Peer Review and Revised Thesis

Peer review is by far one of the most effective tools for writing improvement. It is one of the most popular processes in the writing of books and research papers for a reason. Through reading the works of a like-minded colleague, it gives insight as to what your paper might be missing and what you may have that theirs does not. So it does not surprise me how much it helped my QRG.

For the most parth the feedback was all positive, I am unsure whether this is a testament to my writing skills or that my editors may have been a little too shy to really tear into my paper. Either way the jist if referred to clarity. When writing about a topic I know very well or have a vested personal interest (like the astronomy topic written about in the QRG), I have a tendency to just "go off" on this page and begin writing every little thing in an organized ramble. Though this allows me to get a nice flow through my paper, many times I overlook doublespeak or fragmented phrases with vague reference points. Allowing another set of eyes that do not hold my inherent biases toward my own stylistic choices helped free me of this. Though it did not help with my thesis in specific, it definitely added transparency to the rest of my essay. Thus, my thesis statement remains unchanged:

"For decades, it has been the common notion in astronomy that the universe is expanding, and that we, Earth, are expanding with it. Last year, however, one scientist name Christof Wetterich dared to pursue more when he discovered something that spoke otherwise – a non-expanding universe. Although the information looks promising, it has to overcome the difficult obstacle that is many years of precedent knowledge in opposition."

Thoughts On Drafting

Having only been a few days ago, the drafting process of my QRG is still fresh in memory. Here I will evaluate the advice given by the book, "A Student's Guide To First-Year Writing" and its effectiveness as a tool for QRG drafting through my experiences.

It is important to preface this by pointing out that I am no stranger to writing QRGs. I wrote my first in seventh grade and did so many more times through middle and high school. Because of this, the book did not provide me as much aid as it may have to others. Thus, I will try to evaluate its usefulness from a more objective perspective.

The thing that provided the most insight was what the book referred to as "PIE," standing for: point, illustation, explanation. If you read my previous post, then you might remember how I emphasized that a QRG must effectively convey information in a brief, digestable matter. PIE is a powerful tool to achieve this end. It allows the writer to take a specific point of a subject, and illuminate it through scaffolding. In my first post I already spoke of the many uses and solidity that scaffolding holds. It allows the learner to get a picture in their head of what the subject is, and then explains it in further detail - giving the reader a well-rounded understanding.

The rest of book's section on drafting was helpful, but not quite so directly. The illustration made mirrored more of a rhetorical analysis or just essay writing as a whole rather than a QRG. Because of this, only the basic fundamentals of each topic as really effective. Teachings like paragraph order and thesis statement building are useful tools for the writer of a QRG, but they are useful tools for any other writer as well. These, for the most part, are not new information, but reminiscent of high school or even middle school english class.

I am not new to QRGs, nor am I new to anything within the drafting section of the book. But I can say with certainty that I have used all of these concepts continuously with success, and that they are a powerful tool in any writers arsenal, QRG or not.

QRGs: The Genre

Let's face it; nobody has time to follow every interesting story that might be going on. We live in a busy world, so it is no surprise that reading the day's newspaper is not exactly the highest priority. So that is where quick reference guides (QRGs) come into play. Imagine it like reading the synopsis of a movie so you do not have to watch it - except for current events. QRGs give a second chance to people who do not have the time to keep up with the news, or simply heard about it too late. They lack any of the doublespeak or minute details that an expert or subscriber might know, and project towards the  public. Not exactly the general public, but the public in a specfic area. For example, a medical QRG like this might only be for doctors, so there may be some jargon. While on the other hand articles like this appeal to all. But how is this done? How can somebody take a long-standing story probably described by dozens of articles over many weeks or months and compress them into a single, elegant article? Well it is due to multiple conventions that most follow.

The most important convention is by far organization. Stories do not usually follow a nicely organized set of phases and chunks, and articles released over time desribing specific happenings can seem cluttered when looked at together. Part of what makes a QRG effective is its ability to sort through the mess and group things together - making them easily digestible for the reader. This is done generally through the use of headers. By making a new paragraph and placing a short header above it that gives a general description of the topic, readers can navigate their way through a subject with ease. A large block of uninterrupted text is more reminiscent of a research paper rather than an extended synopsis; these headers are necesarry to keep the reader on track following the author.

Another effective convention is the use of pictures and images. Take, for example, this blog's use of images. The images here are usually just to give the reader a vague idea of what the post might be related to, with some humor thrown in every so often. This is not the case with QRGs. The images here are designed to further aid the reader in understanding the subject, with some blog-like pictures every once in a while. Much like all of the other conventions, this one emphasizes efficiency of learning. Diagrams, images representative of concepts - these are the pictures found in QRGs and are especially apparent here. They help the reader understand more of what is going on, as with such little space to describe such a large idea, everything must be used effectively.

