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Dave Bacon is a theoretical ski bum who is also a pseudo professor. His research is on quantum computing, his scientific passions extend to everything in physics, mathematics, computer science and beyond, and his personal pleasures include making wine, playing poker, skiing, camping, and daydreaming (although not all of those at the same time.)
Nothing he says on this blog should be construed as having anything to do with his employer or his dog.
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The use of Occam's razor on this website is strickly prohibited.
Cows are well approximated by a sphere.
Extralusionary Intelligence:
Category: Off The Deep End
In the New York Times today there is an interesting article about Helene Hegemann whose debut novel, "Axolotl Roadkill," drew wide praise. You know this story: turns out that the book contains plagiarized passages (plagiarism: check, sales rising: check.) What...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 2:13 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Education
Over at Life as a Physicist, the Physicist for Life gets on a well deserved soap box and laments certain comments concerning articles about a recent College Board study: Trends in College Pricing 2009. The gist of the Physicist for...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 11:46 AM • 22 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Extralusionary Intelligence
Over at the most uncertain blog, he of uncertain principles (aka Chad) takes up a challenge posed by @EricRWeinstein on twitter concerning Paul Krugman's recent article on why economists got the economic crisis so wrong. Since I know even less...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 8:12 PM • 39 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Science 2.0
A fellow quantum computing researcher of mine recently joined FriendFeed. Along with another researcher we got involved in a discussion about a paper concerning a certain recent claimed "disproof of Bell's theorem." (arXiv:0904.4259. What it means to "disprove a theorem"...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 11:16 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Storytime
The other day I ran into a good friend from Tlön, who told me the most fascinating story about his discovery of a new theory of games....
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 5:09 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Extralusionary Intelligence
Like many an arrogant kid before me, when I graduate from high school in my podunk hometown (no, it wasn't marshy, and I say podunk with all the warm feelings of a idyllic childhood), I was filled with confidence that...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 12:49 PM • 39 Comments •
Category: Sports
Moving on to Chapter 1 in my ongoing pedantic plodding through Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. See here for what this is all about. Note that I really am doing this as I read the book (I'm reading...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 3:35 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Health
So I picked up Malcolm Gladwell's newest book Outliers: The Story of Success the other day, as I'm sure many of you will be doing on your next trip to the airport (where stands of Gladwell's hardcover book, marked down...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 5:15 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Finance
Yes, it's all finance all the time, here at the Pontiff. Where else can you go to get your daily dose of extralusionary intelligence? Once again it's a New York Times article Maybe Short-Selling Isn't So Bad, After All. Now...
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 12:01 PM • 19 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Extralusionary Intelligence
One good reason to subscribe to the New York Times is that they have what I consider far above average science reporting for a newspaper. Their Tuesday Science Times section is a must read for me pretty much every week....
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Posted by Dave Bacon at 12:04 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks