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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. -
Category Archives: … the Hell?
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
“FOX fails physics: flaunts fool fumbling facts” on JAYFK!
I don’t do much political blogging anymore, but every now and again something incredibly stupid — and science related — really sticks in my craw and I feel compelled to rant about it. In this case, FOX News interviewed a … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Physics
4 Comments
Twitter “Mock the Movie” tonight: The Sands of Oblivion!
Following in the tradition of MST3k, tonight I’ll be participating in “Mock the Movie”, a new Twitter event that involves watching a lousy sci-fi movie and ridiculing it live on Twitter! To quote from JAYFK: Smart-ass science fiction fans love … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Silliness
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Spiders and the electric light (1887)
(Digging through my archive of historical papers for short topics to blog about while I’m away on business.) In the modern era, we are very conscious of the impact of humanity on nature — even though we are often very … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science
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A David Brooks meme update!
A couple of weeks ago, I described my participation in a very silly internet meme about conservative pundit David Brooks. In short: Joshua Green, senior editor at The Atlantic, saw the following picture of excited telephoning Brooks and thought it was worth … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Personal
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