28 JAN 2013 by ideonexus

 "Sagan" as a Unit of Measurement

Carl Sagan was an American cosmologist, astronomer, and absolute tireless champion of the sciences in the public sphere. He was the author, co-editor, or editor of almost two dozen science books, and the host the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos. Sagan was well known for his excitement in talking about science, especially cosmological issues, and would strongly enunciate the M sound in millions and the B sound in billions to emphasize just how big the numbers were and properly diff...
Folksonomies: science geek fun sagan
Folksonomies: science geek fun sagan
  1  notes

From the trademark "Billions and Billions." "Billions" is plural, meaning greater than two, so billions and billions at minimum equals four.

03 JAN 2012 by ideonexus

 Self-Described Otaku

I was an “otaku.” I know that term has come to mean a great many things to a great many people, but for me it simply meant “outsider.” I know Americans, especially young ones, must feel trapped by societal pressure. All humans do. However, if I understand your culture correctly, individualism is something to be encouraged. You revere the “rebel,” the “rogue,” those who stand proudly apart from the masses. For you, individuality is a badge of honor. For us, it is a ribbon of sh...
Folksonomies: culture geek nerd otaku
Folksonomies: culture geek nerd otaku
  1  notes

The term "Otaku" carries horrible connotations in Japanese culture, so it seems highly unlikely that a Japanese male would describe himself as such, but in Max Brooks' book, he has such a character. Posted here for the fascinating definition of Otaku that bares little relation to the actual definition.

02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus

 Humphry Davy's Wife Doesn't Like Michael Faraday

She in turn may also have found Faraday physically awkward, and even irritating. He was small and stocky — not more than five foot four — with a large head that always seemed slightly too big for his body. His broad, open face was surrounded by an unruly mass of curling hair parted rather punctiliously in the middle (a style he never abandoned). His large, dark, wide-apart eyes gave him a curious air of animal innocence. He spoke all his life with a flat London accent (no match for Jane...
  1  notes

An amusing description of the physicist, who was widely respected as a lecturer, but disliked by the social woman.

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...
 1  1  notes

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?

These are notes summarizing comments made by speakers and audience during this session:

  • Are you a geek? When telling a story, how often do you elaborate on the details? Baseball stat geek, science detail geek, D&D geek, all about details.
  • What actually constitutes a geek?
  • Student: it’s good to be a geek, it means someone who is passionate about something.
  • Student: Geek is starting to be glamorized. Big Bang Theory, Harry Potter movie.
  • Radio Show Host: compares herself to scientists, and doesn’t think herself a geek, but the audience is geeks (Skeptically Speaking). Considers herself a translator. Geeks listen more closely to the show, and send emails. Geeks provide feedback.
  • “You call it geekery, I call it passion.”
  • Geeks distrust social niceties. Why aren't they just giving me the information straight? Tendency towards argumentation.
  • What are Benefits and Pitfalls of a Geeky audience? Bonus is passion. Geeks get immersed in details, and have a self-generating energy and will keep working through things left to their own.
  • Geeks don’t see correcting others as a slight.
  • Accuracy VS Completeness: don’t ever say false things, but you don’t have to get totally immersed.
  • Geeks are obsessive enough that they will voluntarily seek out details on their own.
  • How to delineate between being too geeky and not geeky enough? Keep things entertaining as a means of keeping people with your content. If it’s entertaining, people will stick with you through the sciency parts.
  • Make sure your headline and introduction are not for geeks, but you can geek out later in the story. Skeptchick uses humor to open all posts, post about Twilight.  Scicurious has posts that reach out to her audience, Friday posts about sex.
  • Catchphrases and Inside Jokes create communities, but they also put up walls to communities.
  • Surprise people with a story, ask a question to pique curiosity about how it will affect people personally,
  • Whatstheharm.net – anecdotes. Turns on non-geeks, but turns off geeks because we want data. What’s the difference between whatstheharm.net and Rush Limbaugh using anecdotes to hurt science?
  • Snark: a way of building a community, but causes pile-ons, turns off outsiders, PZMeyers’ fans attack whoever he points them too. Snark is the nature of the Internet. Radio difference: no snark rule.
  • Use snark to empower the weak against the powerful. Use it against trolls against power.
  • Try going with a private comment first before going public.
  • Remember that it’s the internet, your tone doesn't communicate in the text.
  • Don’t do threaded comments.
  • You’re going to offend someone. Radio got called a Marxist for her show on gender.