Category Archives: … the Hell?

1813: Faraday learns about the politics of science

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

Those of us in science like to envision our profession as a noble (“Nobel”?) calling, above the petty squabbles that taint other endeavors.  The reality, of course, is that science is susceptible to politics just like any other field.  One … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 12 Comments

François Arago: the most interesting physicist in the world!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by

When he was seven years old, he tried to stab a Spanish solider with a lance When he was eighteen, he talked a friend out of assassinating Napoleon He once angered an archbishop so much that the holy man punched … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 11 Comments

I’m a direct academic descendant of Galileo?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by

This is really neat — a friend and colleague of mine at the University of Toronto worked up the academic pedigree of our (mutual) graduate advisor Emil Wolf, using data from the Mathematics Genealogy Project.  In short, Emil is a … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Personal | 4 Comments

Science careers: rough today, rough in 1886

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

Science has changed a lot over the past hundred years or so, but the lives and problems of scientists have, in many ways, remained surprisingly constant.  In a previous post, I described how, in 1804, a mathematician was already lamenting … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 3 Comments

The universe ripped me off!

Posted on September 23, 2011 by

Yesterday, Dr. Matthew Francis (of the very interesting and worth-checking-out physics blog Galileo’s Pendulum) pointed me to NASA’s astronomy picture of the day, Arp 272, which consists of two colliding galaxies (center and upper right) with a third likely interacting … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, General science, Silliness | 4 Comments

Mock the Movie: Mega Python vs. Gatoroid!

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

I’ve been quite busy at work today, but it would be remiss of me not to mention another Twitter Mock the Movie event planned for tonight, in which we will Twitter mock SyFy’s very own Mega Python vs. Gatoroid! The … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness | Leave a comment

Movie sequels that completely miss the point

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

The recent release of the prequel “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” got me thinking about the very odd sequels to the original 1968 “Planet of the Apes” and about sequels in general.  Sequels are common in both literature … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment | 5 Comments

“FOX fails physics: flaunts fool fumbling facts” on JAYFK!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by

I don’t do much political blogging anymore, but every now and again something incredibly stupid — and science related — really sticks in my craw and I feel compelled to rant about it.  In this case, FOX News interviewed a … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Physics | 4 Comments

Twitter “Mock the Movie” tonight: The Sands of Oblivion!

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

Following in the tradition of MST3k, tonight I’ll be participating in “Mock the Movie”, a new Twitter event that involves watching a lousy sci-fi movie and ridiculing it live on Twitter!  To quote from JAYFK: Smart-ass science fiction fans love … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness | 1 Comment

Spiders and the electric light (1887)

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

(Digging through my archive of historical papers for short topics to blog about while I’m away on business.) In the modern era, we are very conscious of the impact of humanity on nature — even though we are often very … Continue reading →

Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science | 1 Comment