Sunday, May 28, 2006

Feature Articles = Marketing in Science Dictionaries

The Oxford science dictionaries say they included some "one- or two- page feature articles on important topics, and chronologies tracing the history of the key areas in...". While these features and chronologies contains useful information, in the scope of the dictionary they are just marketing devices. There aren't enough of them to represent the breadth of the subjects. For example, is GMO and Animal Learning the only two important topics in biology? Here are the lists of the features in the three key science dictionaries.

Biology
  • biochemistry chronology
  • cell biology chronology
  • genetically modified organisms
  • genetic chronology
  • learning in animals
  • microscopy chronology
  • vitamins chronology
Chemistry
  • atomic theory chronology
  • biochemistry chronology
  • crystal defects
  • explosives chronology
  • plastics chronology
  • polymers
Physics
  • atomic theory chronology
  • big-bang theory
  • cosmology chronology
  • crystal defects
  • electrical conductivity
  • electronics chronology
  • free-electron theory
  • microscopy chronology
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • optical astronomical telescopes
  • solar system

Thursday, May 25, 2006

New Fonts from Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 introduces six new fonts, whose names all begin with the letter C: Calibri, Cambria, Candara, Consolas, Constantia, Corbel. I guess those names are meant to fit in with Windows Vista's theme of clear, confident, and connected. Here is a quick look at them. Select each font name for a sample of the letters.


Calibri is a general purpose sans serif font, like Arial and even more like Helvetica. It has rounded corners.


Cambria is a serif font, described by some as "sturdy", and has a less formal feel.


Candara is a sans serif that has flared ends on vertical stems, giving a concave look to the lines. It is reminescent of Optima/Zaft Humanist.


Consolas is a monospaced font, similar to Lucida Console.


Constantia is a serif font, with a more formal look with its smaller x-height.


Corbel is a sans serif font similar in function to Verdana -- good for screen reading.

Here are additional online articles regarding those fonts.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Science dictionary prefaces

These are the prefaces from the Oxford science dictionaries. I hope they will be useful to fellow lifelong learners in choosing a science reference book.

Oxford Dictionary of Biology Preface

This dictionary was originally derived from the Concise Science Dictionary, first published by oxford university press in 1984 (fourth edition, 1999, retitled A Dictionary Of Science). It consisted of all the entries relating to biology and biochemistry in this dictionary, together with those entries relating to geology that are required for an understanding of paleontology and soil science and a few entries relating to physics and chemistry that are required for an understanding of the physical and chemical aspects of biology (including laboratory techniques for analyzing biological material). It also included a selection of the words used in medicine and paleoanthropology.

Subsequent editions saw the addition of more terms relating to human biology, environmental science, biotechnology and genetic engineering, and food technology (among other fields), as well as a number of short biographical entries on the biologists and other scientists who have been responsible for the development of the subject, the inclusion of several chronologies tracing the history of some key areas in biology, and a few two-page feature articles on selected topics.

For this edition many entries have been substantially updated and over 300 new entries have been added in all the major fields. The coverage of cell biology and molecular genetics, in particular, have been greatly expanded, reflecting recent advances in these rapidly developing areas, and two new Appendices have been included.

An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary and will provide further explanation or clarification. However, not every word that appears in the dictionary has an asterisk placed before it. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionary’s longer articles or features. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in italic type.
The more chemical aspects of biochemistry and the chemistry itself will be found in A Dictionary Of Chemistry; this and A Dictionary Of Physics are companion volumes to this dictionary. SI units are used throughout this book and its companion volumes.

Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry Preface

This dictionary was originally derived from the Concise Science Dictionary, first published by oxford university press in 1984 (fourth edition, retitled A Dictionary Of Science, 1999). It consisted of all the entries relating to chemistry in this dictionary, including physical chemistry, as well as many of the terms used in biochemistry.

