Links for 2009-09-23

"How about that ending, huh? "

"Doing a quick poll of graduate students in our department showed the following:

* Atomic Physics: 5/10 grad students are married (2 of those have kids)
* Particle Physics (CMS group): 1/10 grad students are married (none of those have kids)"

"George Smoot, a UC Berkeley professor who won the 2006 Nobel prize in physics, stepped up to the challenge last Friday as a contestant on "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader," the entertainingly humiliating game show that tests adults on facts a ten-year-old is expected to know."

"[W]hat's amazing about this is that if we have multiple images, we'll only see the supernova go off in one of them! Why? The multiple images have different path lengths, meaning that it takes longer for the light to get to us from one image than the other. "

It's next on my to-read pile, but James liked it.

"The Atlantic as a brand is supposed to convey seriousness of thought and purpose, so they can't actually ignore science altogether...and what has happened, as I hope to document, is that the place has become a playpen full of science-y stuff; appeals to the sound and appearance of rigor that masks business as usual...about which, details below."

Your certified geniuses for 2009.