Fictional Science

The article about physicists in movies cited previously had one other thing worth commenting on: the fictional portrayal of the practice of science: All these films illustrate a fundamental pattern for movie science. Rarely is the central scientific concept utterly incorrect, but filmmakers are obviously more interested in creating entertaining stories that sell tickets than… Continue reading Fictional Science

Random Twenty

My plan was to spend yesterday and this morning doing deep and substantive blogging while sidelined by a medical test. That sort of fell through, which means I get to spend an extra day in the lab, but also means you get lazy blogging. And what could be lazier than the classic “Random Tracks from… Continue reading Random Twenty

Classic Edition: Stronger Than Old Hapless Gods

I was scheduled for a deeply unpleasant medical test yesterday, which I thought was going to leave me lots of time for blogging. yesterday afternoon and this morning. The preliminary test turned out to be so unpleasant (if anybody ever offers to stick a tube through your nose into your stomach, decline politely) that I… Continue reading Classic Edition: Stronger Than Old Hapless Gods

Ask a ScienceBlogger: Cartoon Edition

OK, it’s not an official Ask a ScienceBlogger question (that answer will show up next week), but over at the World’s Fair, they’ve raised an important scholarly question via a scene from The Simpsons: Marge: Homer? Homer: Yelloh? Marge: There’s a man here who thinks he can help you. Homer: Batman? Marge: No, he’s a… Continue reading Ask a ScienceBlogger: Cartoon Edition

Giant Hugo Nominees Round-Up

As you know, Bob, the Hugo Awards are one of the top literary honors in the field of science fiction and fantasy. They’re voted on by the attendees of each year’s Woldcon, held in August or September, and include awards for Best Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Short Story. I posted about the Best Novel nominees… Continue reading Giant Hugo Nominees Round-Up