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
Category: Book Writing
Neutral Bohmian Mechanics?
Another Jonah Goldberg moment– can anybody recommend a reasonably neutral discussion of Bohm’s non-local hidden variable version of quantum theory? A little Googling turns up this encyclopedia article and a tutorial dialogue on the arxiv, but I’d like to see a fairly complete treatment of it that doesn’t go to great lengths to make proponents… Continue reading Neutral Bohmian Mechanics?
Bleg: Physics History
I distinctly recall reading a quote from somebody talking about the debates between Bohr and Einstein, in which Einstein invented ingenious thought experiments to measure two non-commuting observables (position and momentum, or energy and time) and Bohr poked holes in them. The comment was something along the lines of “Of course, Einstein was much smarter… Continue reading Bleg: Physics History
Evil Survey: Quantum Chicanery
Believe it or not, this is actually book-related: I have in mind to do a chapter at the end of the book about the use of misrepresentations of quantum physics to promise magical results. I’ve been writing the dialogue to go with that this morning (because it’s more fun than what I’m supposed to be… Continue reading Evil Survey: Quantum Chicanery
A Jonah Goldberg Moment
What’s a mid-size breed of dog with a reputation for laziness? I need a slow-moving dog to contrast with a hyperactive husky, and I already used “basset hound” in a different context. Ideally, it should have about the same mass as a husky.
Ready for Her Close-Up
“Dude, what is your deal?” “What? I’m just taking a couple of pictures.” “A couple? You’ve taken, like, forty pictures of me already today. You’re cramping my style. I’m trying to go for a walk, here. I’ve got bushes to sniff, lawns to pee on, critters to chase– I don’t have time for photography.” “Sorry,… Continue reading Ready for Her Close-Up
Many Worlds, Many Headaches
So, I’ve put myself into a position where I need to spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. This has revealed to me just why it is that not that many people spend a substantial amount of time thinking about weird foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Let’s consider… Continue reading Many Worlds, Many Headaches
Book Report
It turns out that there’s actually a small clause in the standard publishing contract that requires any author with a blog to post periodic updates on the progress of the current writing project. Who knew? Well, OK, there’s no contractual obligation, but really, I have the blog, and I need to fill it with something,… Continue reading Book Report