Astronomy and Literature

Via James Nicoll, there’s a new press release from the Cassini mission talking about new radar maps of a region on the surface of Titan that’s been dubbed “Xanadu.” The topography looks very Earth-like, with rivers and lakes and oceans of methane, providing Dr. Jonathan Lunine an opportunity to show off the benefits of a… Continue reading Astronomy and Literature

Changing Constant Place-Holder

I was planning to write a big, long post tying together Nathan’s mention of an ICAP talk on the time-variation of fundamental constants with Rob Knop’s post on same and this comment regarding the dorky poll (still time to vote!) and a conversation I had with Kate about the meaning of the fine structure constant.… Continue reading Changing Constant Place-Holder

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Categorized as Physics

Excellent Teaching Advice

I’d be remiss in my academic-blogging duties if I failed to point out this Inside Higher Ed piece on teaching core courses. Like many articles published in academic magazines, it’s aimed directly at English composition, but the main points can be extended to intro classes in other disciplines. In particular: 10. Don’t compare students’ attitudes… Continue reading Excellent Teaching Advice

Festival of Cliches

Speaking of fictional science, was there a sci-fi cliche that Eureka (new show on the Sci-Fi Channel) missed last night? Shows like this really make me question whether Battlestar Galactica can be as good as people insist it is (the one episode I watched didn’t sell me on it). (I’m also kind of apprehensive about… Continue reading Festival of Cliches

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Categorized as Television

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

Classic Edition: Move Out of Your Parents’ Basements

Benjamin Cohen at The World’s Fair posts a link to an article about physicists in movies. The author provides a surprisingly detailed breakdown of what must be every character described as a physicist in the history of motion pictures. He also says really nasty things about What the Bleep Do We Know?, which warms my… Continue reading Classic Edition: Move Out of Your Parents’ Basements

Pirates of the Caribbean 2

On Saturday, Kate and I went to see Johnny Depp swish his way through a second movie as Captain Jack Sparrow, with assistance from Kiera Knightly, Orlando Bloom, and a lot of other wooden props. She’s posted a review with spoilers, and I’ll post some spoilers below the fold, but my one-word, spoiler-free review is… Continue reading Pirates of the Caribbean 2

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Categorized as Movies

Liquid Nitrogen on TV

This past weekend, Union played host to the New York State Association for College Admissions Counseling’s Camp College program. This is a three-day summer program where students from disadvantaged backgrounds (the vast majority of this year’s students were from New York City, with a handful of local students, and one group from Philly) spend a… Continue reading Liquid Nitrogen on TV

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Categorized as Physics