pontiff | June 5, 2008Blessed be Mike Lazaridis:
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, June 4, 2008 - In a new and generous act of personal philanthropy, Mike Lazaridis has provided an additional $50 million (Canadian) to Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI). This private donation increases his personal contributions to $150 million in the research institute.
pontiff | June 3, 2008Hoisted from the comments, Robin asks:
So, with that in mind, here's a question. What do you think about teaching quantum mechanics as noncommutative probability theory? In other words, by starting with probability theory and alluding to probabilistic mechanics (e.g., distributions on phase space), and then introducing quantum theory as a generalization of probability.
This is how I think of quantum theory all the time now -- and it makes tremendous sense to me. I think it's how I want to teach it. And I'm curious what y'all think.
This is roughly how I like to introduce quantum theory,…
pontiff | May 30, 2008Sometimes you find one that is just so over the top that it brings a smile to your face. It starts out okay,
The doughnut shaped universe spinning about a central axis of quantum singularity
India Daily Technology Team
May 26, 2008
An unexpected patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - the relic radiation left behind by the Big Bang points to the fact that the universe is donut shaped and finite. The cosmologists are stunned by the fact that cosmologists were surprised to find that longer wavelengths were missing from measurements of the CMB made by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave…
pontiff | May 30, 2008The scientific data, it wants to be free! San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth: "You are currently viewing Hole E - Run 1 - Section 1" Cool.
pontiff | May 28, 2008Bill Gates thinks that robots are at the equivalent stage that computers were when he and Paul Allen and a ton of hobbyists helped fuel the PC revolution. But is he right? Here is a radical proposal: might not bioengineering be the next field where amateurs have a huge impact? Such is the hypothesis of DIYbio which had its first meeting in Cambridge, MA on May 1st:
In the packed back-room of Asgard's Irish Pub in Cambridge, a diverse crowd of 25+ enthusiasts gathered to discuss the next big thing in biology: amateurs. Mackenzie (Mac) Cowell led-off the night with an overview of recent…
pontiff | May 27, 2008A story, from Jeff Silverman:
Whenever you build an airplane, you have to make sure that each part weighs no more than allocated by the designers, and you have to control where the weight it located to keep the center of gravity with limits. So there is an organization called weights which tracks that.
For the 747-100, one of the configuration items was the software for the navigation computer. In those days (mid-1960s), the concept of software was not widely understood. The weight of the software was 0. The weights people didn't understand this so they sent a guy to the software group to…
pontiff | May 27, 2008For fun, answer the following in the comment section, without reading what others have left in the comment section:
Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.
Which is more likely?
1. Linda is a bank teller.
2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.
Then read this.
pontiff | May 27, 2008I am now the sum of the first four positive factorials of positive numbers!
The most depressing thing about the age of thirty three was that Alexander the Great died at 33. Dude, to be 33 and not have people putting "the Great" after your name is super depressing.
pontiff | May 24, 2008From the Uncyclopedia entry on computers:
How Computers Work
Inside a computer case is a midget that intakes power and outputs graphics. On an average computer, this is an average male midget. High end computers contain baby giraffes or sometimes Links (which will periodically shut down, some blame this on power consumption, but this is actually due to the Links leaving the computer in order to save Zeldas from Gilbert Gottfrieds). Cheaper Hewlett-Packard computers generally come standard with a retard midget. Macs and Dells run on magnets which make them better then anything else! Rumors…
pontiff | May 22, 2008Does anyone know if any author has ever had a paper published in the entire alphabet of Physical Reviews? (A,B,C,D,E) And if not, doesn't that sound like a fun task to try to achieve. OK, perhaps "fun" is the wrong word. Even better if you could carry out the task with alphabetical order corresponding to chronological order. Even better still would be if you could carry out the task with reverse alphabetical order corresponding to chronological order.
pontiff | May 22, 2008The telectroscope:
Hardly anyone knows that a secret tunnel runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. In May 2008, more than a century after it was begun, the tunnel will finally be completed. Immediately afterwards, an extraordinary optical device called a Telectroscope will be installed at both ends which will miraculously allow people to see right through the Earth from London to New York and vice versa.
pontiff | May 20, 2008is realizing that you've spent twenty straight hours working on a grant proposal. Fry, meet Brain. Brain, meet Fry.
pontiff | May 19, 2008Dude, can I get a Canadian aerospace company to win a United States federal contract and as a consequence have to fund my quantum computing research?
Dalhousie research is taking a quantum leap into next-generation computing.
The university has received $2 million from Lockheed Martin that will benefit the university's basic scientific research in an area of quantum computing, physics and material sciences.
The money, to be spread over four years, is part of the company's commitment to spend $242 million in Atlantic Canada as part of its industrial benefits obligation arising from the federal…
pontiff | May 16, 2008Robert Mondavi, who helped put Napa Valley on the world wine map has passed away age 94. The most famous story about Mondavi involves a fight:
The Mondavis moved to Napa, and Cesare, Robert and Robert's younger brother, Peter, ran the winery. But there were disagreements about how the winery should be run, and after Cesare's death, Robert and Peter clashed. While Robert, the more flamboyant of the two brothers, pushed for better wines, Peter favored a more conservative path. One day, they ended up in a fistfight, and Robert was asked to leave the family business
So far, in making my own…
pontiff | May 15, 2008I'm a sucker for any game which involves time travel. If only now I could go back in time and use my time more wisely than I did by playing that silly game.
pontiff | May 14, 2008Interesting new website from the New York Academy of Sciences: Scientists Without Borders:
Scientists Without BordersSM aims to mobilize and coordinate science-based activities that improve quality of life in the developing world. The research community is already promoting areas such as global health, agricultural progress, and environmental well-being, but current communication gaps restrict its power. Organizations and individuals do not always know about one another's endeavors, needs, or availability, which limits the ability to forge meaningful connections and harness resources. This…
pontiff | May 13, 2008Over at the Optimizer's place, the Optimizer compares libertarians and those who believe in the many worlds interpretation of quantum theory. (Key Ron Paul apologists in three, two, one...) An amusing comparison. So if many worlders are the libertarians of interpretations of quantum theory, what political parties do the other interpretations of quantum theory fall under?
Copenhagen Interpretation: The standard interpretation before many-worlds became the standard. Key personality trait: worship of the founders of quantum theory. If Bohr said it, it must be true! Clearly these are…