QRGs seem to have one theme constantly recurring - efficiency. It seems as if every tool it has to make things more understandable and concise for the reader is used. The entire purpose of a QRG is to acquaint the reader with a story to the point where it is almost as if the reader had followed the story in real time. It is not about expressing a certain perspective or evoking emotion, it  is purely about information. In many ways, it is almost like a scholarly research article, but with a more digestible tone.

Cluster of Non-Expanding Universe Controversy

My cluster was split into a more simplistic two branches: pro and con. While many clusters stand more effective with a wider representation of groups, this controversy lacks a strict identity on both sides due to how recent it is. It is important to understand that many astronomers will not take a side until more research and review is made. Within the pro side, there is a branch to the astronomer who introduced the new idea and some of the reasoning behind it. The con side lacks an groups in particular, but merely states many of the reasons for why the community is skeptical. Overall the cluster is simple, but in turn more effective.

Reflection

After looking at the clusters of two of my peers (here and here), I found that my cluster was significantly less complex. It is possible that I tried to make mine too simple (as heavier scietific topics can be hard to follow), but I do believe that it was still effective. Rather than a controversy between specific people, it is more of a debate between ideas that is still forming an identity. As time passes, I am sure the cluster will continue to form more branches.

Draft #2: Annotated Bibliography in MLA Style

 Cartwright, Joh. "Cosmologist claims Universe may not be expanding." Nature, 16 July 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2015

This article attempts to spread astronomy knowledge to the scientifically minded public. It uses technical terms sparingly as well as use of diagrams to describe the new idea that the universe may not be expanding.

Highfield, Roger. "Astronomic news: the universe might not be expanding after all." The Telegraph, 13 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2015

In this article, Highfield explains the astronomical discovery that the universe may not be expanding in layman's terms, trying to illuminate the idea to the most general of the public.

Lerner, Eric. "UV surface brightness of galaxies from local universe to z~5." World Scientific, May 2014. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

This article serves to introduce a new idea into the astronomy community in a very impartial manner. Here, Lerner describes his research process through which he evaluated galactic red shit and came to the conclusion that the universe may not be expanding due to his findings.

Maskowitz, Clara. "Astronomers Gather in Hawaii Amid Controversy Over Giant Telescope." Scientific American, 4 Aug. 2015. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

Maskowitz writes this article to explicate the recent uprisings against astronomers in Hawaii due to the controversy of placing a powerful telescope atop a sacred mountain. She details the specific occurrence where astronomers across the world have come to Hawaii in an attempt to alleviate the situation and plan their next step.

"Universe is Not Expanding After All." Sci-News, 23 May 2014. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

In this article, Sci-News explicates recent findings by astronomer Eric Lerner that the universe may not be expanding. This article is more public-oriented and serves to spread astronomy information to the public.

Tyson, Neil Degrasse (neiltyson). "If your body were bolted to the ground when Earth stopped rotating, then your head would snap off, and it would roll due east." 5 Sept. 2015. Tweet.

This tweet from Dr. Tyson is aimed toward the public as a sort of humorous, but information sliver of astrophysics, explaining what would happen should the earth cease rotation and a person be bolted to the ground.




VeryLittle. "If space is expanding, are we not expanding with it?" Reddit. Reddit, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2015

In this Reddit comment, VeryLittle gives a lengthy explanation as to why many believe the universe is expanding and how it makes sense that we are also expanding with it, just at a lower rate than those more outward. VeryLittle also makes sure to add that recent news means the universe may not be expanding at all - making the question void. The purpose here to is answer and educate the queries of a specific Reddit user.

Wetterich, Christof. "Universe Without Expansion." Heidelberg University, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Sept. 2015.

In this article, Wetterich introduces the idea of a universe without expansion and builds off of it through modeling and how it would affect the rest of the universe. Here, he concludes with an evaluation of its plausibility. This article is aimed almost strictly towards the academic community with the purpose of spreading new ideas to other astronomers.

Yirka, Bob. "Cosmologist suggests universe might not be expaning after all." Phys.org, 13 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2015

This article from Bob Yirka illuminates a new concept that the universe might not be expanding. The article take a more skeptical point of view, but still stands to educate others - particularly those with interest and experience in the scientific field.

Annotated Bibliography

Lerner, Eric. "UV surface brightness of galaxies from local universe to z~5." World Scientific, May 2014. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

This article serves to introduce a new idea into the astronomy community in a very impartial manner. Here, Lerner describes his research process through which he evaluated galactic red shit and came to the conclusion that the universe may not be expanding due to his findings.

