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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a 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. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Joe Hill’s Horns
Joe Hill is a good horror author, but not an incredibly prolific one; his first book was 20th Century Ghosts (2005), a collection of ghost stories, and his second was Heart-Shaped Box (2007), which I reviewed on this blog a … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: primate risk-assessment, not-quite-life on Titan, and 65-year-old precursor to the Web
A Bonobo in the Hand or Two Chimps in the Bush? Do different species of primates have the same perception of risk, or does it depend on their feeding habits and environment? With some clever imagery, Jason at The Thoughtful … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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You could learn a lot from a ducky: the van Cittert-Zernike theorem
(Alternate titles considered for this post: Ducktoral degree, Send in the ducks, Proof by in-duck-tion, Duck Tales, Duck-ing the issue.) One of my specializations in optics is the theory of optical coherence, which is the theory that characterizes the random … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Optics
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: a serendipitous lion hunt, Iceland’s volcano preparedness, tabletop relativity, and doggie dimensions
Atlatls to Bows: A Serendipitous Lion Hunt. Continuing his series of posts on the transition of the ancient North Americans from atlatls to bows, teofilo of Gambler’s House talks about a fortuitous discovery of a cache of bows that lead … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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9 days until The Giant’s Shoulders #24!
I’ve been very distracted by the addition of a new dog to our household, but I wanted to be sure and remind people that there’s 9 days until the deadline for The Giant’s Shoulders #24, to be hosted at Jost … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Into the doggie Abyss…
Update: Alas, it was not meant to be. My wife is very allergic to the dog, and I’m pretty allergic myself (quite unusual for a Shih Tzu); also, the cats are not adapting well and are very traumatized (which is … Continue reading
Posted in Animals
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: prestigious chimps, eye color domination, and synthesising Souffles
Prestigious Chimps and the Emergence of Cultural Innovation. In society, some individuals are natural “trend-setters”, developing new styles and fashions that others follow. One might be tempted to call this a distinctly human trait, but Eric Michael Johnson at The … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Ramsey Campbell’s Creatures of the Pool
As I’ve noted countless times on this blog, Ramsey Campbell is my favorite horror writer of all time. He is a wizard with words, and the subtle horror of his stories carry a punch that lasts long after you finish … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Infinite series are weird — redux!
A bit over a year ago, I wrote a blog post about the mathematics of infinite series, and how weird such series can be, considering in particular the behavior of “conditionally convergent series”. A recent post at Built on Facts … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Mathematics
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ResearchBlogging editor’s selections: scale in oceanography, majestic Megatherium, strange atlatls and virtual slaps
Varieties of Oceanographic Experience. Sam at Oceanographer’s Choice looks at a classic paper that considers how the scale of a measurement influences — or distorts — the results. The majestic Megatherium. When people think of paleontology these days, they think … Continue reading
Posted in General science, Science news
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Skulls in the Stars 