I should note up front that I’m kind of jealous of Marcus Chown regarding this book. Subtitled “What Everyday Things Tell Us About the Universe,” The Matchbox That Ate a Forty-Ton Truck is a book that uses trivial everyday observations– the fact that you don’t fall through the floor, the fact that the sky is… Continue reading The Matchbox That Ate a Forty-Ton Truck by Marcus Chown
Category: Books
Help Me Guide Teachers
My publisher would like to include a Teacher’s Guide with the paperback edition of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog. which means that, well, I need to put together a Teacher’s Guide for How to Teach Physics to Your Dog. The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what should go in that sort of… Continue reading Help Me Guide Teachers
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
It’s been a couple of weeks since I did an update on How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, but that’s been as much laziness as a lack of news. Some developments, mostly relating to foreign lands: The US paperback edition is slated for December release. I’m working on a Teacher’s Guide to go with… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
The World Doesn’t Need More Promotional Blogs
Over at the Book Publicity blog, Yen takes up the question of Internet publicity (via SF Signal): Yesterday I spoke at an AAR / Association of Authors’ Representatives panel together with Connor Raus (who runs digital advertising agency CRKWD) about understanding social media and how to use it effectively — as you know, a favorite… Continue reading The World Doesn’t Need More Promotional Blogs
“Subtle Is the Lord…” by Abraham Pais
The APS now gives out an Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics, which gives you some idea of how influential his work was, in particular “Subtle Is the Lord…” The Science and Life of Albert Einstein, which won prizes and sits in a prominent position on the bookshelves of many physicists. Like a lot… Continue reading “Subtle Is the Lord…” by Abraham Pais
Eat My Dust, Richard Dawkins
A college classmate sent me this picture of a library display in the Boston area: That’s How to Teach Physics to Your Dog prominently displayed on the top shelf. Just below it, you can see Physics for Future Presidents, and to the right, you can just make out Richard Dawkins’s book on evolution. Pretty good… Continue reading Eat My Dust, Richard Dawkins
The One Thing to Believe If You’re Only Going to Believe One Thing
Over in Twitter-land, S. C. Kavassalis notes a Googler who’s not afraid to ask the big questions: Weird Google search of the week: ‘the “one” scientific idea that we need to believe’. Uh um, I’m sure my blog couldn’t possibly answer that. It’s a good question, though, ad there are a couple of different ways… Continue reading The One Thing to Believe If You’re Only Going to Believe One Thing
Hawking on Aliens: Not as Silly as You’d Like to Think
I’m a little surprised at the vehemence of some of the negative reactions to Stephen Hawking’s comments about aliens. Not so much in blogdom– Ethan’s response is pretty reasonable, for example– but there was a flurry of Twitter traffic yesterday of the form “Where does Stephen Hawking get off pontificating about aliens?” which strikes me… Continue reading Hawking on Aliens: Not as Silly as You’d Like to Think
Series I Like Disappoint Me
Jim Butcher’s Changes, the 12th Dresden Files novel, came out not too long ago, and there’s been a bunch of discussion of it in various places on the Internet. I seem to have a slightly less positive take on the book than a lot of other people, so I figured I’d put up a slightly… Continue reading Series I Like Disappoint Me
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
The pace has slowed, but there are still occasional sightings of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog in my Google vanity searches: It turns up on library blogs with some regularity. This particular one, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is nice because it’s not just a rewrite of the publicity copy I was really… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update