of ...

Seismologists Gather for "Discourse Over Materials" part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Seismologists' Friday afternoon "recording reading" gathering is presented as an example of scientists engaging in "discourse over materials." Argumentation (aka "discourse") over ...

Universal versus Conditional Truths part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Concept-driven visualizations that portray an aspect of the heterogeneous planet Earth often superimpose "universal truths" (things that are always or almost always true) and "conditional ...

Through a Lens Darkly and Then Face to Face* part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Photography has transformative power through 1) representations of Nature into cultural, artistic artifacts, 2) growth of young scientists, and 3)connections of the viewing public to Natural history.

Not Invented Here part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Digital information technologies provide universal access to tried and tested instructional materials and resources, thus freeing faculty from "reinventing the wheel" in curriculum development and ...

Helping Parents Help Their Children to Discover Nature part of Earth and Mind:Posts
In the overall movement to support (geo)science education, what are we doing to help parents help their children experience, appreciate, and interpret Nature?

The Meaning of "Meaning": Causes & Consequences part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Geoscience experts excel at making meaning from spatial information, but novices often find it hard to get started generating interpretations from data. The author suggests that it may be helpful to think in terms ...

The Energy Budget of Thinking part of Earth and Mind:Posts
We speak of the "cognitive effort" of this or that task, but "cognitive effort" is a term without units. It would be useful to be able to quantify cognitive effort in energy terms, in calories, ...

How I Got Here Part II: Building Community part of Earth and Mind:Posts
View Part I: Enlightenment. I was ready for a change in my academic life. And, I was on a mission. How could anything as important as living responsibly on Earth (through understanding Earth history, its ...

By Way of Introduction, Part 2 part of Earth and Mind:Posts
Earth & Mind co-editor Kim Kastens explains her reasons for blogging, and her hopes for accelerating thinking and collaboration that can contribute towards solving problems at the interface between humans and ...