Random Stuff
esiegel | April 15, 2012"You never need think you can turn over any old falsehoods without a terrible squirming of the horrid little population that dwells under it." -Oliver Wendell Holmes
As an astrophysicist, I get sent all sorts of (unsolicited) novel ideas and theories claiming to overturn everything from special relativity to quantum theory to the Big Bang. But the biologists get one very special type that I don't, that I was fortunate enough to have shared with me. This is not a case of physicists vs. biologists; on the contrary -- as the Be Good Tanyas might tell you -- this is what it sounds like
When Doves…
esiegel | April 8, 2012
"It's so fine and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas." -Paul Cezanne
All over the world, hundreds of millions of families are getting together this weekend for a variety of reasons. And a large number of them will have, as part of their nature, a big announcement made. Depending on the announcement and the family, reactions will vary greatly. As you keep this in mind, I'd like you to listen to the French band, Air, and their unheralded electronica masterpiece,
Talisman.
There are many possible answers to the following question, and there is no right or wrong answer.…
esiegel | April 1, 2012"I think a strong claim can be made that the process of scientific discovery may be regarded as a form of art. This is best seen in the theoretical aspects of Physical Science... The theory of relativity by Einstein, quite apart from any question of its validity, cannot but be regarded as a magnificent work of art." -Sir Ernest Rutherford
Einstein's theory of relativity -- and in particular, the notion that no form of matter or energy can exceed the speed of light in vacuum -- has been one of the most thoroughly tested and most successfully robust scientific theories of all time. Have a…
esiegel | March 23, 2012
"You will be able to program a robot to follow a track on the ground and manipulate a hand. You can also write little programs that will give the robots goals." -Bill Budge
Ever since the very first robots were conceived, the robot apocalypse -- or a time where the robots will become intelligent enough to rise up and overthrow their human creators -- has gripped the popular imagination. Have a listen to Wyclef Jean's song,
Apocalypse,
while you ponder the implications of this great find.
A creative artificial intelligence (AI) engine, Angelina, can design and create its own videogames…
esiegel | March 17, 2012
"Doubt requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy; because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite; it is a passionate exercise. We've got to learn to live with a full measure of uncertainty. There is no last word. That's the silence under the chatter of our time." -John Patrick Shanley
Normally, each weekend I bring you a song and something I find informative, entertaining, or otherwise outstanding. This weekend, however, is a little different, because I got to see something last night that I want to share with you.
Have a look at Kidd Pivot, the Canadian…
esiegel | March 11, 2012"They call it a great wonder
That the Sun would not
though the sky was cloudless
Shine warm upon the men." -Sighvald, Icelandic poet
A couple of times a year, during the New Moon, the Sun, Moon, and Earth all line up in the same plane. As seen from Earth, the Sun's disc appears blocked, either in whole or in part, by the Moon. As The Beta Band would have told you, this creates an
Eclipse.Depending on how close the Moon and Sun are to the Earth, either the Moon's shadow will fall on the Earth, creating a total solar eclipse, or the shadow will end before it ever reaches Earth, in which case we…
esiegel | March 3, 2012"The question I always get is, 'Why didn't you throw Dr. Smith off the Jupiter?' I get that all the time." -Mark Goddard
Here at Starts With A Bang, we focus on the promises, possibilities and physical groundings of our Universe, while very rarely venturing into fiction and fantasy. But, very often, it's the fantastic imaginings of fiction and fantasy that help inspire new directions in science. Have a listen to German guitar great Peter Ratzenbeck's tune,
Sunday's Fantasy,while you sink your teeth into this.
