-
The author of Skulls in the Stars is an associate professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
-
-
-
-
-
Category Archives: … the Hell?
John Derbyshire: wrong even 176 years ago
Update: Added a couple sentences to clarify that I’m not attacking psychology or psychometrics, but rather the simple-minded attempts distort these fields to justify racism. Also revised my statements about Derbyshire’s particular claims, to be more explicit about the flaws … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Politics
22 Comments
Pauli, “armchair physicists”, and “not even wrong”
Ah, controversy! Physics is of course not immune from it, and sometimes the participants in an argument can let anger get the better of them. An example of this began last week, when the following video clip appeared, featuring Professor … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Physics
45 Comments
“Moon? What Moon? Never seen it.” (c. 1804)
I risk dipping too often into the well of the life of François Arago, but this evening during my lecture I had to share an anecdote from his autobiography, and thought it was worth sharing here as well! At the … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science
1 Comment
1813: Faraday learns about the politics of science
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
20 Comments
François Arago: the most interesting physicist in the world!
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
14 Comments
I’m a direct academic descendant of Galileo?
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
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!
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!
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
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
6 Comments
