There are two things creating some buzz at the moment on ScienceBlogs that I don't intend to write about because I've already commented on them. They're oddly similar, too, though they're being approached in different ways.
One is this op-ed by Paul Davies, which is basically a shorter and more contentiously worded version of one of the arguments in Cosmic Jackpot. I reviewed the book back in January, and I really don't have anything to say about this Cliff's Notes version that I didn't say then.
The other is this silliness from the Telegraph about shortening the life of the Universe by observing dark energy. This appears to start with a paper by Lawrence Krauss (among others), which led to a press release, which led to a New Scientist article, which led to the Telegraph piece, and with a pedigree like that, you just know it has to be good.
The argument, as I understand it, is an attempt to apply a variant of the Quantum Zeno Effect to the entire universe, and say that observing the state of the early universe causes it to collapse into some particular quantum state, which might not be the one we'd really like it to be in, in some metaphysical sort of sense. The results are predictably daft.
Anyway, since Rob Knop poked me to say something about this, let me just point to this old post about "counterfactual computing," which contains an explanation of the Quantum Zeno Effect. I made complete hash of the numbers in that post, but the basic idea is explained there. If you want a more detailed explanation, with correct figures, you'll need to wait for the book.
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saw your note.. a few errors... there was no press release on our paper.. new scientist picked it up off the physics arxiv, and alas, after several iterations, the misinterpretation of the results have continued.. I am working on getting the telegraph to correct their story.
LMK
I guess I got the chronology wrong-- I saw a press release a few days ago, but it was from New Scientist about their article, and not a precursor to it. Apologies for the mix-up.
And while I'm leaving comments here, let me note that there's a nice collection of responses to the Davies piece at Edge. I think I like Jeremy Bernstein's best.
I always assumed that it was New Scientist and newspapers who mangled the deep ideas of Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy, and former Chair of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University: Lawrence M. Krauss [27 May 1954-].
At every science fiction convention where me, my wife, or my son Do Panels, we hold up copies of his books and recommend that the audience rush to the huckster's tables and buy them immediately.
His books are uniformly brilliant and delightful, most famously The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss. BasicBooks, 1995, $26.00; ISBN 0-465-00559-4
I eagerly await Spock (either and younger or older instantiation) explaining (logically) and applying the Quantum Zeno Effect to save, not just the Enterprise and the Federation, but the entire universe.
Jonathan: thank you.. you just made a bad day better. :)
A RAFO! You have arrived.
Lawrence Krauss: You're most welcome (from me and my wife, currently sunning in our front garden). I may have skipped that you (gratefully) handed over the Department Chairman's reins in 2005, and have been serving as advisor to the Campaign to Defend the Constitution (dedicated to opposing the religious right), plus Scientists and Engineers for America (promoting sound science in American government).
Wikipedia also reminds us that: "Krauss is one of the only living scientists that Scientific American has referred to as a 'public intellectual', and is the only physicist ever to have been awarded the highest awards of all three major US Physics Societies: the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics."
On the other hand, John Baez and Greg Egan seem to be leading the effort to give New Scientist a clue that they need editing and fact-checking especially in Physics (they don't do nearly as badly in Biology).
Hence my certainty that the Press had garbled the Lawrence Krauss insights into noise. He has other New York Times op ed pieces worth reading.
And additional books besides The Physics of Star Trek, including:
* The Fifth Essence (1991) ISBN 0-465-02377-0
* Fear of Physics (1994) ISBN 0-465-02367-3
* (1995) ISBN 0-465-00559-4
* Quintessence (2001) ISBN 0-465-03741-0
* Atom (2002) ISBN 0-316-18309-1
* Hiding in the Mirror (2005) ISBN 0-670-03395-2
Do see his web page for a more complete list.
http://genesis1.phys.cwru.edu/~krauss/Publications.htm
Raajesh: can you disambiguate? I'm guessing the first of these...
RAFORead And Find Out [Evidently the acronym got started in online Fantasy websites' author interviews]
RAFORoyal Air Force of Oman
RAFORoyal Air Force Orienteering club
RAFORoosevelt Adjunct Faculty Organization
RAFO - razÃtka, vizitky
Rainbow Foundations Limited (RAFO.BO) stock research
Rafo Muñiz (born 1956) is a famous Puerto Rican actor, comedian, director and, more notably, producer of television shows and concerts.
Megapixel multi-band QWIP focal plane arraysGunapala, S. D.; Bandara, S. V.; Liu, J. K.; RAFO, S. B.; Hill, C.; Mumolo, J.; Thang, J.; Tidrow, M.; LeVan, P. D.
Thank you again, Chad, for allowing this bio-bibliographic discussion.
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/future.htm
Dr. Schund was paid to invent future's end that more than a decade ago; TOP SECRERT/Lotus Eater classified (two steps above TOP SECRET/Special Access Required).
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/cap.htm
Where there is earned value to be stolen, extorted, or consumed there is a penurious fool whining about compassion and equal opportunity - then volunteering somebody else's children to die on the front lines of probity.
#7: The first of those. RAFO was a standard reply of Robert Jordan, whose newsgroup was where I first met Chad and Kate.