links for 2008-12-31 : Uncertain Principles

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"Uncertain Principles" features the miscellaneous ramblings of a physicist at a small liberal arts college. Physics, politics, pop culture, and occasional conversations with his dog.

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links for 2008-12-31

Category: Links Dump
Posted on: December 31, 2008 4:00 AM, by Chad Orzel

Auto Destruct

"[F]or all of Detroit's mistakes, it is also a victim of something it did right: ensuring a middle-class lifestyle for bluecollar workers. When the carmakers, pushed by unions, agreed to provide workers with a steady level of purchasing power, comprehensive health benefits lasting into retirement, and various forms of workplace rights, they were promising something that all Americans covet. And, while the financial costs and managerial constraints associated with that effort have helped bring domestic carmakers to the edge of collapse, ultimate responsibility for this situation lies beyond Detroit."

(tags: politics economics US history health-care)
The Quantum Pontiff : A Curmudgeon's and Improv's Guide to Outliers: Chapter 1

"Gladwell then focuses on a case example, which is supposed to illustrate some of these "hidden advantages." The example he picks is junior ice hockey in Canada. He shows us a lineup for a Western Hockey League team and asks us if we can spot the strange pattern. Now I love finding patterns (that's in a way, part of my job) so it didn't take me long to spot the pattern that Gladwell wants to talk about. (Of course I also found more patterns, but more on that latter!)"

(tags: science blogs math social-science society sports statistics books)
The Long Countdown - The Fight Over NASA's Future - NYTimes.com

"Technical troubles have dogged the design process for the Ares I, the first of the rockets scheduled to be built, with attendant delays and growing costs. And in an age of always-on communication, instant messages and blogs, internal debate that once might have been part of a cloistered process has spilled into public view. "

(tags: science politics news US space)
Dynamics of Cats : Sunspots: where is cycle 24

"We just went through solar minumum, and cycle 24 is underway. But, the current level of activity remains quite low. It is not in the worryingly anomalous range yet - not like we can say we're entering a new Maunder Minumum - but it is getting curious. The predicted activity is for about 10 sunspots on average, by now, and the observed numbers is significantly lower, with continued stretches of multiple days with no sunspots."

(tags: science astronomy blogs environment)
Worldchanging: What if Climate Change is Not an Energy Problem?

"Here's a thought I've been kicking around, and I'd like your ideas. What if, contrary to conventional wisdom, climate change is not actually primarily an energy problem, and by thinking of it as an energy problem, we risk making huge mistakes in the coming years?"

(tags: energy environment politics internet)