Hard to believe three novels later all the years I dreamt of writing books that it really happened. When I think of all the hard work that went into getting them written and published, it certainly becomes real!
Now that 'Book of Dragon's Teeth' is a few days away from release, there's no 'breather' because I have other writing projects in the pipeline and working on a tv show and developing one as well. I'm also seriously thinking about going to get my Ph.D. in Digital Media Studies (what else?) So that's going to be a process on its own!
In the meantime, those of you who haven't read the two previous books from the TFLR Series you can find them at:
Book Two: TFLR: THE GRAY MAN
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| Image Source: Women in Planetary Science |
Dr. Alexander is the Project Scientist for the U.S. portion of the international Rosetta mission. She has also been the Cassini Project Staff Scientist and as the final project manager of the Galileo mission, overseeing its fiery crash into Jupiter. Her scientific interests include gaskinetic theory, theory of gaseous escape from planetary and cometary regoliths, theory of surface bound exospheres, magnetospheric plasma theory (terrestrial and planetary), exobiology, interdiciplinary science, and oxidation / reduction potential of planetary and cometary regoliths.
Her most recent publications include:
- C. Alexander, A. Chmielewski, S. Gulkis, P. Weissman, D. Holmes, J. Burch, R. Goldstein, P. Mokashi, S.A. Stern, J. Parker, S. Fuselier, M. Kueppers, A. Accommazzo, “The U.S. Rosetta Project at its second Science Target: Asteroid (21) Lutetia,” IEEE Conference Proceedings, in press.
- C. Alexander, D. Sweetnam, S. Gulkis, P. Weissman, D. Holmes, J. Burch, R. Goldstein, P. Mokashi, J. Parker, S. Fuselier, L. McFadden, “The U.S. Rosetta Project at its first Science Target: Asteroid (2867) Steins,” IEEE Conference Proceedings, 2010.
- C. Alexander, R. Carlson, G. Consolmagno, D. Morrison, 400 Years of Discovery at Europa, Europa, Pappalardo, McKinnon, Khurana eds., University of Arizona Press, 2009.
2014, Rosetta will enter orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenkoand land a probe on it, two firsts.
Rosetta’s goal is to learn the primordial story a comet tells as it gloriously falls to pieces.
Comets are primitive leftovers from our solar system's 'construction' about 4.5 billion years ago. Because they spend much of their time in the deep freeze of the outer solar system, comets are well preserved—a gold mine for astronomers who want to know what conditions were like back “in the beginning.”
NASA Science News: Mission to Land on a Comet
European Space Agency: Rosetta
(For all 14 images go here. Yes I hate the popups too.)
I just have some initial thoughts about the tragic yet entirely predictable outcome in the Trayvon Martin case.
One, it seems that the prosecution's heart just wasn't in it. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the case and it showed. Two, even if it had been filmed or if there were more witnesses there's a very good chance that you would have gotten that same verdict. There have been those cases as well, although I'm thinking of Oscar Grant where his death was pretty much filmed and that cop served a whopping one year sentence. Three, even if Trayvon Martin had lived and could have presented his own version there's no evidence that would have changed the verdict either. Just take a look at the local Jordan Miles verdict where Miles was beaten to an inch of his life and we couldn't get a conviction against the cops. Four, it has become clear to me that black men are Marked for Death in this society. It's clear that we're being groomed for the prison industrial complex at best and just routinely murdered at worst.
I'm really not sure what can be done about any of these things. I guess more decent paying jobs for everyone would help. Perhaps more black men need to carry guns so that predators will at least know they'll be in a fight. But when I reverse the situation in my head -- where Trayvon Martin shoots Zimmerman -- every time Trayvon Martin gets convicted and for a long time.
I was looking through my Facebook feed and found a number of helpful illustrations and images that explain these problems. These images made me feel a little better for some reason. So enjoy the slideshow. Related: The story about the arrest of Dennis Henderson, for, as best as I can tell, being "uppity" tells the problem from a Pittsburgh angle here and here. Somewhat Related: My struggle against Peter Gidas of Gidas Flowers and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) continues. And justifiably so.
I’ve posted on this elsewhere: “Old Tapes”; “BWB”; “Self-Portrait.” I’ve changed my Facebook profile photo to Trayvon, and spoken with my sons. Let me explain:
In “Old Tapes,” I revisited an incident in which I was forcibly frisked by a store detective. He didn’t care if I had a microscope, a telescope, a tool kit, a chemistry set at home, physics and science books nor did he ask if I had a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. No, I was a suspect for shoplifting for merely combing my hair: guilty until proven innocent. “BWB” was an admittedly emotional response directly to the absurdity of a teenager losing his life over his dress, an iced tea and skittles; “Self-Portrait” was written earlier, but reflected the same concerns.
