Physics Buzz: The Surprising Physics of Pipe Organs “In 1877, English physicist Lord Rayleigh observed that when two almost identical organ pipes are played side by side, something strange happens. Rather than each blaring their own tone, the two pipes will barely make a whisper. But put a barrier between them, and they sing loud… Continue reading Links for 2009-09-03
Month: September 2009
The Great Bloggingheads Mess
I sort of feel like I ought to have something to say about the recent controversy over creationists on bloggingheads.tv, which has caused Sean Carroll and Carl Zimmer to renounce the whole site. If you’re too lazy to click through those links, the basic problem is that bloggingheads has twice invited creationists– sorry, cdesign proponentists–… Continue reading The Great Bloggingheads Mess
Historical Quantum Smackdown Explained
This was delayed a day by yesterday’s ranting, but I wanted to explain the significance of the people in Monday’s lesser-known quantum mechanic smackdown. I’m happy to see that, as of this morning, three candidates have rallied past the “unique flower” option. In reverse order of popularity:
Links for 2009-09-02
Pimp My Novel: Self-Publishing: Great Idea… or Worst Idea Ever? “Very occasionally, a self-published novel will be something that was somehow overlooked by the publishing industry as a whole and is actually quite good and/or salable. 99%+ of the time, however, these books are either written by the functionally illiterate, are tangled messes of inane… Continue reading Links for 2009-09-02
The Delete Key Is Your Friend
As a veteran of Usenet, I’ve only grudgingly come to accept the practice of putting all responses to an email in a lump at the top, with the quoted text below. I much prefer to have the responses interleaved with the original points being responded to. I’ve pretty clearly lost this one, though, and I’ve… Continue reading The Delete Key Is Your Friend
Dehumanizing the Two Cultures
It’s probably a good thing that I don’t have full-text access to Mark Slouka’s article in Harper’s, with the title “Dehumanized: When math and science rule the school.” Just the description in this Columbia Journalism Review piece makes me want to hunt down the author and belt him with a Norton anthology: According to the… Continue reading Dehumanizing the Two Cultures
Links for 2009-09-01
Infinite Summer » Blog Archive » Join the Tunnel Club “It’s decision time now, though (it takes at least a month to line up Guides, guests, and so forth). And while I continue to have no solid plan, I am slowly tumbling to the realization that I am going to continue the site, at least… Continue reading Links for 2009-09-01