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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
An American in Spain, part 5: Seville Cathedral
Part 5 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) Updated some descriptions thanks to commenter VA! When we woke up on Monday morning, the massive … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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“Mathematical Methods” on sale for $62 at Cambridge!
Just a quick note: for those who might have been interested in my textbook, Mathematical Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering, but who found the list price a bit expensive, Cambridge University Press is selling it for 30% off until … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
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The Moon-Maker, by Arthur Train and Robert Williams Wood
The 1916 novel The Moon-Maker by Arthur Train and Robert Williams Wood is, even at first glance, an unusual book for a number of reasons. First, it is a science fiction novel written in 1916, long before science fiction had become … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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An American in Spain, part 4: Onward to Seville
Part 4 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) On Sunday, we got up relatively early to catch a train from Madrid to Seville. The train … Continue reading
An American in Spain, part 3: Palaces and parks in Madrid
Part 3 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2) As I’ve noted in the past parts of this travelogue, our hotel in Madrid was located very close … Continue reading
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An American in Spain, part 2: Art and Egypt in Madrid
Part 2 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family. Though my wife and I had arrived in Spain smoothly on Thursday the 29th of March, things didn’t go so well for … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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An American in Spain, part 1: Madrid
At the end of March, I had the great opportunity to take a trip to Spain with my wife and her family. My wife’s niece is spending a college semester in Granada, and we traveled out to visit her during … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
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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
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Asamatsu Ken’s Queen of K’n-Yan
Been a crazy time at work lately, and things look to remain crazy for a couple more weeks! In the meantime, I’m catching up on some of my weird fiction blogging. One of the most remarkable and persistent aspects of … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Weird science facts: “Why am I still doing this?” edition
I’ve definitely decided to stop doing a Twitter #weirdscifacts a week, but it’s hard to slow down! I’ll be travelling for the rest of the week, however, so I’ll be forced to stop at last — here’s a few facts … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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Skulls in the Stars 