Maskowitz, Clara. "Astronomers Gather in Hawaii Amid Controversy Over Giant Telescope." Scientific American, 4 Aug. 2015. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

Maskowitz writes this article to explicate the recent uprisings against astronomers in Hawaii due to the controversy of placing a powerful telescope atop a sacred mountain. She details the specific occurrence where astronomers across the world have come to Hawaii in an attempt to alleviate the situation and plan their next step.

"Universe is Not Expanding After All." Sci-News, 23 May 2014. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

In this article, Sci-News explicates recent findings by astronomer Eric Lerner that the universe may not be expanding. This article is more public-oriented and serves to spread astronomy information to the public.

Tyson, Neil Degrasse (neiltyson). "If your body were bolted to the ground when Earth stopped rotating, then your head would snap off, and it would roll due east." 5 Sept. 2015. Tweet.

This tweet from Dr. Tyson is aimed toward the public as a sort of humorous, but information sliver of astrophysics, explaining what would happen should the earth cease rotation and a person be bolted to the ground.

Wetterich, Christof. "Universe Without Expansion." Heidelberg University, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Sept.2015.

In this article, Wetterich introduces the idea of a universe without expansion and builds off of it through modeling and how it would affect the rest of the universe. Here, he concludes with an evaluation of its plausibility. This article is aimed almost strictly towards the academic community with the purpose of spreading new ideas to other astronomers.

Reflection

 After reading multiple other annotated bibliographies, I feel as if I am on the correct track. It was interesting to see other styles of citation, such as in Spencer's because they were so similar. No matter what citation you use, it still has to show the same basic, important information. Furthermore, I found that many of the other bibliographies included the address of the websites they cited while I opted not to as MLA does not require it. When looking at other MLA style bibliographies, like that of Dieter's, I found that we were alike for the most part. One glaring difference, however, was the depth of our annotations. Though both of our annotations tackled the same issue with the necessary points, his were significantly longer and more detailed. I recall earlier in class how Dr. Bell spoke of not only completing the assignment, but striving for further excellence. This is something in particular I must acquire if I wish to be successful in this class.

Evaluation of Social Media And Its Prominence in Astronomy

Controversy in astronomy is quite different from the norm. Rather than heated debates popping with news and buzzing astronomers, much of the actual debating is more long standing with information coming out in slow, steady streams. So when I attempted to find something in social media about the non-expanding universe debate, it was of no surprise to me that the measly 50 or so responses given by storify all had nothing to do with it.

Yes some astronomers use social media. Yes they even post new discoveries on social media. But nowhere near all of them. Its not the debating in astronomy that is buzzing, it is astronomy itself. There is so much new discovery every day, each more exciting than the next. Things like new planets that could have alien life or a revolutionary type of rocket are much more appealing to the public, the audience of social media. So why would any of the few astronomers that actually have a twitter or an instagram post about a discovery that the universe might not be expanding. The information is so recent and is in such opposition to common thought that the community cannot be near enough satisfied with its relevance or credibility in order to start spouting off on social media. Perhaps 5 or 10 years down the line when the subject has been analyzed a bit further, it is possible that the community will come to a more solid answer and the news will be much more prominent. But even then, will it be posted on social media? Does the average joe even know that the predominant theory is that the universe is expanding? Will he even care when he hears it might not be? The target is the public, and unfortunately the public just does not care about the vast majority of what astronomers have to offer. A normal user of twitter would rather hear about a cool new planet. Not to say that those discoveries are not exciting or of great importance, but there are many astronomers that would be equally excited by finding that two quasars are being pulled together in a uniform pattern - something the public would not even understand.

Let us take a look at a recent twitter post by the esteemed Neil Degrasse Tyson, the public face of astronomy. Here, the 56 year old curator of Hayden Planetarium posts about how people would fly off in the East if the Earth ceased rotating, even if they were bolted to the ground. Does this really have much to do with astronomy? Yes it does pertain to astrophysics, but it is certainly not a huge discovery or controversy in the field. And yet, it still has over 11,000 favorites. Why? Because it is interesting to the public; the target audience of the tweet.

Social media has its place in astronomy, but acting as any major form of communication is just before its time. Maybe once the topic becomes more well known by the public we will see intensive twitter wars between astrophysicist, but that is unfortunately not today.

Evaluation Of Scholarly Sources

The vast majority of information released in astronomy is through esteemed academic journals in the form of research papers. Though there are many articles out there projected toward the public, anything with depth will be from a scientific journal like those I mentioned in my 5th blog post, as well as many others. In this post we are going to take the non-expanding universe controversy from my previous post and evaluate sources pertaining to it from scientific journals.

