I had a couple of conversations at DAMOP last week about career issues, and I just want to note that I will never get used to the idea that I’m a respected elder anything, whose advice would be valued. I basically feel like I lucked into my whole career, so I hesitate to advise others… Continue reading Pre-Tenure and Post-Hoc
Month: June 2014
Cosmos Reboot Wrap-Up
The Cosmos reboot season finale (or possibly series finale; not sure if they’re trying for a second set of episodes) was last night, but I wasn’t able to take part in the live-tweeting of it thanks to a super-restless Pip who didn’t drop off until 9:30 EDT. I suppose I could’ve waited to start the… Continue reading Cosmos Reboot Wrap-Up
Kickin’ Back
Made it home Friday evening after another bout of airline nonsense– they had replaced the plane for my flight into Albany with a smaller aircraft, so my email boarding pass assigned me to a nonexistent seat. Which had been corrected in their computer, but was never communicated to me, or to several other passengers who… Continue reading Kickin’ Back
The Internet Exists Because of (Schrödinger’s) Cats
I’m working on some short pop-quantum explainers for reasons that I’ll be a little cagey about. In casting around for a novel way to introduce Schrödinger’s cat states, I hit on something that probably works, but illustrates the problems inherent in being both a professional physicist and a pop-science writer. The hook, as I mentioned… Continue reading The Internet Exists Because of (Schrödinger’s) Cats
Clocks, Microwaves, and the Limits of Fermi Problems
I don’t have anything all that new to say about last night’s Cosmos reboot, and I’m leaving for scenic Madison, WI today to attend DAMOP, so I don’t have a great deal of time. Kate did mention something over dinner last night, though, that’s a good topic for a quick blog post. Kate’s a big… Continue reading Clocks, Microwaves, and the Limits of Fermi Problems