Today is the 11th anniversary of the death of my hero Carl Sagan (thanks to Bad Astronomy for the reminder). Personally, it has been an emotionally trying year with the birth of our first child and soon thereafter the death of my childhood best friend and cousin (more like brother) in Afghanistan. I find wisdom in Dr. Sagan's words about life, the cosmos and humanity today. Echoing my post ...
Last week, my grad school alma mater Yale opened its doors to the web and followed the path of Stanford and M.I.T. by putting popular courses up for anyone to enjoy and learn from. Here's a great story from the NY Times about an amazing Physics teacher at M.I.T. who is using this newfound access to people outside the ivory towers to share his love for physics: Professor Lewin’s videotaped ...
Wow, I wish I had this video while I was teaching 8th grade Physical Science (and trying to demonstrate quantum physics with just a chalkboard and lots of enthusiasm). "What does an observer have to do with any of this?" Awesome explanation. Glenn Beck needs to watch this, btw (*cough* idiot *cough*).
Using pulses of high-intensity sound, two Brown University physicists have succeeded in making a movie showing the motion of a single electron. Humphrey Maris, a physics professor at Brown University, and Wei Guo, a Brown doctoral student, were able to film the electron as it moved through a container of superfluid helium. 06-174 (Electrons on Video)
Isaac Newton, inventor of the modern thinker, was born today (and died on Good Friday...coincidence?). Happy Birthday, Sir Isaac, and thank you for all you did/do... 3QuarksDaily Entry About Newton Today
The New Atlantis - The Self-Portrait of a Scientist - Christine Rosen The memoirs of scientists can also offer insights into the broader culture of science, and perhaps help answer questions that are deeply important to all of us: How democratic is science? How useful or accurate is it, in the twenty-first century, to understand the scientist as a quasi-heroic figure on a quest for truth and ...
He's still my hero... The letters reveal how Einstein lost most of his Nobel Prize money in bad bond investments on Wall Street, and provide details of how he was showered with affection and gifts by his many mistresses.Beyond science, Einstein's letters reveal a life of turbulence - The Boston Globe Blogged with Flock
If we all jump at the same time on June 20 (at 6:39 and 13 secs for US East Coast), we can cure global warming by knocking the earth off it's orbit a wee bit... World Jump Day eh, I've got nothing better to do on Thursday.
Having just come back from a conference, I think this is a great idea. I'm going to make cards explaining my ideas on marketing mimetics, rss integration and the importance of social aggregation in the online direct response world for the next industry conference this fall... For several months in 1921, Albert Einstein carried small mimeographed cards which elegantly explained the theory of relativity so as not to have ...
One of my favorite teaching moments was explaining to 13 and 14 year olds that even though we look solid and stable, we are actually made up of tiny particles that are constantly in motion. Not only that, but those tiny particles are composed of mostly NOTHING. SO, you, me, and all of our puppies, food and coins are mostly made of EMPTY SPACE. It's a crazy and ...
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