In Nanos Gigantium Humeris Insidentes, I did describe my background a bit, but not so the photo. I became Brigade Commander of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools '79 - 80 on the negative answer to what I thought was a rhetorical question to the Commander for the ’76-77 school year: “what would it take for someone to rise to your rank?” His answer was specifically addressed (to my ethnicity and potential): “Your kind will NEVER get to this rank!” (Never) say never: the complete irony was he went in an enlisted, I an Air Force officer. We saw each other on active duty at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas. He had a Constitutional obligation to salute me.
Women and men of a certain age in my culture can trace back to when we lived in humble conditions on a segregated side of of our respective towns, I recall numerous times when the sight of drug dealers and runners; switch blades, kitchen hatchets (both directed at me) or guns threatened our lives. Despite these challenges, many of us went to college – HBCUs, Ivy League, Graduate Schools – and attained degrees for a better life. Our parents, and leaders of the Civil Rights movement (like my sister) inspired us to do this.
Tony Morrison said: "In this country American means white. Everyone else has to hyphenate." So, I am classed as African-American because Negro/Black wasn’t definitive enough for Malcolm X. As he went on his own pilgrimage of self-discovery to Mecca, he coined “Afro American,” founding the Organization of Afro American Unity (dissolved after his assassination). Reverend Jesse Jackson is credited as the source of “African-American,” since as a fellow engineering student from A and T pointed out: “there’s no such country as ‘Afro.’” And to be sure: Africa is a continent of 53 different nationalities, as diverse as this nation in cultures and ethnicity.
Yet, all this effort towards equity, to “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps,” we as our parents must have “the talk” with our male sons, how to behave in public, how to talk to the police if stopped, how not to appear “a threat.” Yet, I still get quick looks when I get on an elevator, shifted purses, I must put others at ease; apologize when professionally embarrassed in email. Guilty until [I've] proven [myself] innocent...
I AM: the father of two statistics: The risk of dying from homicide among non-Hispanic black male teenagers (39.2 per 100,000 population) is more than twice that of Hispanic males (17.1 per 100,000 population) (Figure 4) and about 15 times that of non-Hispanic white males (2.6 per 100,000 population); at current levels of incarceration a black male in the United States today has greater than a 1 in 4 chance of going to prison during his lifetime, while a Hispanic male has a 1 in 6 chance and a white male has a 1 in 23 chance of serving time. That has nothing to do with their locale (suburbs); nothing to do with my education, their education or career choices. It is the aftermath of what historians tastefully describe as “the peculiar institution,” of the antebellum South, as with South Africa’s Apartheid, based on pigmentation, its wages and legacy. What happened to Trayvon is the unspoken nightmare; the uttered prayer each night, Psalms and Glossolalia. We do not have the luxury, or security to be blithely skeptic or agnostic. The slaughter of male children by Pharaoh and Herod are not biblical illustrations, but an evidential, everyday concern.
All I ask, all WE ask: is to be considered not as a threat, but for our potential.
Related links:
Abstract
The Institute of Physics New Quantum Curriculum consists of freely available online learning and teaching materials (quantumphysics.iop.org) for a first course in university quantum mechanics starting from two-level systems. This approach immediately immerses students in inherently quantum mechanical aspects by focusing on experiments that have no classical explanation. It allows from the start a discussion of interpretive aspects of quantum mechanics and quantum information theory. This article gives an overview of the resources available at the IOP website. The core text is presented as around 80 articles co-authored by leading experts that are arranged in themes and can be used flexibly to provide a range of alternative approaches. Many of the articles include interactive simulations with accompanying activities and problem sets that can be explored by students to enhance their understanding. Much of the linear algebra needed for this approach is part of the resource. Solutions to activities are available to instructors. The resources can be used in a variety of ways from supplements to existing courses to a complete programme.
I'm encouraging this as our very advancement in technology takes place on the quantum level: your cell phone, your laptop, your I-pad, your apps. All of that would not be possible except for something Einstein derisively called: "Spukhafte Fernwirkung," literally "spooky action at a distance" (and he was not amused). I guess my only regret is there's not a more introductory class, a "laymen's course" in quantum mechanics; presented by kind of a Carl Sagan of theoretical physics.
