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.

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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.

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Finding Comfort in Balboa Park

Outside the Science Center: evangelists galore! A tall red banner emblazoned with a cross speaks of human rights violations. According to the banner it is illegal in 52 countries to do what this man in black does. He shouts: "JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY! Going to church won't save you! Doing good works won't save you! YOU MUST ACCEPT JESUS!" It's hard to hear over the mariachi band, a long-haired waif playing kindergarten ditties on his guitar and another woman calling out to passersby behind a table covered in brochures. I stroll past a circle of teenagers dressed all in black, waving their arms and stepping in time to Radiohead. This grimacing bevy of stricken blackbirds has drawn a crowd. They've obviously choreographed their wordless skit. But what is it that they're getting all worked up about? Participants switch out of this dancing, grimacing bevy of stricken blackbirds.

Are they Jesus People, too? "That's what I've been trying to figure out," mutters a sun-browned, wrinkly man in banana-yellow bike shorts. "They're wearing the same T-shirts." I nod and start to speak, but Bike Shorts has already pedaled off on his mountain bike, taking his quizzical mug and silent opinions with him. It's probably for the best. I don't like discussing religion with complete strangers anyway.

Across the lawn, a fortune teller gesticulates at a client across a round table decorated with a crystal ball and the customary jewel-toned tablecloth. A rapt young woman nods back earnestly. How much did she pay the ball-reader, I wonder. I hesitate to whip out my camera because the fortune teller is watching me watch her.

I'm an agnostic, but I can't help thinking that all anybody here wants on this gorgeous day is some relief from anxiety, uncertainty and doubt. We want to hear that if we studiously follow the prescribed cure, jump through hoops and submit ourselves humbly to a wiser being, no matter how silly the prescriptions may seem, things will be okay.

I know the feeling well. I came to the park for comfort, too. I found some in this:

portrait bp-bench-shoes Niki Sculpture Outside Mingei

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