SteelyKid is a fan of a web game called BumperStars, which my parents introduced her to. If I’m at the computer doing something, she’ll march over, demand to be picked up, then point at the screen and say “Buh-Pah” until I open it up. Of course, she’s a toddler, and thus has an extremely short… Continue reading I Have Competitive OCD
Category: Science
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update and Upcoming Events
A flurry of things to kick off the new academic term. Reviews and news: A nice write-up on Wired’s GeekDad blog by Kathy Ceceri, about last week’s homeschool event. Includes a picture of me giving a tour of my lab. ZapperZ says that I’m not teaching physics, I’m teaching about physics. Which is probably fair,… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update and Upcoming Events
The Eerie Silence by Paul Davies
Somebody at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has a really high opinion of this blog, as they not only sent me an Advance Reading Copy of Paul Davies’s forthcoming book about SETI, The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence, they followed it up with a finished hardcover. I read the ARC on the plane on… Continue reading The Eerie Silence by Paul Davies
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
Been a little while since I’ve done an Obsessive Update, but a few noteworthy things have come up recently: A very nice review at Pet Connection: “this brilliant and (relatively) simple book explains the basic premises of quantum physics in terms that dogs and most English majors can understand.” Which is not to say that… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Obsessive Update
Belated March Meeting Wrap-Up
I did one sketchy update from Portland last Tuesday, but never wrote up my impressions of the rest of the March Meeting– when I got back, I was buried in grading, and then trying to put together Monday’s presentation. And, for reasons that will become apparent, I was unable to write anything up before I… Continue reading Belated March Meeting Wrap-Up
Research Blogging Awards
The winners of the first Research Blogging Awards were announced today, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this blog was named the “Best Blog — Chemistry, Physics, or Astronomy.” I knew that I was nominated– I was one of the judges, and while I abstained from voting on my own blog, I… Continue reading Research Blogging Awards
What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics
I gave a talk today for a group of local home-school students and parents, on the essential elements of quantum physics. The idea was to give them a sense of what sets quantum mechanics apart from other theories of physics, and why it’s a weird and wonderful thing. The title is, of course, a reference… Continue reading What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics
Sketchy March Meeting Notes: Monday
I’m terrible about taking notes on conference talks, especially when I’m jet-lagged and was sleep deprived even before I got on the plane. I do jot down the occasional paper reference, though, so here are the things I wrote down, and the talks they were associated with. This should give you some vague idea of… Continue reading Sketchy March Meeting Notes: Monday
What Should I Go to at the March Meeting?
Lots of good suggestions as to Portland activities for my trip to the March Meeting next week. There’s a second, related problem that I also need help with: What should I do at the meeting itself? My usual conference is DAMOP, which I’ll be going to in May, so while DAMOP is a participating division,… Continue reading What Should I Go to at the March Meeting?
Many Worlds, Many Treats: The Movie
Another dramatic reading of a chapter from How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, just because. This is Chapter 4, which is based on the original Many Worlds, Many Treats post that kick-started the whole thing: I’m sitting at the computer typing, when Emmy bumps up against my legs. I look down, and she’s sniffing… Continue reading Many Worlds, Many Treats: The Movie