So, when you get into a "debate" on quantum mechanics, you'll likely hear: "so is light a particle, or a wave, and why don't scientists know? When you answer its "both" it's seen as a cop out; that you really don't know what you're talking about (and neither do the scientists). Scrodinger's cat is both "living and dead" as light is both particle and wave; quarks; many-worlds theory. Quantum physics is weird, and it's why Einstein had such a strong reaction to it, even though he helped create it.
You can always utter "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" and march away gruffly. You're literally making yourself a "ghost" and avoiding empty philosophical debates. Practice your German and say it with emphasis on the syllables. They'll roll their eyes and think you're speaking Klingon...inform them later. Qapla'!
Physics arXiv:
A new introductory quantum mechanics curriculum
Optimization of Simulations for a New Introductory Quantum Mechanics Curriculum
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| Artist concept of tiny CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster system - CAT. Image: Ben Longmier - University of Michigan |
Researchers plan to launch a tiny spacecraft to Earth orbit and beyond within the next 18 months, in a key test of new propulsion technology that could help cut the cost of planetary exploration by a factor of 1,000.
The scientists and engineers are developing a new plasma propulsion system designed for ultrasmall CubeSats. If all goes well, they say, it may be possible to launch a life-detection mission to Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa or other intriguing worlds for as little as $1 million in the not-too-distant future.
"We want to enable new missions that right now cost about $1 billion, or maybe $500 million — to go, for example, explore the moons of Jupiter and Saturn," said project leader Ben Longmier, a plasma physicist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
To get the ball rolling, Longmier and his team launched a crowdfunding campaign on the website Kickstarter Thursday (July 4). They hope to raise a minimum of $200,000 by Aug. 5, which should be enough to loft the miniature thruster on its maiden space voyage.
Scientific American: New Space Engine Could Turn Tiny CubeSat into Interplanetary Explorers
April 9, 1921 - June 6, 2013
Chapel Hill
Eugen Merzbacher, prominent theoretical atomic and nuclear physicist, former chair of the Physics Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, died June 6 (Thursday) at UNC Memorial Hospital from complications following surgery. He was 92.
Born in Berlin, Germany, he moved with his family to Turkey in 1935, where they remained throughout World War II. It was there that Eugen obtained an undergraduate degree in physics at Istanbul University. In 1947, he immigrated to the United States, and by 1950 had earned his doctorate in physics at Harvard University. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen a short time later.
Trolling about the Internet, I came upon this rather late...unfortunate. Please forgive my negligence. The passing of great minds gives one pause.
Dr. Merzbacher was obviously an immigrant, and one that contributed mightily to this nation and our understanding of Quantum Mechanics and consequentially, the universe (with no small exaggeration). I studied quantum from a slightly older text I still own and cherish with all its highlights, margin notes and "dog ears." Strange how commodified our conversation has become, the only example of immigrants' impact as a group is the mention of one of the two founders of "Google."
Professor Merzbacher left a legacy behind him in the form of a text now in its third edition, introducing undergraduate and graduate students in physics to the subject so impactful on our modern era. It is a testiment, of what "good things [used to] come out of NC" (my home state) before its recent lurch into backwardness.
Opportunity's 10-year anniversary: still working for us. 
When we look up at the night sky, space is black as far as the eye can see. Yet, when we read novels about it or watch something on TV or in the movie theater, it is white beyond all comprehension.
When watching a work of science fiction on the big or small screen, people of color often find themselves asking:
"Where did we go?"
"Did some melanin-devouring plague attack all humanity?"
"Do zombies only like the dark meat?"
But that's Hollywood. While studio executives continue to show the world's multi-hued population through its monochromatic lens, the literary field of speculative fiction has become more diverse than ever. Whether it's horror, science fiction, or fantasy, steampunk or steamfunk (and let's not forget sword and soul), writers of color are producing quality works and accumulating accolades and awards every day.
Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond is a speculative fiction anthology celebrating this talented field with stories focusing on people of color.
