A philosopher at McGill University has stirred up a controversy by requiring students to get perfect scores on a quiz about the Greek alphabet or drop her class on Plato: The course, which at times refers directly to original texts, requires students to gain a familiarity with the Greek alphabet. To make sure that would… Continue reading Academic Poll: All or Nothing Questions
Author: Chad Orzel
The Magazine Experiment: Analog, November 2007
At the recent Worldcon, there were several rounds of the usual Save the Magazines Chorus: short fiction is the lifeblood of the genre, it’s where we get our new writers, etc. With the usual subtextual implication that I am a Bad Person because I don’t read or subscribe to any SF magazines. (The most annoying… Continue reading The Magazine Experiment: Analog, November 2007
People for the Eating of Tasty Atheists
Over at Pure Pedantry, Jake Young has recently posted two long, thoughtful, and civil entries in the New Atheism debate (he must have a thesis deadline, or something). The first follows John Dewey in arguing that a tight link between science and atheism is counterproductive, while the second collects and responds to criticism of the… Continue reading People for the Eating of Tasty Atheists
Radioactive Clouds, Antimatter Molecules, and the Dying Earth
A quick physics news update, on some stories that came out last week: “Thundercloud “accelerator” fires gamma-ray beam:” A team of scientists in Japan has seen a 40-second burst of gamma rays from a thundercloud. This was presumably produced by electrons accelerated to extremely high velocities within the could coming to a sudden stop– a… Continue reading Radioactive Clouds, Antimatter Molecules, and the Dying Earth
The Bubble Has Popped
Before we bought our current house, coming up on five years ago, we looked at another slightly larger house that’s literally just around the corner. It hadn’t officially been listed yet, but our agent (who, weirdly, lives right next door) showed it to us, and we thought very hard about it. Unfortunately, it was about… Continue reading The Bubble Has Popped
Dismal Physics
Sean Carroll takes a look at economics from the point of view of a physicist: Economists have a certain way of looking at the world, in which (to simplify quite a bit) people act rationally to maximize their utility. That sort of talk pushes physicists’ buttons, because maximizing functions is something we do all the… Continue reading Dismal Physics
Welcome to Grad School, Here’s Your Angst
Via Matt McIrvin, Total Drek’s Unhelpful Hints for Graduate Students: (1) It is important to realize as soon as possible that you are not an undergraduate any longer. In fact, you’re not really even a student. Grad school is more like an apprenticeship program than traditional schooling. As such, you’re here to learn by doing.… Continue reading Welcome to Grad School, Here’s Your Angst
NFL Week 2
Three comments on the second week of the NFL season: 1) Given that Brett Favre famously lay down to give Michael Strahan the single-season sack record, it seems only fitting that the Giants should roll over to give him the NFL wins record for a QB. If the clock hadn’t run out, he probably could’ve… Continue reading NFL Week 2
James “Robert Jordan” Rigney, 1948-2007
James Oliver Rigney, better known to the world by his Robert Jordan pseudonym, has passed away after a long illness. I didn’t know him personally– I met him very briefly once, at a signing– but the Wheel of Time books were ridiculously important in my life. I met a great many friends through Robert Jordan… Continue reading James “Robert Jordan” Rigney, 1948-2007
Mystery Anime Query
The last night of the Worldcon in Yokohama, I wound up in a conversation with a couple of Japanese fans and another American. At the suggestion of the other American (whose name I forget– sorry), we spent a while trading questions: we’d answer a question about the US, then they would answer a question about… Continue reading Mystery Anime Query