After a bit of a hiatus because of scheduling issues, Rhett and I are back to talk about… stuff. Mostly summer classes, World Cup soccer, and Twitter. Also, how we’ve each gotten a blog comment from Neil deGrasse Tyson. Miscellaneous links: — My long-ago book review and Rhett’s more recent complaint about Cosmos, where we… Continue reading Uncertain Dots 17
Category: Physics
Smashing Stuff and Making Ice Cream
A few weeks back, a Union alumnus who works at Troy Prep contacted the college to arrange a visit for a bunch of second-graders, and asked if faculty would be willing to arrange talks and demos for the kids. I said something like “Sure, we could probably make liquid nitrogen ice cream for them,” and… Continue reading Smashing Stuff and Making Ice Cream
Read Science! on Dog Physics
As noted earlier, I was a guest on the Read Science! hangout on G+ earlier today. If you weren’t able to watch it live, the video is available at that link, and I’ll embed it here: There were some feedback problems with the audio for a little while– annoyingly, it only got bad once the… Continue reading Read Science! on Dog Physics
Dog Physics on the Read Science! Hangout Today
Rhett and I haven’t done Uncertain Dots for a couple of weeks due to scheduling issues, but that doesn’t mean I’m neglecting the multimedia side of things. In fact, I’ll be doing a hangout today, as a guest on the Read Science! hangout hosted by Joanne Manaster and Jeff Shaumeyer. The event page is here.… Continue reading Dog Physics on the Read Science! Hangout Today
On Black Magic in Physics
The latest in a long series of articles making me glad I don’t work in psychology was this piece about replication in the Guardian. This spins off some harsh criticism of replication studies and a call for an official policy requiring consultation with the original authors of a study that you’re attempting to replicate. The… Continue reading On Black Magic in Physics
The Problems of the GRE
A bunch of people were talking about this Nature Jobs article on the GRE this morning while I was proctoring the final for my intro E&M class, which provided a nice distraction. I posted a bunch of comments about it to Twitter, but as that’s awfully ephemeral, I figured I might as well collect them… Continue reading The Problems of the GRE
Pre-Tenure and Post-Hoc
I had a couple of conversations at DAMOP last week about career issues, and I just want to note that I will never get used to the idea that I’m a respected elder anything, whose advice would be valued. I basically feel like I lucked into my whole career, so I hesitate to advise others… Continue reading Pre-Tenure and Post-Hoc
Cosmos Reboot Wrap-Up
The Cosmos reboot season finale (or possibly series finale; not sure if they’re trying for a second set of episodes) was last night, but I wasn’t able to take part in the live-tweeting of it thanks to a super-restless Pip who didn’t drop off until 9:30 EDT. I suppose I could’ve waited to start the… Continue reading Cosmos Reboot Wrap-Up
The Internet Exists Because of (Schrödinger’s) Cats
I’m working on some short pop-quantum explainers for reasons that I’ll be a little cagey about. In casting around for a novel way to introduce Schrödinger’s cat states, I hit on something that probably works, but illustrates the problems inherent in being both a professional physicist and a pop-science writer. The hook, as I mentioned… Continue reading The Internet Exists Because of (Schrödinger’s) Cats
Clocks, Microwaves, and the Limits of Fermi Problems
I don’t have anything all that new to say about last night’s Cosmos reboot, and I’m leaving for scenic Madison, WI today to attend DAMOP, so I don’t have a great deal of time. Kate did mention something over dinner last night, though, that’s a good topic for a quick blog post. Kate’s a big… Continue reading Clocks, Microwaves, and the Limits of Fermi Problems