Currently, we are running a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo to support the writers who are included in the anthology (Junot Diaz, NK Jemisin, Victor LaValle, Charles R. Saunders, Nisi Shawl, and more). Please check out the campaign, help fund, and/or spread the word. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Mothership Support the Writers Indiegogo Campaign
Meet the Writers:
http://mothershipconnect.com/mother-authors.html
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Bill Campbell
I love History, but especially Black Historical History, and romance, hence my reason for writing Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders. The six part novel is set in one of the most historic Negro neighborhoods in early 20th Century America, Jackson Ward, in Richmond, VA. Here’s a look at parts I and II. In part I, “Death Comes to the Ward,” it’s October 1, 1929. The body of Annie Hilks is found floating in the James River in Richmond, VA. The police don't pay much attention to it; it's just another Negro woman who probably took her own life. But within two weeks, the bodies of three more Negro women are found in various locations throughout Jackson Ward, a prominent Negro community in the City. This is bad for business, and with no other choice left to them, the community reaches out to the battle scarred Sy Sanford to solve the murders. Sy has three BIG problems: he's returned from the Great War with haunting nightmares, he blacks out periodically from drinking and he's in love with his beautiful, but physically abused married secretary, Lena Johnson. Reluctantly, Sy takes the case because, well, he needs the money. In part II, "The Dogwoods,” it's two weeks into October 1929, and the bodies of four more Negro women have been found in various locations throughout Jackson Ward . Sy Sanford is now on the trail of a very clever and unusual killer, but his illegal drinking habit and horrid nightmares of the battlefields of France may get in the way of saving his business, the love of his life and another Negro woman from being murdered. Death, love and History collide during the season of the dogwoods in part II of this six part novel, Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders.” Catch up with all the drama and romance! Grab your e-book for Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Second-Street-Jackson-ebook/dp/B00D9X5T6A/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_2_SC92.
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| The dimple trap in action - PW |
The first Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) to be cooled using just lasers has been made by a team in Austria. The process is much simpler, faster and more efficient than previous methods, which involve an extra stage of evaporative cooling. The scientists hope that their breakthrough will lead to more widespread use of BECs in various areas of physics, including atomic clocks and atom lasers.
A BEC is a dense cluster of atoms cooled so close to absolute zero that all of the atoms are in a single quantum state and can therefore be described by the same wavefunction. The first pure BEC was made in 1995 by Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman at JILA in Boulder, Colorado. Since then, BECs have been used – or proposed for use – to create atom circuits, rotation sensors, atom lasers and other novel devices.
Making a BEC traditionally involves the two-step cooling of a cloud of atoms contained in a magnetic trap. The first step is laser cooling. It involves choosing an electronic transition of the atom to be cooled and irradiating the atom cloud with laser light of an energy slightly below this transition. For the most energetic atoms trying to climb out of the trap, the laser light is blue-shifted to the transition frequency. These atoms can therefore absorb a photon, which pushes them back. It also promotes the atoms into the excited state. When the atom decays back to the ground state, it emits a photon of a higher energy than the one it absorbed. The overall effect is that the gas cools and becomes denser.
Physics World: Laser-cooled Bose-Einstein condensate is a first
Hi, all, hope you haven't forgotten about the Ragazine.CC speculative fiction contest. Deadline extended to Sept. 20, but we're taking submissions daily. Time to put your best feats forward.... Full details at http://www.ragazine.cc/2013/06/contest
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| Credit: Unidentified Appellation |
A bench warmer is the last thing any high school or college athlete ever wants to be. The person that "shows up"; always there; parents in the audience steaming because their kid didn't get any play on the court or field. Resentful when time is finally granted, they typically become a self-fulfilling prophesy of disaster, and promptly sat back down to sulk the rest of the game/season.
We can't afford that now, nor could we ever.
Our technological innovation is screaming past us literally at light speed. We're demanding faster, cheaper, more apps meaning smaller physical features in Silicon: FinFETs, Carbon Nanotubes - pushing towards and beyond the Moore's Law limit - needing less humans to design or manufacture it. Or at least, less of them in the USA. We need a real debate on these issues; not delay/stalling tactics that in a real game bore to tears, and everyone in the crowd goes home (accept the frustrated parents). No wonder congressional approval is slightly above snail sweat. Getting ye old standardized test scores up - "teaching to the test" ("we don't do that") is insane when all the other industrialized nations whipping our collective assets (as we sit on them) aren't doing it quite that way.
Socially, technologically we can't be bench warmers. As we go, so does the world. If the issue is employment hovering at 7 - 7.5% here, it's only exacerbated in other countries trying to "follow our lead." The season I used metaphorically is our current condition globally, our definitions of "unemployment" and none for "under-employment," or what "full employment" looks like going forward; our continuance of a moribund stratification and unequal social and educational system straight from 1953; our collective shoulder-shrug that other countries are coming on the academic court and running the boards on us.