Later this month -- from March 23rd to the 25th in Memphis, TN -- I'll be the…
esiegel | February 25, 2012"Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?" -Bernice Fitz-Gibbon
Yes, I have a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Yes, I've spent years as a professional scientist, an award-winning physics teacher and professor, and a professional science communicator. And earlier this month, I learned that all of that hasn't kept me from tying my shoes incorrectly for the past 29 years. Not only that, but if you put as little thought into tying your shoes as I did, you've got a 50-50 shot of tying…
esiegel | February 19, 2012"If you end up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it." -Frank Zappa
I'm no one to tell anyone else how to live their lives, save to say that, at the end of the day, I hope that you're happy with the person you are, the people you've surrounded yourself with, and the life you're living. Sometimes that involves persevering in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, as The National might tell you in their brilliant song,
Runaway,while other times that…
esiegel | February 5, 2012"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
-Winston Churchill
There are a number of weird, bizarre, and highly entertaining things out there, and one of the greatest values of the internet is how it allows its users to -- with enough searching and a bit of luck -- uncover things they never would've found before. Each week, I'm proud to expose you to a song and/or an artist you may not have heard of before, and this week I bring you Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and his song,
Horses.Of all the songs I could have chosen, that's the one, because I came…
esiegel | January 28, 2012"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving individuals. We all must work for our own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity." -Marie Curie
Most of us remember the importance of being charitable on a few rare occasions throughout the year, most commonly around the year's end. But what about the rest of the year? Obviously, we don't have an unlimited amount of resources, so for most of us, it's not a viable option to do as Magnolia Electric Company suggests, and
Give Something Else Away Every Day.But what if I told you there was a way…
esiegel | January 22, 2012"I want more muscles! I go to the gym three or four times a week with a personal trainer. I can afford that now. I can't put on weight though, no matter how much I eat." -Christopher Parker
Many of us struggle in all sorts of aspects of our lives: to balance work and leisure, friends and family, responsibility and fun. For nearly all of us, something eventually goes awry, and when it does, we suddenly can't meet all our commitments at once. Regardless of where you come from or what you like, this is a problem we all have to face at some time or another. For this week, I'd like to introduce…
esiegel | January 15, 2012"There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This period does not last. He returns headlong to his beard." -Jean Cocteau
Some traditions are older than we even know. Older than our great-grandparents, older than our countries, older even than the oldest songs and music we know of, which comes to you today courtesy of Planxty, the story of the 1580 defeat of the British at Glenmalure,
Follow Me Up To Carlow.Even older than that is the tradition of facial hair. As far as I can tell, facial hair fell out of favor during World War I, when chemical warfare made it necessary to…
esiegel | January 8, 2012"I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet."
-Nadia Comaneci
Whether it's a new task, a new subject, a new place or a new person, life is full of wonderful new experiences, if you've got the courage to go out and pursue them. One way to do that, as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down would tell you, is to
Travel.But there are some places I always thought travel -- for everyone -- would be impossible. And one of those places is, well, this.
This (and all images) credit: Lana Sator, 2011…
esiegel | January 1, 2012"The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once." -Rene Descartes
Happy New Year, everyone! While many of you are still awestruck at the image of the Universe compressed into a single year, it's time to move forward to the next thing. For those of you new to the game, as is tradition around here, every weekend I come to you with some music you may not have heard before and some important, fun, interesting, or educational thing to amuse you.
To start this year off right, I bring you Tim O'Brien's upbeat song,
Turning Around.…
esiegel | December 24, 2011(This post first appeared on December 23, 2009, but has been reproduced, edited, and improved for 2011.)
089:32:50 Mattingly: Apollo 8, Houston. [No answer.]
089:33:38 Mattingly: Apollo 8, Houston.
089:34:16 Lovell: Houston, Apollo 8, over.
089:34:19 Mattingly: Hello, Apollo 8. Loud and clear.
089:34:25 Lovell: Roger. Please be informed there is a Santa Claus.
089:34:31 Mattingly: That's affirmative. You're the best ones to know. -NASA
The world is an awfully big place now. Santa's job has to be tougher than its ever been before, with more and more people relying on his deliveries each year.…
esiegel | December 18, 2011"None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me! " -Rorschach, from Watchmen
One of the best graphic novels I've ever read is Watchmen, created by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins. (Decent movie, too.) One of the things that struck me most about it is how fatalistic and, in many ways, hopeless it all seems. To set the mood this week, I give you Ben Harper's melancholic song,
Widow Of A Living Man.With a slew of well-developed, major characters, a case can be made for any number of them as either the most heroic or villainous; in my case…
esiegel | December 11, 2011"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." -Georgia O'Keeffe
There are secret dreams, hopes, and fears that live inside the heads of all of us. And it's one of the highest forms of art to release those internal visions in ways that touch other people. This week, the song I've picked for you is the little-known (and now-defunct) band Groovulous Glove, and their funk masterpiece,
Draw the Line.But what I'm most excited to show you is a true brilliancy: The Monster Engine, from artist Dave DeVries. (All images here taken from…
esiegel | December 4, 2011"Welcome, new comers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!" -Frank Costanza, Seinfeld
With the winter solstice and the end of the year approaching, the short days, long nights, and the annual holiday frenzy can be a great stressor. Take the time to remember the good things in life, including -- as Marvin Gaye might say -- all the people who matter most, including
You.Whether you're religious or not, this time of year is filled with lights, gifts, and decorations. And for those of you who…
esiegel | November 27, 2011"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." -Albert Einstein
Long superseded by television and the internet, the radio perhaps is better seen today as a symbol of nostalgia than as one of paramount relevance to modern life. You can perhaps get a feel for this from Josh Ritter's live performance (from Dublin Castle) of his song,
Golden Age Of Radio.But…