Deep Questions from Pop Music: Commas
Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford comma, anyway? And why?Posted on March 28, 2008 7:27 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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"Prof. Orzel gives the impression of an everyday guy who just happens to have a vast but hidden knowledge of physics." (anonymous student evaluation comment)
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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Book Writing:
Literary Divination
Using books to fortell the future.Posted on March 20, 2008 11:39 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Book Report: Polishing and Waiting
I'm sitting on the couch, watching tv, when the dog comes in. "Hey, dude, what ever happened with that book, anyway?" "What book?" I ask, distractedly. "The one about me. What other book would I be asking about?" "Oh, yeah....Posted on January 13, 2008 10:28 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Bunnies Made of Cheese: The First Draft
"Hey, dude. What's in the binder?" "Well, it's the first draft of my book. I finished it this morning, and printed it out to have a paper copy to look at." "Ooooh! The book about me?" "Well, it's a book...Posted on December 21, 2007 5:03 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Google Passeth All Understanding
As previously mentioned, I plan to end the book with a chapter on quantum flim-flam. As research for this, I've been looking at kook sites on the web, and Googled "quantum healing," which turns up all manner of gibberish from...Posted on December 20, 2007 9:19 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
How to Hand-Wave Quantum Phase?
Kind of a technical question, but typing it out might provide some inspiration, or failing that, somebody might have a good suggestion in the comments. Here's the issue: I'm starting on a chapter about quantum teleportation for the book, and...Posted on December 7, 2007 9:28 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Smack Talking, Geek Style
John Scalzi is talking a big game: I was just taking one of those Internet tests to see how much of a geek I am, when I suddenly thought, what the fuck am I doing? I'm a published science fiction...Posted on December 6, 2007 9:04 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Neutral Bohmian Mechanics?
Another Jonah Goldberg moment-- can anybody recommend a reasonably neutral discussion of Bohm's non-local hidden variable version of quantum theory? A little Googling turns up this encyclopedia article and a tutorial dialogue on the arxiv, but I'd like to see...Posted on December 1, 2007 10:33 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Bleg: Physics History
I distinctly recall reading a quote from somebody talking about the debates between Bohr and Einstein, in which Einstein invented ingenious thought experiments to measure two non-commuting observables (position and momentum, or energy and time) and Bohr poked holes in...Posted on November 26, 2007 2:59 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Evil Survey: Quantum Chicanery
What's your favorite example of somebody using the language of quantum theory to make wildly unrealistc promises of magical results?Posted on November 20, 2007 11:32 AM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
A Jonah Goldberg Moment
What's a mid-size breed of dog with a reputation for laziness? I need a slow-moving dog to contrast with a hyperactive husky, and I already used "basset hound" in a different context. Ideally, it should have about the same mass...Posted on November 14, 2007 9:47 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Ready for Her Close-Up
"Dude, what is your deal?" "What? I'm just taking a couple of pictures." "A couple? You've taken, like, forty pictures of me already today. You're cramping my style. I'm trying to go for a walk, here. I've got bushes...Posted on September 30, 2007 11:42 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Many Worlds, Many Headaches
Delayed choices, the Many-Worlds Interpretation, and why more people don't spend lots of time thinking about foundational issues in quantum mechanics.Posted on September 26, 2007 9:24 AM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Book Report
It turns out that there's actually a small clause in the standard publishing contract that requires any author with a blog to post periodic updates on the progress of the current writing project. Who knew? Well, OK, there's no contractual...Posted on September 24, 2007 7:52 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
