Posted by Chad Orzel on August 6, 2010 I was going to write something serious about physics, but it’s my student’s last day, so we’re taking him to lunch. So here’s a silly poll to entertain you until I get back:
You can only choose one answer… Unless it’s all a dream! In which case, you should slap yourself repeatedly for dreaming about blog polls, because, really.
I found a way to get out of problems arising in my dreams: just look at my shoes. If I cannot easily find where my feet are, then I know I’m dreaming. All I have to do is search for my shoes. When I finally find them, the dreamscape will have changed and the problem I faced will be gone.
I’ll just kill myself now, and let the other mes in the other branches of the wavefunction make every selection.
You've read the blog, now try the books:
How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog is published by Basic Books. "“Unlike quantum physics, which remains bizarre even to experts, much of relativity makes sense. Thus, Einstein’s special relativity merely states that the laws of physics and the speed of light are identical for all observers in smooth motion. This sounds trivial but leads to weird if delightfully comprehensible phenomena, provided someone like Orzel delivers a clear explanation of why.” --Kirkus Reviews "Bravo to both man and dog." The New York Times.
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner. "It's hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to grasp basic quantum physics." -- Booklist "Chad Orzel's How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is an absolutely delightful book on many axes: first, its subject matter, quantum physics, is arguably the most mind-bending scientific subject we have; second, the device of the book -- a quantum physicist, Orzel, explains quantum physics to Emmy, his cheeky German shepherd -- is a hoot, and has the singular advantage of making the mind-bending a little less traumatic when the going gets tough (quantum physics has a certain irreducible complexity that precludes an easy understanding of its implications); finally, third, it is extremely well-written, combining a scientist's rigor and accuracy with a natural raconteur's storytelling skill." -- BoingBoing
August 6, 2010
August 7, 2010
