I’ve occasionally joked in the past that it’s unfair that the biologists get all the attention from the religious wing nuts. I mean, modern cosmology ought to be just as big an affront to the young-earth creationist types as evolution, so what are we, chopped liver? Of course, now that a story has come to… Continue reading It’s Turtles All the Way Down
Month: February 2006
That Was the Year That Was?
The 2006 Locus Reader’s Poll is now up, with a convenient on-line ballot for you to vote for your favorite books and stories of the year. For those not in the know, Locus is sort of the trade magazine of the science fiction field, publishing extensive reviews, and also all manner of publishing news and… Continue reading That Was the Year That Was?
The String Theory of Other Sciences
I realized the other day that since moving to ScienceBlogs, I’m turning into John Scalzi (Does my new body have a brand name?), what with all the posting of cute images (and spending an inordinate amount of time taking pictures with an eye toward posting them), and assigning other bloggers homework. If I had a… Continue reading The String Theory of Other Sciences
Shoot the Hostage
(Because, as anybody knows, that’s the answer to “Pop Quiz, Hotshot”…) The answer to the pop quiz posted below is “v.” That is, the speed is unchanged between the start of the problem and the collision between the ball and the pole. There are several ways to see this– conservation of energy is my usual… Continue reading Shoot the Hostage
Choose Your Own Con Panel
Kate and I will once again be attending Boskone in a couple of weeks, and for the second year running, I’ll be on a handful of panels. I had a great time as a panelist last year, so I volunteered again, and I’ve been looking forward to finding out what I’ll be on. I got… Continue reading Choose Your Own Con Panel
Pop Quiz, Hotshot
I play pick-up basketball at lunchtime a couple of days a week (in a good week, anyway). It’s become a running joke that after a particularly long or hard-fought game, I’ll announce my intention to give a pop quiz that afternoon in class. “Just work quietly at your desks, folks. I’m going to sit here… Continue reading Pop Quiz, Hotshot
Top Eleven: Michelson and Morley
The next experiment in the Top Eleven is probably the most famous failed experiment of all time. Who: Albert Michelson (1852-1931) and Edward Morley (1838-1923), American physicists. When: Their first results were reported in 1887. What: The famous Michelson-Morley experiment, which tried and failed to detect the motion of the Earth through the “luminiferous aether.”… Continue reading Top Eleven: Michelson and Morley
Show Me the Pony
Though the tagline promises politics in addition to physics and pop culture, I try to keep the political content to a minimum. Not because I’m particularly worried about offending anyone, but because I don’t particularly like the way I sound when I write about politics these days. I get very cranky, and even if I… Continue reading Show Me the Pony