Subsequent editions included special feature articles on important topics as well as several chronologies tracing the history of some topics and short biographical entries on the chemists and other scientists who have been responsible for the development of the subject.

For this fifth edition the text has been revised, some entries have been substantially expanded, and over 160 new entries have been added covering all branches of the subject.

An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary and will provide further explanation or clarification. However, not every word that appears in the dictionary has an asterisk placed before it. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionary’s longer articles or features. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in italic type.
The more physical aspects of physical chemistry and the physics itself will be found in A Dictionary Of Physics, which is a companion volume to this dictionary. A Dictionary Of Biology contains a more thorough coverage of the biophysical and biochemical entries from the Dictionary of Science together with the entries relating to biology. SI units are used throughout this book and its companion volumes.

Oxford Dictionary of Physics Preface

This dictionary was originally derived from the Concise Science Dictionary, first published by oxford university press in 1984 (fourth edition, retitled A Dictionary Of Science, 2005). It consisted of all the entries relating to physics in the Concise Science Dictionary, together with those entries relating to astronomy that are required for an understanding of astrophysics and many entries that relate to physical chemistry. It also included a selection of the words used in mathematics that are relevant to physics, as well as the key words in metal science, computing, and electronics.

Subsequent editions have been expanded by the addition of many more entries, including short biographies of important physical scientists; several chronologies tracing the history of some of the key areas in physics; and a number of special one- or two-page feature articles on important topics.

For this fifth edition the text has been revised, many entries have been expanded, and over 200 new entries have been added covering all branches of the subject.

The more chemical aspects of physical chemistry and the chemistry itself will be found in A Dictionary Of Chemistry; and biological aspects of biophysics are more fully covered in A Dictionary Of Biology, which are companion volumes to this dictionary.

An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary and will provide further explanation or clarification. However, not every word that appears in the dictionary has an asterisk placed before it. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionary’s longer articles or features. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in boldface type. SI units are used throughout this book and its companion volumes.

Oxford Dictionary of Science Preface

This fifth edition of A Dictionary of Science, like its predecessors, aims to provide school and first-year university students with accurate explanations of any unfamiliar words they might come across in the course of their studies, in their own or adjacent disciplines. For example, students of the physical sciences will find all they are likely to need to know about the life sciences, and vice versa. The dictionary is also designed to provide non- scientists with a useful reference source to explain the scientific terms that they may encounter in their work or in their general reading.

At this level the dictionary provides full coverage of terms, concepts, and laws relating to physics, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, paleontology, and the earth sciences. There is also coverage of key terms in astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, biotechnology, and computer technology. In addition, the dictionary includes:

• over 160 short biographical entries on the most important scientists in the history of the subject

• ten features (each of one or two pages) on concepts of special significance in modern science

• ten chronologies showing the development of selected concepts, fields of study, and industries

• eight Appendices, including the periodic table, tables of SI units and conversion tables to and from other systems of units, summary classifications of the plant and animal kingdoms, and useful websites.

For this fifth edition, over 300 new entries have been added to the text, incorporating recent advances in all the major fields and increased coverage of climatology, seismology, and computing.

In compiling the dictionary, the contributors and editors have made every effort to make the entries as concise and comprehensible as possible, always bearing in mind the needs of the readers. Particular features of the book are its lack of unnecessary scientific jargon and its extensive network of cross-references. An asterisk placed before a word used in an entry indicates that this word can be looked up in the dictionary and will provide further explanation or clarification. However, not every word that is defined in the dictionary has an asterisk placed before it when it is used in an entry. Some entries simply refer the reader to another entry, indicating either that they are synonyms or abbreviations or that they are most conveniently explained in one of the dictionary’s longer articles. Synonyms and abbreviations are usually placed within brackets immediately after the headword. Terms that are explained within an entry are highlighted by being printed in boldface type. Where appropriate, the entries have been supplemented by fully labelled line-drawings or tables in situ.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Science dictionary covers

These are the covers of the latest editions of science dictionaries from Oxford. Although I do not own a copy of the Dictionary of Science, I have included it here for reference.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Buying a science dictionary

Recently, I bought a set of science dictionaries: “Oxford Dictionary of Biology”, “Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry”, and “Oxford Dictionary of Physics”. Here is a summary of the thought processes I went through during this purchase, presented as a dialogue between me and my alter ego Devon.

