At Technology Review’s arXiv blog, referencing Hawking radiation from ultrashort laser pulse filaments
First Observation of Hawking Radiation
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Facts are not subject to a vote
From Cocktail Party Physics: we are in…like…so much in trouble… episode two.
[…] most people would rather state their opinion about things without wasting time looking up the facts. The NASCAR race I’m watching features the AT&T ‘Fastest Pit Crew of the Year Award’. Fans VOTE for the fastest pit crew. The last I looked, time is not subject to human opinion. Sure AT&T donates $20,000 at the end of the program to a deserving charity. But how silly do you have to be to think that ‘fastest’ has anything to do with your opinion? How about sponsoring something mathematically meaningful, like showing us a histogram of all the pit stop times, showing who was exceptionally fast or slow.
The Innumerati among us
From Cocktail Party Physics: we are in…like…so much in trouble… episode two.
In my grouchier moments (one of which I am having right now), I am considering a public relations campaign to make fun of people who can’t do simple math and shame them into either acquiring some fundamental skills or staying quiet and not bothering the rest of us with their ignorance.
Galley Slaves of the 17th Century
The Galeotti: rowing out of the Barbary Coast
Readers of The Baroque Cycle will recall that Jack Shaftoe was captured and forced into galley slavery by the Barbary Pirates.
Ben-Hur to the contrary, galley slaves were almost unknown in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Back then rowers were free men. Galley slavery was an innovation of the late middle ages. See, for example, The Ancient Engineers, p. 352-354.
Scientists Confirm Nuclear Decay Rate Constancy
Should science journalists take sides?
From The New Objectivity
Great post yesterday by fellow Discover denizen Ed Yong, asking “Should science journalists take sides?” Honestly, it shouldn’t be a hard question, although the answer depends on how you visualize the sides. If you have in mind
He said vs. She said,
then the job of a journalist is not to take sides. But there’s another possible dichotomy that is much more crucial:
Truth vs. Falsity.
In this case, it’s equally clear that journalists should take sides: they should be in favor of the truth. Not just passively, by trying not to make things up, but actively, by trying to figure out whether something is false before reporting it, even if it’s been said by someone.
This should be a no-brainer, but apparently there are some “science” journalists who will report every story about a scientific dispute as if the sides have equal merit. See also my notes here.
From Eternity to Here: ….
Monday Night Irish Class, September 20, 2010
Irish Class, September 20, 2010
Rang Gaeilge, 20ú lá Mí Mheán Fómhair 2010
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Fadas: áéíóúÁÉÍÓÚ
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