Output Stream of Consciousness

Ever since realizing that they have brought back those however-many-in-one electronics kits, and realizing that I totally missed out on the experience as a child, and that perhaps I could finally understand what the hell Keith is talking about when he… more »

The Hubble plus really good researchers just keeps on coming up with surprises. It's been ages since I've kept up with Pluto. Last I left it, they had figured out that it had a pretty big-sized moon around it, Charon. I didn't even know that it had a… more »

Have you ever wondered where forces in nature come from? In mainstream physics, the theory goes that forces happen because matter exchanges little particles between them. Now, these are no ordinary particles, these are virtual particles. They 'borrow'… more »

I'm always interested in things that go on south (or, perish the thought, north) of the border here, to see what the latest shenanigans of creationism, or its smartly-dressed, smooth-talking brother, Intelligent Design. So, the goings-on in the case… more »

I just get such a kick out of the satire of Intelligent Design that has been catching on, that of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. more »

It's starting to happen. Serious research into creating meat from cells has already begun. I just noticed one of the headlines recently, but this has been going on for a while. One reason being, if you're going to remain in space for a long time, taking… more »

Okay, it's a rant, I admit. Despite many a dentist I've met that's nice, there are some I've met and some observations I've made that have, over the years, painted a picture of arrogance and mythology amongst dentists and orthodontists that I find… more »

Was reading through an entry on Tom's blog re: music theory, and was inspired to dredge up one of my own pet hypotheses. The hypothesis, and I'd be surprised if it hasn't been investigated, is that harmonics in music reflect the more subtle harmonics… more »

In the course of pursuing other questions, I ran across something in particle physics that I didn't know. (Okay, okay, you can list what I don't know about in text and fill up a 40 Gb drive, but I digress) I had always heard that gamma rays can… more »

In light of a recent contest win, I am reminded of statistics, and the very human tendency to think of luck going in 'streaks', praying for good weather, and the strange rituals that purport to help one's home team win. I'm not totally immune to such… more »

Science has its share of philosophers. Sometimes, they have a remarkable amount of insight. One such philosopher is Thomas S. Kuhn, who is responsible for the remarkable The Structure of Scientific Revolutions back in 1962. The thoughts still stand out… more »

It makes me shake my head to hear that we think we're close to solving the ultimate questions. We're not there. We're not even close. I think that's a good thing. Yet I see some signs of stagnation, in thought and in funding. more »