Category: Links Dump

An 18 Billion Mile Journey is almost complete! : Starts With A Bang In honor of the upcoming completion of Neptune’s first full orbit since its discovery, a discussion of how it was found. (tags: science astronomy planets blogs starts-with-bang) Fixing a Hole: The Beatles’ Imaginary Post-1970 Albums, Part 1 | Popdose “I’m actually quite… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-20

slacktivist: Please forgive me for the actions of extremists I have never met who commit acts of violence that I have never advocated “As a white male Baptist, it is my duty today to denounce the violence perpetrated by Patrick Gray Sharp, 29, who yesterday attacked the police headquarters in McKinney, Texas, in a heavily… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-19

The Should I Skip Class Today? Calculator Here’s a clue: If you need to use a web-based “calculator” to decide whether to go to class or not, it doesn’t matter whether you go to class or not. (tags: education academia stupid internet) Backreaction: Worries “At first sight, physicists seem like normal people. But ask what… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-18

For Lean Budgets, a Plug-and-Play Solar System – Green Blog – NYTimes.com You know you’re a physical scientist when “Plug-and-Play Solar System” suggests something like “… then you put Jupiter here, and you’re all set. See, they’re orbiting already! And it’s open-source, so it’s free.” Sadly, this is actually about some home photovoltaic thing. (tags:… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-17

Sex between adolescents in romantic relationships is often harmless to their academics “The context in which adolescent sexual activity occurs can substantially moderate the negative relationship between sexual intercourse and education, according to research to be presented at the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. “Compared to abstinence, sexual intercourse in committed romantic… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-16

YouTube – Beat It + epic Crazy Chinese Omnipotent China red army The Internet is a very silly place, but I’m glad we have it. (tags: video music world silly internet youtube) Why Does College Cost So Much? – Forbes.com “Instead of holding up a magnifying glass to the industry, we take an aerial view.… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-15

Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Eight Signs A Claimed P≠NP Proof Is Wrong “So, in the future, how can you decide whether a claimed P≠NP proof is worth reading? I’ll now let you in on my magic secrets (which turn out not to be magic or secret at all). The thing not to do is… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-14

Think Globally, Compromise Locally – Green Blog – NYTimes.com “Bill McKibben, whose 1989 book, “The End of Nature,” helped coalesce and spread worry about climate change, views the national environmental groups’ strategy of winning support for energy and climate legislation by compromising with industry as a complete failure. “The result: total defeat, no moral victories,”… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-13

If Physical Books Are Dead in Five Years, How Do the Poor Find Books? Whither (or Wither?) the Library? : Mike the Mad Biologist “The great promise of our libraries is that, if you can physically get there (and for some services, even that isn’t required), you have access to the materials, rich or poor.… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-12

Crowd Sourcing Loses Steam – Newsweek “There’s no shortage of theories on why Wikipedia has stalled. One holds that the site is virtually complete. Another suggests that aggressive editors and a tangle of anti-vandalism rules have scared off casual users. But such explanations overlook a far deeper and enduring truth about human nature: most people… Continue reading Links for 2010-08-11