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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
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
24 Comments
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
2 Comments
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
2 Comments
Caitlin R. Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl
Good ghost stories are hard to find these days. Though there is much wonderful horror out there to read (and watch), in my opinion there are few authors that capture the ghostly sense of dread as well the early 20th … Continue reading
Weird science facts — the final (regular) edition!
With the fact of March 14th, I have posted a weird science fact on Twitter every day for two years straight. That’s one more year of #weirdscifacts than I expected to do, and I think this makes a good time … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
3 Comments
The Giant’s Shoulders #45
Welcome to the 45th edition of The Giant’s Shoulders, the monthly history of science blog carnival! We’ve got a lot of interesting entries to cover, so let’s get going! Captain of the men of death. Over at White Coat Underground, … Continue reading
Posted in General science, History of science
9 Comments
Weird science facts, March 7 — March 13
This is it — today marks the 2-year anniversary of Twitter #weirdscifacts, meaning I’ve been posting facts on Twitter every day for 2 years straight! Not sure what I’ll do with the facts next — trying to decide by next … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
3 Comments
Richard Marsh’s The Complete Adventures of Judith Lee
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the work of Richard Marsh (1857-1915), who was an incredibly successful author of mystery, horror, and generally weird fiction in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Marsh was famous in his own … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
5 Comments
Weird science facts, February 29 — March 6
A little over one week before I’ve done two continuous years of daily Twitter #weirdscifacts!!! In the meantime, here’s the last week’s weirdness: 718. Feb 29: Moon’s shadow, like a ship, creates waves in Earth’s atmosphere. 719. Mar 01: The … Continue reading
Posted in Weirdscifacts
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1901 — the year the nuclear atom was “invented”!
So what does an atom look like? If you were to pull someone at random off the street and ask them to draw a picture of an atom, they would more likely than not draw something like this: Almost everybody … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Physics
7 Comments
Skulls in the Stars 