YouTube – Here Comes Another Bubble – The Richter Scales Web 2.0, to the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (tags: internet music silly video youtube) Jobs, News and Views for All of Higher Education – Inside Higher Ed :: Hope on Ph.D. Attrition Rates — Except in Humanities “Even after 10 years, a… Continue reading links for 2007-12-08
Author: Chad Orzel
Defining “Miracles” Down
Over in LiveJournal land, Sherwood Smith links approvingly to an essay by Tom Simon in response to what are apparently some “logical positivist” evles in Christopher Paolini’s books. I haven’t read the books in question, but it really doesn’t matter, as Simon very quickly spins this off into a larger essay about the nature of… Continue reading Defining “Miracles” Down
How to Hand-Wave Quantum Phase?
Kind of a technical question, but typing it out might provide some inspiration, or failing that, somebody might have a good suggestion in the comments. Here’s the issue: I’m starting on a chapter about quantum teleportation for the book, and one of the key steps in the teleportation scheme is an entangling measurement of two… Continue reading How to Hand-Wave Quantum Phase?
Mortgage Crisis Question
Brad DeLong gives his stamp of approval to Steven Pearlstein’s explanation of the mortgage collapse now in progress. It is, indeed, a very clear explanation of what went wrong: Stick with me now, because this is where it gets interesting. For it is at this point that the banks got the bright idea of buying… Continue reading Mortgage Crisis Question
links for 2007-12-07
Cat Macros – Post a comment LOLCat weighs in on the Russian acquisition of LiveJournal. (tags: silly pictures blogs internet) Hey Spot, You’ve Got Mail – New York Times Dogster: because pets need social networks, too. (tags: dog silly internet society) The A.V. Club’s Third Annual Surprisingly Specific Holiday Gift Guide | The A.V. Club… Continue reading links for 2007-12-07
Smack Talking, Geek Style
John Scalzi is talking a big game: I was just taking one of those Internet tests to see how much of a geek I am, when I suddenly thought, what the fuck am I doing? I’m a published science fiction writer. Do not pass “go,” do not collect $200, you know? Just go straight to… Continue reading Smack Talking, Geek Style
Annual Request: Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck
With the department secretary switching over to the all-Christmas-songs station, and Jason Hare and Jeff Giles celebrating holiday tunes that bring the suck, it seems like a good time to re-ask the eternal question: Are there Christmas songs that can hold their own against “Fairytale of New York”? Or, more to the point, name me… Continue reading Annual Request: Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck
Is Our Schools Failing?
Kevin Drum looks at the latest story about American students lagging the world in science test scores, and notes that this has been going on at least since he was in school. This leads him to wonder whether it’s really as bad as all that: I still wonder about this. If American kids are getting… Continue reading Is Our Schools Failing?
links for 2007-12-06
Angels and Demons Frequently asked questions about antimatter at CERN. Dan Brown has a lot to answer for. (tags: books physics science stupid) Major physics breakthrough in understanding supersolidity The weirdness continues, in this remarkable uninformative press release. (tags: physics low-temperature news quantum science) Tuneable gap semiconductor is a first – physicsworld.com Applying a voltagee… Continue reading links for 2007-12-06
Dorky Poll: The View from (Outside) Your Office
The building where my office is is one of those 60’s era brick buildings with lots of basically identical little offices arranged along indistinguishable hallways. Tenured professors are known to get lost in there trying to find specific offices. To make it a little easier, some of us decorate our doors: The key identifying the… Continue reading Dorky Poll: The View from (Outside) Your Office