This guy almost had me convinced to believe in his version of God.

Really truly, this guy ("Jesusophile") almost convinced me to believe in his version of the invisible Man in the Sky, especially with his more-than-50% likelihood argument. I hadn't ever thought of that one before. Now to get serious: Unwittingly, he's teaching a class in fallacious reasoning. He's doing it so well that many thousands of people are laughing at him on Youtube. Maybe he should practice his routine in a mirror next time before putting it up on Youtube.

Continue ReadingThis guy almost had me convinced to believe in his version of God.

Gray Matter at Wolfram Research

As I promised, I have visited the Periodic Table Table on the penultimate floor of the Wolfram Research building. This is a fairly tall building for Champaign, IL and contains some serious brains. We walked in, rode up to the top floor, and asked to see "The Elementary Mr. Gray." The receptionist chuckled, made sure that I claimed to have an appointment, and called down to the co-founder and interface designer for Mathematica Software, Theodore Gray. We were escorted down to his spacious office area, in which samples of every element in the universe are kept. Many on open display. One Corner of the Office Big SamplesI had budgeted 2 hours, and had to tear myself away after 3. There were huge samples of some things like 99.999999% pure silicon and a massive block of magnesium. There were pretty and ingenious samples of others. The pictures he took for PeriodicTable.com are excellent, but seeing them and holding them is an order of magnitude more impressive. I got to hold a nice chunk of depleted Uranium (kept in the safe with the gold and platinum and antique samples). Heavy stuff, and almost as big as my sample of equally heavy tungsten. Maybe I should mention the layers of security and cameras, in case anyone gets acquisitive. PeriodicTableTable and its creator Notice the lead pipe over by Hydrogen? It was last seen on my patio, and now is part of this collection. I hadn't realized that this brain trust is where Hollywood went to get correct math for the TV show Numb3rs. Wolfram staff may not criticize the inaccurate applications, but at least they make sure the formulas written by the actors match what they say they are doing and look cool. I often regret not having gotten a job at a brain trust back when I was young and quick. It was nice to visit such a place and to be made to feel a collegue. So, how shall I spin this as a serious post? Real science is a matter of playing with reality and seeing what makes it tick. To understand matter, one should see what there is of it. To understand the mathematical models on which our standard of living depends, it is good to know some real math. I find comfort in knowning that those who really know the math have fun with it.

Continue ReadingGray Matter at Wolfram Research

How I Got Into John McCain’s Pants

Well, it was this John W. McCain, and he wasn't in them at the time. We were in Cincinnati for a dance weekend, the Pigtown Fling. That's the same event that I mentioned last year when I didn't go to the Creation Museum. I didn't go there this time, either. But how did I get into John McCain's Pants? Well, dancing is hot work. It's like doing aerobics or jogging, but with hot and cold hotter running women flowing through your arms all night. So by the end of the evening, I was quite het up. It didn't occur to me to pull on long pants. We drove to our hosts house in the rainy wee hours. (Short dashboard video of driving "home" to the tune of "Hello, I must be Going") As we arrived and cooled down, I discovered that I had left my long pants back at the gym. I'd get cold knees in the morning. After a couple of hours of conversation, I got a good night's sleep. Note: At a dance weekend, anything over 4 hours is phenomenal. In the morning I got up to shower. When I returned to my guest room, I spied a pair of unfamiliar slacks neatly lain at the foot of my bed. I'd had a visit from The Trouser Fairy! No host was in sight; he apparently returned to sleep in. So I started my day in John McCain's pants. They eerily reminded me of a pair I'd owned some years back. Who'd'a thunk that Big John wore nearly my size? Here's a video of our group dancing during Earth Hour, the next night:

Continue ReadingHow I Got Into John McCain’s Pants

If you dig a hole straight down, where would you end up?

If you dig a hole straight down, where will you end up? I live in Missouri. I was always told that I would end up in China. Not true. For that to happen, I would need to start digging my hole in Argentina, not in Missouri. How do I know? I used an antipode finder.

Continue ReadingIf you dig a hole straight down, where would you end up?