It’s been a couple of weeks since I did an update on How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, but that’s been as much laziness as a lack of news. Some developments, mostly relating to foreign lands: The US paperback edition is slated for December release. I’m working on a Teacher’s Guide to go with… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
Category: Science
Into the Universe With Portentous Music (and Stephen Hawking)
While I missed the controversial episode with comments about aliens, I figured I should at least take a look at the Discovery Channel’s Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, so I put it on last night after putting SteelyKid to bed. This was the big two-hour “Story of Everything” episode, starting with the Big Bang… Continue reading Into the Universe With Portentous Music (and Stephen Hawking)
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
“Subtle Is the Lord…” by Abraham Pais
The APS now gives out an Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics, which gives you some idea of how influential his work was, in particular “Subtle Is the Lord…” The Science and Life of Albert Einstein, which won prizes and sits in a prominent position on the bookshelves of many physicists. Like a lot… Continue reading “Subtle Is the Lord…” by Abraham Pais
Eat My Dust, Richard Dawkins
A college classmate sent me this picture of a library display in the Boston area: That’s How to Teach Physics to Your Dog prominently displayed on the top shelf. Just below it, you can see Physics for Future Presidents, and to the right, you can just make out Richard Dawkins’s book on evolution. Pretty good… Continue reading Eat My Dust, Richard Dawkins
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
The One Thing to Believe If You’re Only Going to Believe One Thing
Over in Twitter-land, S. C. Kavassalis notes a Googler who’s not afraid to ask the big questions: Weird Google search of the week: ‘the “one” scientific idea that we need to believe’. Uh um, I’m sure my blog couldn’t possibly answer that. It’s a good question, though, ad there are a couple of different ways… Continue reading The One Thing to Believe If You’re Only Going to Believe One Thing
Conference Organizers Should Not Live in Caves
A sad and sordid story from the Times Higher Education following the rescinding of invitations to a conference on quantum foundations: Details of the conference in August for experts in quantum mechanics sounded idyllic. Participants were due to discuss “de Broglie-Bohm theory and beyond” in the Towler Institute, which is housed in a 16th-century monastery… Continue reading Conference Organizers Should Not Live in Caves