Category: Polls

Ancient Aliens: Performance Art or Government Disinformation?

One of my many character weaknesses is a fondness for the kooky UFO programs run on the History Channel and other educational cable networks. The nuttier the better– there’s something about the credulity and self-delusion displayed by the “researchers” they trot out that I find really hilarious. I have to say, though, that they’ve outdone… Continue reading Ancient Aliens: Performance Art or Government Disinformation?

Scaaaary Poll

Tomorrow is the annual Steinmetz Symposium at Union, where students who have done some sort of research present their results. Which means that today there are a lot of students fretting about having to give a public presentation tomorrow. Just to remind them that there are worse things than giving a research talk to a… Continue reading Scaaaary Poll

Non-Dorky Poll: Vote Reporting

As James Nicoll is fond of saying, context is for the weak. So here’s a context-free poll regarding the reporting of election results: Releasing a rank-ordered list of candidates with vote totals after a contested election is:online survey If you’d like to explain what context you might imagine this to have in the comments, that… Continue reading Non-Dorky Poll: Vote Reporting

The Most Amazing Laser Application of All Time Is…

Voting has closed on the Laser Smackdown poll, with 772 people recording their opinion on the most amazing of the many things that have been done with lasers in the fifty years since the invention of the first working laser (see the Laserfest web site for more on the history and applications of lasers). The… Continue reading The Most Amazing Laser Application of All Time Is…

Last Call for Laser Smackdown Voting

With over 700 votes cast in the Laser Smackdown poll in honor of the 50th anniversary of the laser, laser cooling has opened a commanding 20-vote lead in the race to be the Most Amazing Laser Application of All Time. If you prefer one of the other options, you have only six hours left to… Continue reading Last Call for Laser Smackdown Voting

Dorky Poll: Light Entertainment

I’m off to Williamstown this afternoon, to talk about research and alsoHow to Teach Physics to Your Dog. If you need blog-based entertainment, though, here are some shiny new radio buttons for you to click: You’re a beam of light: quick, what’s your polarization?online survey I won’t offer a personality analysis based on these results,… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Light Entertainment

Laser Smackdown: Final Days of Voting for the Most Amazing Laser Application

We’re just over 600 votes in the Laser Smackdown poll in honor of the 50th anniversary of the laser, as of early Friday morning. I notice that it has moved off the front page of the blog, though, so here’s another signal-boosting repost, just so we have as many votes as possible, to establish maximum… Continue reading Laser Smackdown: Final Days of Voting for the Most Amazing Laser Application

Reminder: Vote for the Most Amazing Laser Application of All Time

As of 1:45 Monday, 217 people have cast votes in the Laser Smackdown poll. That’s not bad, but it’s currently being handily beaten by the 271 people who have voted for a favorite system of units. The nice thing about using actual poll services for this sort of thing, though, is that I can re-post… Continue reading Reminder: Vote for the Most Amazing Laser Application of All Time

Infuriating Polls

I’m currently enjoying the high, thin whistle of an impending deadline, so here are a couple of poll questions about infuriating behaviors to pass the time. The first is about people: Which of these is more infuriating to read/watch/hear?online surveys The second about presentations: Which of these talks is more infuriating to listen to?Market Research… Continue reading Infuriating Polls