Author Archives: skullsinthestars

Weird science facts, November 16 — November 22

Posted on November 23, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Another week of Twitter #weirdscifacts!!! 613. Nov 16: In 1898, August Bier tested effectiveness of spinal anesthesia on assistant by beating crap out of him. I quote: “Bier stabbed, hammered and burned his assistant, pulled out his pubic hairs and … Continue reading →

Posted in Weirdscifacts | 2 Comments

I’m a direct academic descendant of Galileo?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by skullsinthestars

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

Weird Fiction Monday: The Invitation

Posted on November 21, 2011 by skullsinthestars

It’s time for Weird Fiction Monday, when I post stories that I’ve written — both new and old — for the entertainment (hopefully) of my readers! As always, I note that I haven’t done extensive editing of the tales here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 3 Comments

A curious 1880s account of ball lightning

Posted on November 18, 2011 by skullsinthestars

The older scientific journals (pre-1900) are filled with many curious and strange eyewitness accounts. By the late 1800s, science had reached a level at which researchers felt confident enough to investigate a wide variety of unusual phenomena, but did not … Continue reading →

Posted in History of science | 4 Comments

The Giant’s Shoulders #41 is out!

Posted on November 16, 2011 by skullsinthestars

The 41st edition of The Giant’s Shoulders history of science blog carnival has been posted over at Early Modern Experimental Philosophy! It includes discussions of vampires, ghosts, and armies of ape-warriors (yes, this is still a history of science blog carnival!), … Continue reading →

Posted in General science, Science news | Leave a comment

Weird science facts, November 9 — November 15

Posted on November 16, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Another week’s Twitter #weirdscifacts are ready!!! I’ve included a “bonus” fact this week, since it was too weird to not tweet right away… 606. Nov 09: A foot-long cockroach-like creature with 50 legs ruled the sea floor 500 million years … Continue reading →

Posted in Weirdscifacts | 1 Comment

Weird Fiction Monday: The Voice of the City

Posted on November 14, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Posted in Fiction | 2 Comments

Getting more with less in imaging: compressive sensing

Posted on November 14, 2011 by skullsinthestars

Update: I felt my original explanations were a little lacking in places, so I’ve added to the post… In recent years, the public has seen remarkable advances in digital imaging technology. In the past few months, for instance, Lytro has … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Optics | 27 Comments

In which I engage in mathematical silliness…

Posted on November 9, 2011 by skullsinthestars

There’s been a silly trigonometric pun going around on Google+ the past week involving Bill Cosby. Having seen it enough times, I’ve decided to fight back with my own: I would like to apologize in advance; you may now return … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Silliness | 6 Comments

Weird science facts, November 2 — November 8