Monthly Archives: November 2009

The Truth About Cats and Dogs and Science

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No Moods, Ads or Cutesy $@#%ing Icons (Re-reloaded) (warning: contains adult language)

How science really works, in the context of the recent global-warming-hacking manufactured kerfuffle. I mean, really — are people really surprised that some scientists are bastards, and say mean things behind the backs of others? Really?

This is how it works: you put your model out there in the coliseum, and a bunch of guys in white coats kick the shit out of it. If it’s still alive when the dust clears, your brainchild receives conditional acceptance. It does not get rejected. This time.

This is a concept not only lost on the global warming deniers, but on the larger crackpot population. The ones who start whining about being abused and disrespected the minute you start asking questions about their treatise. Welcome to the major leagues, rook.

Waiting for the Revolution

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Uncertain Principles: Science Ahead of Its Time?

[T]his does not beg but rather demands the question: are there any examples of truly revolutionary ideas in science? That is, are there scientific theories that jump well ahead of what was “in the air” at the time of their creation, in such a way that they would not have been discovered for decades more if their discoverer had died young in a tragic zeppelin accident?

Bork, Bork, Bork!

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Cocktail Party Physics: taster’s choice

With all due respect to Tom, cooking, done properly, is not about blindly following recipes: it involves a lot of prediction and testing by experiment to get a dish just right. The recipes just give you the basic framework.

I think the key phrase here is “done properly,” which I suspect applies to a minority of cooking. As Jennifer had noted

[W]hat he’s really objecting to is not cooking per se, but the blind following of a recipe/instructions, which isn’t any more scientific than rote memorization of scientific facts.

I have absolutely no problem with saying that there can be a whole lot of science in cooking, if you approach it that way. So go read the whole thing, it’s good (as usual), and has the Swedish chef.

Blowing Up Weird Stuff

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10 Strangest Inflatable Stuff

Billed as “the world’s first inflatable pub”, this pub in a box holds up to 50 guests (or 200 college students), fits in the back of a van, and assembles in under an hour. All pub-like features are painted directly onto the PVC walls (now anti-fungal and flame retardant!). The pub also have a built-in fire escape. It can cost up to $ 28,000 but what the hell, it’s an inflatable pub!