How the Universe tells us its age, size, and properties, and leads us inescapably to the conclusion that it’s billions, not merely thousands, of years old. Today, we’re lucky enough to […]
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You searched for: Physical Constants
Vice was just around the corner – but this map refused to show you where exactly.
And if not, how do you reason with those who believe they are? “Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that […]
And what they mean for humans here on Earth. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” –Alexander […]
It was the most promising idea for where new physics might lie. Now that the LHC data is in, is it dead? “The revolution is not an apple that falls when […]
An extraordinarily simple explanation of the most mind-boggling concept of modern science. “In the confusion we stay with each other, happy to be together, speaking without uttering a single word.” -Walt […]
“We are just beginning to glimpse the bare outlines of an emerging new economic system–the collaborative commons,” explains economist Jeremy Rifkin
You never would’ve guessed that nuclear physics could be this easy. “Mr. Burns: Smithers, hand me that ice-cream scoop.Smithers: Ice-cream scoop?Mr. Burns: Damn it, Smithers! This isn’t rocket science, it’s brain […]
I was just thinking, which, it turns out, the brain does not like to do. At least not the purposeful, effortful, stay-focused kind. It’s work to think, to pay attention.
“We, The US And Our Allies…” –Wait A Minute, What Allies? NEWS just spread through the international media that China may be overtaking the United States on GDP terms by […]
How the mis-application of the Anthropic Principle has led factions of scientists away from the search for a natural, physical explanation of our Universe, and why that’s bad for everyone. […]
Joel Turner was only 19 when three men broke into his house and stabbed him to death. His mother, Janet Connors, had already spent four decades as a social activist […]
When all the galaxies, stars, gas, dust, dark matter and all the other forms of matter and radiation are summed together, its energy still pales in comparison to dark energy. […]
UPDATE 5/26/14: I wrote this post before Elliot Rodger’s killing spree. The study I describe is, strictly speaking, about rape, but its notion of a connection between male shame and […]
From why they stay frozen in the middle to how the crisping sleeve works! “Is your Hot Pocket cold in the middle?”“It’s frozen. But it can be served boiling lava hot.”“Will […]
The only way out is to modify the laws of gravity, and new constraints rule those modifications out. “The discrepancy between what was expected and what has been observed has […]
Is there an origin to time itself, and if so, what did it look like? “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry […]
“And so is the type of great men that shaped European history a very particular figure: half warrior, half statesman…” –Richard Wilhelm, 1922. MOST scholars believe themselves to be a […]
In 1887, two scientists set out to measure how the speed of light changed with the Earth’s motion. What they *didn’t* find wound up changing the world. “The conclusions, the bizarre […]
How the most powerful telescope ever built will owe its successes and discoveries to scientists who’ll never get the glory. “The soul without imagination is what an observatory would be without […]
Do changes in a gravitational field propagate instantaneously, at the speed of light, or at a different speed altogether? “The only problem with the speed of light, is it gets […]
Plus a bonus: perhaps the single most important achievement to all of humanity. “What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the Moon, […]
If we knew all we do about math and physics, but had never seen the heavens, what would we conclude? “Both the solutions must be rejected, and as these are […]
How our best physical understanding of the early stages of the Universe — that set up the hot Big Bang — inevitably leads us to conclude that there’s a lot more than what’s merely […]
“How do you do that?” young Charlie Parker would ask older musicians. “Would you please do that again?” Those who know jazz, or who only know of jazz greats such […]
Many characteristics of the sociopathic personality—charm, ambition and impatience, an ability to attack problems with cold-hearted logic (not letting emotions get in the way)—are useful to society.
Who you are a lot of the time is a reflection of what other people have told you.
The negative consequences of conducting relationships at arm’s length, round-the-clock, and simultaneously, and only with those who reinforce one’s worldview.
This past weekend the 2013 CrossFit games ended, once again crowning Rich Froning as the fittest man on Earth. CrossFit is a combination of high intensity workouts that combine power […]
“What we’re seeing here, this guy is the Leonardo da Vinci—the Albert Einstein—of tennis.”