NY Times article on force and physics and football | Dot Physics "People say I am picky. Ok, sometimes I am. But somebody has to stand up for what is right and just. Maybe I am that person. Please stop using the word force if you donât know what it is. There. I said it.… Continue reading links for 2009-02-05
Month: February 2009
Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass
The big news of the day from the world of politics is that President Obama plans to cap executive pay at banks that take bailout money in the next round of emergency cash payments. This is not popular with the executive class: “That is pretty draconian — $500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly… Continue reading Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass
Lab Reports: Threat or Menace?
I got the last round of line edits on the book-in-progress Monday night after work, but I haven’t had a chance to do more than leaf through the pages. This is mostly because I had lab reports to grade– the second written report is due Sunday, and I needed to get comments back to the… Continue reading Lab Reports: Threat or Menace?
Course Report: Historical Quantum Mechanics
In the last report from my modern physics course, we wrapped up Relativity, and started into quantum mechanics, talking about black-body radiation and Planck’s quantum hypothesis. The next few classes continue the historical theme
links for 2009-02-04
Bruce Springsteen misreads the national mood in his halftime performance. – By Stephen Metcalf – Slate Magazine A desperately stupid article about the Super Bowl halftime show (tags: politics stupid society sports music) PHD Comics: Not a good sign "I should be done in a year…" (tags: academia comics silly) Doing Physics is a two… Continue reading links for 2009-02-04
Recommended SF Reading
Locus magazine has come out with its “Recommended Reading” list of science fiction and fantasy published in 2008. There are, as always, some annoying quirks– several of the books making the list have been published only in the UK or by small presses, so I’ve never even seen them– but it’s a reasonably good consensus… Continue reading Recommended SF Reading
Is There Anybody Out There?
The Arxiv blog highlights a post on John Scalzi’s favorite science question: the Fermi Paradox: We have little to guide us on the question of the existence intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. But the physicist Enrico Fermi came up with the most obvious question: if the universe is teeming with advanced civilizations, where are… Continue reading Is There Anybody Out There?
links for 2009-02-03
Feministe » A Story in Pictures See if you can spot the difference. (tags: politics news gender pictures law history) Fafblog! the whole world’s only source for Fafblog. ""The earth will quake and the sea will boil and the moon will be as blood and every knee shall bow before the coming of the Fafblocalypse!"… Continue reading links for 2009-02-03
Dr. Biden Isn’t the Sort of Doctor Who Can Help You
Via Janet, the LA Times gets snooty about titles: “Ordinarily when someone goes by doctor and they are a PhD, not an MD, I find it a little bit obnoxious,” Sullivan said. “But it makes me smile because it’s a reminder that she’s her own person. She wasn’t there as an appendage; she was there… Continue reading Dr. Biden Isn’t the Sort of Doctor Who Can Help You
Denis Dutton Goes On About Art
There’s a mini media blitz underway promoting Denis Dutton’s new book The Art Instinct. He was on the Colbert Report last week, he’s reviewed in the Times, and he’s featured in this week’s Bloggingheads Science Saturday: While it’s kind of entertaining to listen to John Horgan struggling to get a word in edgewise, I’m kind… Continue reading Denis Dutton Goes On About Art