Devon: You have encyclopedias and some science dictionaries already. Why get more?

Dave: Encyclopedias (online and Encarta/Britannica on computer) give in-depth treatment of big topics, but not at the terminology level. My other science dictionaries are old. “A Dictionary of Physical Sciences” is from 1976 (30 years). “The Penguin Dictionary of Science, 5th edition” is from 1979 (27 years). “Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary” is from 1988 (18 years). I needed more up to date references.

Devon: So, why would you need updated science dictionaries? Are you reading scientific papers or something?

Dave: In fact yes, as part of my personal development. Science makes so much progress each year that even specialists, not to mention a layperson such as myself, need additional resources to understand the available literature. I love science and reference books, so this is a pleasurable purchase.

Devon: Why buy a dictionary? Can’t you just do a web search and get the information for free?

Dave: While sufficient web search will turn up useful results, there are several disadvantages. 1, a search turns up too many results, and it is time consuming to wade through irrelevant or inappropriate material and breaks the train of thought of reading; 2, information from the web may not be accurate, or is more biased; 3, and sometimes a concise, easy to read definition is not available. All these issues are addressed by published reference books. Books are also portable.

Devon: You picked three dictionaries of the key sciences rather than a single science dictionary (e.g. the Oxford Dictionary of Science). What were your reasons?

Dave: A single-volume science dictionary was my initial choice. After some searching and waiting, my local bookstore (Chapters) has copies of the science, physics and chemistry dictionaries in stock, so I made some quick comparisons. The science dictionary is quite good, and contains most of the material in the specific dictionaries. Still, it omitted some entries (e.g. “quantum teleportation” was in physics dic but not science dic), and some entries are a bit shorter (e.g. “superstring” entry in physics dic had one more paragraph, which mentioned current string theory models are dualities of 11-dimension M-theory. I want that kind of extra information!) So, despite having overlaps in content, I chose to get all three physics/chemistry/biology dictionaries to maximize breadth and depth of content.

Devon: How did you settle on the Oxford series?

Dave: There actually aren’t too many brands in science dictionaries. Most the low cost ones are from UK publishers (Oxford, Penguin, and Collins), and more importanly these are also the ones more readily available in bookstores. Other candidates were American Heritage (updated 2005?), and the higher end ones from McGraw-Hill and Van Nostrand. Those however are not in stock so it is hard to judge them. Thus Oxford and Penguin were the ones I looked at the most.

I find the definitions in Penguin to be somewhat better. For example, in defining “Fermion”, Penguin adds that Baryons and Leptons are Fermions. This extra touch make the definition more informative. The Penguin Biology dictionary is also in the 11th edition, so it appears to be well edited. But Penguin also appears to lack certain areas. For example, the Penguin physics dictionary doesn’t have nanotechnology or “fullerene”. So in the end, I decided that have shorter definitions is better than no definition. Also, Oxford series are updated 2004/2005.

Devon: You bought the dictionaries from amazon.com. Why not choose a Canadian source like amazon.ca or chapters.ca? Or even a brick and mortar store?

Dave: Online retailers have bigger discounts. I initially wanted to pick a Canadian online retailer. Amazon.ca’s shipping of those books were 1-4 months! Chapters have next day shipping. But the strong Canadian dollar (at 90 cent at time of ordering) means that even though amazon.com don’t have free shipping to Canada, it still works out to be cheaper getting it from the United States.

Devon: Thanks for all that information Dave. I’m looking forward to browsing and using those dictionaries.

Dave: Me too!