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Category: Silliness
I Write Like a Random Selection of Famous People
Via Crooked Timber, there’s a silly web site that lets you put in a chunk of text, and does some sort of statistical analysis of it to determine what famous writer’s prose it most closely resembles. It turns out, I’m kind of hard to categorize. For instance, when I’m writing about Holy Grails, I apparently… Continue reading I Write Like a Random Selection of Famous People
World Cup Update and Poll
The dogphysics karma joke is pretty much dead, as countries with current or future editions of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog have gone a dismal 1-3-0 in the first round of elimination play. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did, honestly. The big story of the World Cup at the moment… Continue reading World Cup Update and Poll
Unusual Question: Boxers v. Briefs?
A second uncomfortable question from tbell: boxers, briefs, or other? That’s an interesting question. Not many people would think to ask about a comparison between professional fighting and the products of the legal profession. Boxing, while no longer the cultural force that it once was, does occasionally provide for some compelling watching. Boxers themselves tend… Continue reading Unusual Question: Boxers v. Briefs?
Last Chance for World Cup Success
Three European countries, France, Germany, and Spain have suffered embarrassing World Cup losses. The French team in particular has appeared to be in complete disarray. Their combined record to this point is just 2-3-1 (W-L-T). What do these three countries have in common? None of them have purchased translation rights for How to Teach Physics… Continue reading Last Chance for World Cup Success
I Need a Pointless (But Cool) Graphic
At last weekend’s Hidden Dimensions event, Brian Greene had a graphic of a Calabi-Yau object (it wasn’t this one, but it’s the same idea). He put this up several times, but never actually explained what the hell it was supposed to show. It just looked kind of cool. Last week’s Through the Wormhole program segment… Continue reading I Need a Pointless (But Cool) Graphic
(Belated) World Cup Contest
This was supposed to go up earlier, but it turns out that thinking you selected “Scheduled” in the MT back end is not, in fact, enough to schedule the post to appear. So this is showing up after games have already begun, but nothing of consequence has happened yet, so it’s no biggie. Anyway, the… Continue reading (Belated) World Cup Contest
Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists
In my write-up about the Hidden Dimensions panel, I mentioned in passing that: I also would’ve liked to see an experimental physicist up there, to provide a little more grounding about what the actual problems are, and how you might hope to look for something. But then, I always think there should be more experimental… Continue reading Everything Is Better With Experimental Physicists
Irritating Poll: Stuck at Work
Today is Memorial Day in the US, which is a holiday to honor the dead of our various wars. It’s also the traditional start of summer-type activities, and most people spend it at cookouts and parades and that sort of thing. I say “most people,” because our trimester calendar means that we’re still in session,… Continue reading Irritating Poll: Stuck at Work
Dorky Poll: Analogies
I’m home with SteelyKid today, because Shavuot is important enough to close the JCC for two days. This will mean essentially no Internet for me, as it’s difficult to type when you’re lying on the floor being jumped on by a toddler. As a filler post, let me take a cue from Making Light and… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Analogies