Author: Chad Orzel

Links for 2010-06-09

Sunday Function : Built on Facts “Let’s say you want to prove that all the dominoes are going to fall. One way to do this would be to prove that the fall of one causes the fall of the next, and that the first domino falls. Those two statements combined prove that all the dominoes… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-09

How to Decide Who to Root for in the World Cup?

Ethan Zuckerman has an excellent round-up of selection strategies for who to support in the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Options include strategic support, support through spite, non-FIFA support, and aesthetic considerations. A couple he left off: Flopping Artistry: To American eyes, one of the most notable features of international soccer is the way that… Continue reading How to Decide Who to Root for in the World Cup?

Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists

In my write-up about the Hidden Dimensions panel, I mentioned in passing that: I also would’ve liked to see an experimental physicist up there, to provide a little more grounding about what the actual problems are, and how you might hope to look for something. But then, I always think there should be more experimental… Continue reading Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists

Neil deGrasse Tyson Agrees With Me About The Innumeracy of Intellectuals

A great clip from his World Science Festival appearance the other night, especially the bit toward the end: “One thing I think that as a nation we should be embarrassed by is that the scientists– you can do this experiment yourself, I’ve done the experiment– the scientists, by and large, know more liberal arts than… Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson Agrees With Me About The Innumeracy of Intellectuals

Exploring Hidden Dimensions at the World Science Festival

Since I was going to be down here anyway to sign books at the World Science Festival Street Fair, Kate and I decided to catch one of the Saturday events at the Festival. It was hard to choose, but we opted for the program on Hidden Dimensions: Exploring Hyperspace (Live coverage was here, but the… Continue reading Exploring Hidden Dimensions at the World Science Festival

The Limits of Rohirrim Vision

Over at Tor.com, Kate has a Lord of the Rings re-read post about the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, which includes a shout-out to me that I missed because I was driving to NYC: Éomer is “scarely a mile” away when the standard unfurls and is clearly seen to bear the White Tree, Seven Stars,… Continue reading The Limits of Rohirrim Vision

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Festive Update

We missed the formal presentaion at the World Science Festival stargazing event last night, and it was cloudy enough to prevent actual stargazing, but the giant mock-up of the James Webb Space Telescope is giant and cool even in the dark. More importantly, Neil deGrasse Tyson is awesome. We got there around 9:30, and he… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Festive Update

Links for 2010-06-05

IPN announces Ninth Annual Bastiat Prize Competition | International Policy Network “For the ninth year, International Policy Network (IPN) is accepting submissions for its annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The Prize is open to writers anywhere in the world whose published articles eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles and institutions of the… Continue reading Links for 2010-06-05

Required Reading in Science

Over at Inside Higher Ed they have a news report on complaints about the content of required reading for students entering college. This comes from the National Association of Scholars, a group dedicated to complaining that multiculturalism is corrupting our precious bodily fluids pushing aside the shared heritage of Western civilization, so most of it… Continue reading Required Reading in Science