02 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Science Poem
The worm drives helically through the wood
And does not know the dust left in the bore
Once made the table integral and good;
And suddenly the crystal hits the floor.
Electrons find their paths in subtle ways,
A massless eddy in a trail of smoke;
The names of lovers, light of other days
Perhaps you will not miss them. That's the joke.
The universe winds down. That's how it's made.
But memory is everything to lose;
Although some of the colors have to fade,
Do not believe ...Folksonomies: science poetry
Folksonomies: science poetry
1 
notes
notes27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Shannon and Thorp Hack the Roulette Wheel
It was in this tinkerer’s laboratory that they set out to understand how roulette could be gamed, ordering “a regulation roulette wheel from Reno for $1,500,” a strobe light, and a clock whose hand revolved once per second. Thorp was given inside access to Shannon in all his tinkering glory:
Gadgets . . . were everywhere. He had a mechanical coin tosser which could be set to flip the coin through a set number of revolutions, producing a head or tail according to the setting. As a joke... 1 notes
notes03 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The "Powers" in Vernor Vinges' Universe
Marketing calls our current visitor ‘Old One.’” He smiled. “That’s something of a joke, but true even so. We’ve known it for eleven years.” No one really knew how long Transcendent beings lived, but it was a rare Power that stayed communicative for more than five or ten years. They lost interest, or grew into something different—or really did die. There were a million explanations, thousands that were allegedly from the Powers firsthand. Ravna guessed that the true explanation...Folksonomies: singularity otherness
Folksonomies: singularity otherness
1 notes
notesThey have transcended our kind of existence, but they disappear after just a few years... possibly for the flexibility of their intelligence and ability to rapidly transform themselves, much like Kurtzweil's singularity.
31 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Verbalize Empathy
In front of your children, verbally speculate about other people’s perspectives in everyday situations. You can wonder why the person behind you in line at a grocery is so impatient or what the joke is when a stranger talking on a cell phone laughs. It’s a natural way to practice seeing other people’s points of view—the basis of empathy. 1 notes
notesSpeculate aloud on the the motivations and perspectives of other people in front of your children to give them empathy.
28 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Hollywood's Anti Science
"REALITY ENDS HERE." IT'S THE UNOFFICIAL MOTTO OF THE UNIVERSITY OF Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, cast in concrete at the entranceway to the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts and, in Latin, at the South entryway of a new complex building. As scientist-turned-filmmaker and use film school graduate s Randy Olson explained to us, the slogan:
is not a joke. It's a bold, challenging statement—r-a basic "screw you" to the outside world who thinks that accuracy and reality ...Folksonomies: science entertainment
Folksonomies: science entertainment
1 A saying found at the entrance to a film school puts down science.
30 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
How Much Would a Heavier Helium Atom Affect the Pitch of ...
Cyko_01: does it make your voice go higher or lower when inhaled?
Menkhaf: I guess it was a joke, but it should be rather simple to determine: if the gas if lighter than the atmosphere you're breathing, your voice will be lighter if you inhale this.
sploxx: To be more specific, the molecular weight of normal He to He with one muon attached is roughly 4.1/4.0. The change in pitch relative to breathing He should be the square root of that ratio, which is a change of about 1.2%. For someone wi...If inhaled, how much would a helium atom altered to have a heavier muon substituted in place of an electron to resemble hydrogen affect the pitch of your voice?