And for the countries that are imitating us, they too, can't afford bench warmers...
The Fury Saga is something I plan to have published. The first book has been publish but it's up every who takes the time to read it & let me know If the stories worth continuing Here's the site to where you can purchase it: Fists of Fury
Here's the book cover as well:
From the site: NSBP member, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, and colleagues discuss whether or not astronomy is in a golden age with Nobel Laureates Brian Schmidt and John Mather
From Wikipedia: The term Golden Age (Greek: Χρυσόν Γένος Chryson Genos) comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five (or more) Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, Heroic, and then the present (Iron), which is a period of decline. By extension "Golden Age" denotes a period of primordial peace, harmony, stability, and prosperity. During this age peace and harmony prevailed, humans did not have to work to feed themselves, for the earth provided food in abundance. They lived to a very old age with a youthful appearance, eventually dying peacefully, with spirits living on as "guardians". Plato in Cratylus (397 e) recounts the golden race of humans who came first. He clarifies that Hesiod did not mean literally made of gold, but good and noble.
"Good and noble"...I wonder.
I'm not faulting the lecturers nor the audience. For there to be an actual "golden age" as has been defined in several cultural references, there needs to be a recognition of the impact of astronomy as the mother science; it is the oldest form of asking the question why and seeking answers. A primitive form of it is what guided the Magi; our reptilian brains, so conditioned to not accept things "new"; authoritarians threatened by concepts that would challenge their rule typically control public opinion on the emphasis, conclusions or the truth research reveals.
I'm still waiting for the Vatican to clear this little matter up. Not Catholic, it just quite understandably bothers me...
Galileo's indictment (still in effect):
1. The proposition that the sun is in the center of the world and immovable from its place is absurd, philosophically false, and formally heretical; because it is expressly contrary to Holy Scripture.
2. The proposition that the earth is not the center of the world, nor immovable, but that it moves, and also with a diurnal action, is also absurd, philosophically false, and, theologically considered, at least erroneous in faith.
Therefore ..., invoking the most holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Glorious Mother Mary, We pronounce this Our final sentence: We pronounce, judge and declare, that you, the said Galileo ... have rendered yourself vehemently suspected by this Holy Office of heresy, that is, of having believed and held the doctrine (which is false and contrary to the Holy and Divine Scriptures) that the sun is the center of the world, and that it does not move from east to west, and that the earth does move, and is not the center of the world; also, that an opinion can be held and supported as probable, after it has been declared and finally decreed contrary to the Holy Scripture.
"...Science is a reliable method for creating knowledge, and thus power...science constantly disrupts hierarchical power structures and vested interests in a long drive [by science] to give knowledge, and thus power, to the individual, and that process is also political."
Fool Me Twice - Fighting the Assault on Science in America, Shawn Lawrence Otto
Amazing illustration by Tina KrugerThere have been some great discussion on this topic since Childrens book council came out with some startling stats on the subject. Like this article by Lee and Low Books and this short on NPR. Weigh on yall. There are the obvious points, but who is leading the charge in changing this?
-Robert Trujillo
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| Science Universe blog |
Einstein is lauded for Special and General Relativity, but he stood on the shoulders of giants before him: Sir Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Albert Abraham Michelson and Edward Williams Morley; Minkowski, Joseph Larmor, Hendrick Antoon Lorentz and Jules Henri Poincaré.
1898
Jules Henri Poincaré said that "... we have no direct intuition about the equality of two time intervals."
1904
Poincaré came very close to special relativity: "... as demanded by the relativity principle the observer cannot know whether he is at rest or in absolute motion."
1905
On June 5, Poincaré finished an article in which he stated that there seems to be a general law of Nature, that it is impossible to demonstrate absolute motion. On June 30, Einstein finished his famous article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, where he formulated the two postulates of special relativity. Furthermore, in September, Einstein published the short article Does the Inertia of a Body Depend upon Its Energy-Content? In which he derived the formula E0=mc2.
1905 being Einstein's annus mirabilis (Latin: Year of Wonders), which contributed to his considerable celebrity and our understanding of the universe.
Forgive the history lesson. In other areas of my life, I run into what I like to term "walls of willed ignorance," especially when I'm cornered in a social setting as "the science guy" on a question I'm sincerely not thinking about at the particular moment, or at least can't recall as quickly as "The Google": literally a Hail Mary out of "left field." (Clarification: the question was about quantum mechanics, but I decided to go here 1st - more next Sunday.) I do know when to call BS on persons that merely want to hear themselves pontificate and perform, versus inform. Thus, here is my info for the "walls" and their next spellbinding performance...