The first is Eric Lerner's research paper which discovered the possibility of a non-expanding universe, entitled "UV surface brightness of galaxies from local universe to z~5." This paper was published in Washington D.C. by World Scientific and is targeted almost exclusively to the academic community - freely using terms too complicated for the public and replacing bias with pure observation in order to permeate information through the astronomy community. Throughout the article, there are many cites to previous research done that conflicts with the idea presented in the paper. This paper was easily found using Google and as cited by more public-oriented articles.

The second is Christof Wetterich entitled "Universe Without Expansion" published by Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany. This paper cites the previously described article as well as some newer literature on the subject to build upon the ideas of Lerner. Due to this similarity, "Universe Without Expansion" is also oriented almost strictly for the scientific community for the same reasons, attempting only to spread information around the community.. Also as with the previous, this article was easily obtained through Google.

Evaluation Of General Sources

Astronomy is not a field without controversy. The universe is so vast and mysterious, that we cannot help but hit a few bumps on the road to an answer. In this post, we will be looking at two different types of controversies that have risen in the field - one more political with the other being purely scientific.

What is probably the most scandalous event in astronomy history is actually quite recent. A post last updated August 4th by Clara Moskowitz of Scientific American titled "Astronomers Gather in Hawaii Amit Controversy Over Giant Telecope" (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomers-gather-in-hawaii-amid-controversy-over-giant-telescope/) explains the situation. A group of astronomers intend to construct one of the most powerful telescopes in history atop a dormant Hawaiin volcanoe, held as sacred to many of the locals. This has stirred up large protest, as shown by the picture in the article. This graphic is especially effective in showing how serious the situation really is. The telescope is not just angering a small fringe group, an entire population is in opposition. Though the image would have it seem that the article is taking the side of the locals, the author remains quite impartial throughout the writing, merely stating what is happening. The purpose is very obviously just to document the present, not stir further controversy.

Something I found very helpful within the article is the littering of links to past posts about the subject. Rather than explaining every little thing in detail, the author provides past information just a click away. This way, anyone new to the controversy can catch up with what is going on, while those more updated can merely stick to the article at hand.

The second controversy is more limited to the scietific community, and has much less public appeal. The predominant theory in the field of astronomy has long been that the universe is expanding. But an article by Sci-News May 23 of 2014 entitled "Universe is Not Expanding After All, Controversial Study Suggest" eponymously says otherwise. Here, the unamed author evaluates research from a Spanish astronomer who apparently has found two cases that may suggest a non-expanding universe, with multiple links to different journals and articles related to the subject. Like the previous article, this one lacks much bias, and seems to exist only to spread knowledge. At the head of the article is an image from one of the Large Magellanic Telescopes that was partially used to make this astonishing discovery. Ast the article comes to a close, it makes sure to add that the true answers are still, and probably will always be up in the air.

My Field of Study

Everyone thinks that space is "cool." I have yet to meet a person that is not in some way fascinated by the vast beauty of the cosmos. But though there is some extent of passion towards in astronomy in all, only a few decide to act on it. I am one of those few. I am an astronomy major.

What does an astronomer even do? A very common question asked that is often poorly answered due to misconceptions about the field. Yes, we do observe the stars, but the job is far from sitting around in a chair all day looking at a telescope. As an astronomy major, you learn math - a lot of it. There is a lot of space that we unfortunately just do not have much access to, and instead of being able to go there and observe we are forced to extrapolate what we can from long distance pictures. This is done through modeling - the use of physics and mathematics to explain what we see. So as an astronomy major, it is necessary to pick up upper level math and physics, and even a major in those subjects if desired. Once all of this has been accomplished, it is put into practice through a research position, usually at a university. Here astronomers take what they already know and apply it to new ideas and creative concepts in an attempt to learn more. The field driven almost strictly by innovation. No successful astronomer does what others already have, they need be original.

It is quite difficult to cherry pick astronomers and call them the "best." Astronomy is not an individual sport; it is a team effort. No one person does all the work and gets the whole claim to fame. Perhaps an astronomer will be integral to a project, but only among other integral researchers. In the field of astronomy, it is not the people you hear about, it is the projects as a whole.

Being a research heavy field, astronomy is driven by the numerous scientific journals through which it publicizes its work. The ones that stand out include: the Annual Review published from Palo Alto California, Reviews of Modern Physics released exclusively online, and Astronomy and Astrophysics published out of The European Southern Observatory. Each provides information integral to research across the globe. It is not uncommon for an astronomer to start off each day reading new articles published in various journals in order to keep updated. Research breeds other research in this field, so without adequate journals to publish in, innovation would be greatly hindered.