Abrupt Climate Change
on Jul 19, 2009 in Physics Diagrams Intermediate-Science No Equations Pseudoscience Two paragraphs in a recent survey caught my attention: The strongest correlate of opinion on climate change is partisan affiliation. Two-thirds of Republicans (67%) say either that the Earth is getting warmer mostly because of natural changes in the...

The Faint Young Sun Paradox
on May 24, 2009 in Physics Intermediate-Science No Equations Quickie According to the standard solar model, the Sun’s brightness steadily increases because helium ash slowly builds up in its core. The introduction of heavier elements like helium forces the Sun to fuse hydrogen faster in order to prevent gravitat...

Gay Marriage
on Apr 25, 2009 in Politics No Equations Religion Many issues in American politics confuse me, but the widespread opposition to gay marriage truly boggles my mind. In a bizarre turn of events, California banned gay marriage, then Iowa struck down a similar ban. Until just recently, the U.S. was one...

Theories and Metatheories
on Apr 16, 2009 in Science Intermediate-Science No Equations Physics Quickie I’ve previously called evolution and the Big Bang “theories” to confront widespread confusion regarding the differences between theories and hypotheses. However, using the word “theory” in these instances might be a subt...

A Conversation Regarding the “Electric Universe”
on Mar 28, 2009 in Astronomy Conversation Intermediate-Science No Equations Physics Pseudoscience Religion Marble and I have previously discussed creationism and evolution, but our conversation later centered on a non-standard cosmology known as plasma cosmology (popularized as the “Electric Universe”). You can use these links to jump to var...

Automated Notifications In C++ Loops
on Feb 26, 2009 in Software No Equations As a computational physicist, I’m often running programs that consist of many nested for loops. At the moment, my outermost loop cycles through millions of data points. I’m always fiddling with the settings on the inner loops which cau

What Causes Motion Sickness?
on Feb 19, 2009 in Biology Introductory-Science No Equations Quickie I used to go scuba diving even though I routinely got seasick while on the boat. Since I had nothing better to do while I was leaning over the water, I wondered why this wretched experience was happening to me. I understood the origins of physical pa...

Are Women Really the Fairer Sex?
on Jan 6, 2009 in Psychology No Equations Quickie As a young boy, I was often intimidated by beautiful women. I only began to conquer this social anxiety when I concluded that the situation was symmetrical; women probably thought the same thing about handsome men. Later, I began to notice that many...

Beliefs Are Like Glass Sculptures
on Jan 2, 2009 in Philosophy Introductory-Phil. No Equations Quickie I have a tendency to get attached to my beliefs, because in a very real sense they’re the only possessions that can’t be taken from me. I’ve poured countless hours of effort into them, whether I derived the belief independent

Cold Weather Really Can Make You Sick
on Dec 5, 2008 in Biology Introductory-Science No Equations Quickie My mother always tells me to bundle up before I go outside during the winter, because otherwise I’ll “catch a cold.” When I first learned about the germ theory of disease, I thought she was wrong. Cold doesn’t make