Nobel Prize: History of Special Relativity
Physics arXiv: Henri Poincaré and Relativity Theory, by A. A. Logunov
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| Organizational Relationship and Contact Analyzer - ORCA |
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: In the last 10 years or so, researchers have revolutionised the way military analysts think about insurgency and the groups of people involved in it. Their key insight is that insurgency tends to run in families and in social networks that are held together by common beliefs.
So it makes sense to study the social networks that insurgents form. And indeed that’s exactly what various military analysts have begun to do, including those in the US Army. A few years ago, a group of West Point cadets and offices developed some software for gathering information about the links between the people who make and distribute improvised explosive devices.
Now the US Army is adapting this technology to help the police tackle gang violence. Damon Paulo and buddies at the US Military Academy at West Point say there are a number of similarities between gang members and insurgents and that similar tools ought to be equally effective in tackling both.
To that end, these guys have created a piece of software called the Organizational, Relationship, and Contact Analyzer or ORCA, which analyses the data from police arrests to create a social network of links between gang members.
Realizing this evolution in technology was inevitable, some of what else the article said disturbed me:
“Police officers working in the district have told us that gangs of Racial Group A are known for a more centralized organizational structure while gangs of Racial Group B have adopted a decentralized model,” say Paulo and co adding that the results of their analysis seem to clearly show this.
The team is currently working to introduce a software in a major metropolitan police department throughout the summer of 2013.
Read that as: New York City, and a "scientific reason" for the continuance of "stop and frisk" and profiling...
Physics arXiv:
How Military Counterinsurgency Software Is Being Adapted To Tackle Gang Violence in Mainland USA
Related link: StreetGangs.com
At 2:05 of the trailer, you'll see the words: "behind the world's greatest mind."
Granted, I'm looking forward to this documentary as any geeked physics major would be. I do take some pause to the trailer coining Professor Hawking the title of "greatest mind." He is a great mind, to be sure. The whole "G.O.A.T." thing is a bit of hyperbole to me.
He's overcome quite a lot of obstacles in his harried life, one of which is the shear act of living beyond the original expectations of his lifespan shortened by his disability.
He shows the famous British resolve: "stiff upper lip" determination. I did read "A Brief History of Time" and enjoyed it. I am familiar with the following I saw on Wikipedia:
"Among his significant scientific works have been a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularities theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set forth a cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vocal supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
"He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009."
He had a great science fiction series and several other shows on the Science Channel I enjoyed. Dr. Hawking has lost some scientific wagers though: with Kip Thorne; a "black hole war" with Leonard Susskind and Gerard t'Hooft; most recently with Peter Higgs (of the Higgs Boson).
Professor Hawking is a remarkable man, but still a man, therefore fallible as we all are. To put him on a pedestal does him a disservice, and makes the attainment of a degree in physics or STEM fields the area that is "off limits"; "not normal"; "beyond human capability." I assure you it is not, and as a species, we should get out of boxing ourselves into the "us-versus-them": normals and nerds. Hence my objection to the trailer is in trying to get you to look at it...many may sadly look away.
This is a strange, dichotomous post after Independence Day. I sincerely hope you enjoyed BBQ in moderation and fireworks safely.
I'll still enjoy the documentary, as I hope you do too, mentally filtering hyperbole.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He was the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments. Nobel held 350 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. He used his fortune to posthumously institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him. His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and Akzo Nobel, which are descendants of the companies Nobel himself established...In 1888 Alfred's brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred's obituary.[1] It condemned him for his invention of dynamite and is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death.[1][8] The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead")[1] and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."[9] Alfred was disappointed with what he read and concerned with how he would be remembered.
On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality. Wikipedia
The actual web site for the Nobel Prize appears to be down at the moment...
As I walked into the fab I work at, I heard the sound of firecrackers in the distance. Granted, they predate Alfred by several centuries, but the loud banging, the revelry will ensue again tomorrow as I come into work. There is a relation to Nobel, this posting and the 4th.
No one is going to use dynamite thankfully (unless earnestly competing for the Darwin Awards), but in 2011 an estimated 9,600 people were injured by firecrackers according to the Consumer Products Safety Division; some far worse than just injury.
Worry not only how you will be remembered, but how you will proceed through life until its end. Personally, I want to check out with the same digits and body parts I checked in with (a little worse for the wear, understandably).
