Physics Is Going to the Dogs

There’s been an independent rediscovery of the notion of using dogs to explain physics, as you can see in this YouTube video of Golden Retrievers explaining the structure of atoms: Emmy thinks she should get royalties, in the form of cheese. But then, she thinks that about everything…

DonorsChoose Payoff: Duality and Self-Promotion

We’re six days into the DonorsChoose challenge, and at the time of this writing, ten people have contributed just over $1,700 to the Uncertain Principles challenge entry. That’s an impressive average, and I thank you all for your generosity. I also offered a number of incentives, and Lauren Uroff is claiming one: I’d like to… Continue reading DonorsChoose Payoff: Duality and Self-Promotion

Publishers Weekly on How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

In this week’s issue of Publishers Weekly there’s a short review (scroll down) of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog (which will be released December 22): How to Teach Physics to Your Dog Chad Orzel. Scribner, $24 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7228-2 What do dog treats and chasing squirrels have to do with quantum mechanics? Much… Continue reading Publishers Weekly on How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

A. O. Scott Is an Ignoramus

Via His Holiness, there is an aggressively stupid paragraph in a New York Times movie review today: Did you hear the one about the guy who lived in the land of Uz, who was perfect and upright and feared God? His name was Job. In the new movie version, “A Serious Man,” some details have… Continue reading A. O. Scott Is an Ignoramus

Early Review of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

One of the photo caption contest winners, Nick O’Neill, has finished his galley proof, and posted an early review of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Casual physics intro books are quite possibly the hardest subgenre of physics books to write. Textbooks and further upper-level reading have expectations both of what you already know… Continue reading Early Review of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog