The Twin Paradox

If you're riding a train and you shoot a gun in the same direction, the total speed of the bullet, relative to the ground, would be the speed of the bullet relative to the gun plus the speed of the train relative to the ground. There's nothing mysterious about that concept.

But what if you decided to shoot your photon torpedo gun (aka, your flashlight, or your torch if you're in England or Australia) under the same conditions? Intuitively, you'd think the speed of the light leaving the flashlight would equal its speed relative to the flashlight plus the speed of the train train relative to the ground, except you'd be wrong.

At the end of the 19th century, and especially thanks to the work of James Clerk Maxwell, there was plenty of evidence to conclude that the speed of light is constant, no matter how fast or in what direction you move relative to it, but no one could understand how this could possibly be so... until Albert Einstein developed his special theory of relativity with an intuition would that would forever revolutionize our understanding of physics: while the speed of light is constant, time and space are relative.

One of the weird consequences of that idea has come to be known as the twin paradox, about which you get to learn in the following funny animation:

Actually, GPS is one of the few applications that combines both special and general relativity in order to work because the Earth's gravitational pull also messes with the curvature of space-time.

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Colbert and Maurice Sendak on Children's Books

If you have kids, I hope you've been smart enough to realize that most children's books are written by idiots and celebrities (a distinction usually without a difference) who most likely write for children because they certainly would not be able to read for intelligent and literate adults without getting laughed at. Same goes for plenty of elementary and middle school teachers who diminish from the quality and impact of those teachers who are passionate and dedicated to education.

Of course, I don't know too much about children books myself, especially since I tend to prefer books like Go the F**k to Sleep or lullabies a-la Tim Minchin, but it seems, from the following Stephen Colbert interview below, that Maurice Sendak, author of such classics as Where the Wild Things Are, agrees wholeheartedly:

The Colbert Report
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"And now, the dramatic.... more of it:"

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Don't forget to check out the literature tag.

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This Is a Galaxy

Ideally, science works by the testing of hypotheses. In the real world, however, hypotheses can't always be tested directly, so scientists have to get creative and figure out indirect ways to see whether hypotheses are at least consistent with our empirical observations. Consistency alone is not sufficient for thinking that a scientific hypothesis is 'correct,' but inconsistency is usually a safe red flag that the hypothesis in question either needs modification or ought to be rejected.

One such attempt to test scientific hypotheses indirectly is to create computer models and simulations based on the very best current knowledge available: you let the simulations run and then see how close a match they make to what we know about the world.

There are many benefits to such an approach, such as the reduced time it takes to run a simulation (as opposed to waiting for the universe to run on its own slow pace). Another is the fact that when you produce visual representations of a computer simulation, you can end up with a beautiful piece of art, as the following short clip demonstrates:

And for more, check out the space tag.

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Sex: An Unnatural History - The Revolution

When you think about the sexual revolution, your mind probably focuses on the last half a century, starting with the fact that the development of the contraceptive pill gave couples all over the world, and especially women, unprecedented freedom regarding their own bodies and sexual choices. Ever since then, and with other revolutions in mind (like the civil rights movement, the rise of feminism, etc.), sex has been more about gratification than procreation? Or has it? And did it only start fifty years ago, or does a larger sexual revolution go back for millions of years?

In the first episode of this six-part series, and accompanied by cool historical footage, some clever animation, and some provocative dramatizations, Julia Zemiro sits down and discusses the nature and history of human sex with anthropologists, feminists, nudists, philosophers, biologists, historians, linguists, journalists and others.

Oh, and this may count as NSFW, but that might just mean your job sucks and you need to do something better with your life... think about it.

Stay tuned for more episodes soon!

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Doodling in Math - Spirals, Fibonacci and Plants - 2

This girl is so cool I may soon have to create a tag on this blog just for her awesomeness. Last time we saw her, she gave us a nice introduction to how the Fibonacci sequence can give rise to the kinds and numbers of spirals we find in many plants.

Now, talking about plants, and considering the question of the most efficient leave arrangement for them to maximize sunlight for photosynthesis (aka, plant nom-noms), we stumble upon something incredible (that we've also seen before in this stunning animation): an irrational number, but not just any irrational number: the golden ratio!

Over the past two millenia, there's been speculation as to why one of the crazy commands in Pythagoras' nutty religion was to stay away from beans (and the fact that Pythagoras was willing to let himself get killed rather than cross through a field full of these plants).

You see where I'm going, right? I'm going to have to look up their leave distribution, but is it just possible the father of rational mathematics realized bean leaves follow this "irrational" formation and hence refused, as a matter of mathematical principle, to have anything to do with them???

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"Dear Professor Hawking"

I had some surgery yesterday, nothing major, but my present inability to move around as much as I'd like may result in fewer blog entries in the near future... or more than usual; we'll see. In any case, as today's entry shows, when you're bed-ridden, there are few better ways to spend your time than listening to an homage to Stephen Hawking :)

Defying medical expectations for an early death by decades, Professor Hawking, perhaps the most famous and popular of all scientists alive, recently celebrated his 70th birthday.

In light of his genius, the obstacles he's had to overcome, his scientific contributions, his celebrity status, his passion for popularizing his love of science in books and documentaries, his correspondence with children and adults throughout the world, and his appearances on The Simpsons, the BBC recently put together a series of audio programs dedicated to celebrating this remarkable man.

He's sold more books than Madonna has had sex... Classic!

But I'm not sure I can let that "philosophy is dead" comment go by without protest :(

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Apple Revolutionizes Education?

As you may or may not know, Apple announced last week three initiatives designed to revolutionize education: fully interactive and affordable digital iBook textbooks for the iPad, iBooks Author (for those of you interested in creating your own interactive textbooks) and their new iTunesU app.

Obviously, one would have to purchase an iPad, which is exactly what Apple is banking on, but whatever their economic scheme, it's hard to argue that the educational value one gets in return isn't worth the investment

Now, I'm not usually one to blog about technology and gadgets, but the following presentation is about education, a topic quite dear to my heart, and it will blow your mind:

If you can be kind enough to get my poor ass an iPad, I'll be your bff! :)

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Alain de Botton - Atheism 2.0

Traditionally, religion has been associated with a number of different concepts: explanation, revelation, salvation and consolation. The so-called New Atheists have made a strong case that when it comes to explanation, religion is no better than child fantasies. Revelation, as a corollary of explanation turns out to be another silly concept, as is salvation... whatever that might mean.

One of the few areas in which religion does seem to thrive (regardless of whether its premises are true or not), that current secularism doesn't quite know how to deal with yet is consolation in its various forms: community, identity, tradition, reverence.

In the following fascinating TEDTalk presentation, atheist philosopher Alain de Botton (narrator of the documentary series Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness) argues that there is much in this area that a more advanced and nuanced and less reactionary atheism can actually learn, and steal, from the lessons developed by religions for thousands of years.

And for more, there is a short Q&A in the TED Blog.

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Hitler reacts to SOPA

I'm having a hard time concentrating on work today, so instead of simply procrastinating, I've decided to raise some awareness about SOPA and PIPA without getting too technical or boring... and so I present to you Hitler!

You know that there is something fundamentally wrong with the above-mentioned legislation when the voice of reason comes from one of the worst and most brutally violent and despotic tyrants of all time... Say hello to major cognitive dissonance :)

"Don't cry. Disney owns the rights to that emotion" :)

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Stop SOPA and PIPA

Via The Oatmeal

Should copyrighted material be protected? Definitely.

But SOPA and PIPA are not the way to do it. Learn more about it, and then do something about it...

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Fear Factory

Economists use the concept of externalities (or external costs) to refer to those costs that that are paid (usually against their will) by parties other than those who engage directly in a purchasing contract.

You know how you love a good bargain? Well, those low prices are not something borne out of the generosity and kindness of corporations. The costs are transferred, and ultimately paid for by the horrible working conditions of workers in some remote corner of the world, by the low wages such workers receive, by their deteriorating health, by their inability to form unions who might protect them, by the depletion of their natural resources, you get the picture.

The money you don't pay a corporation is the same money that corporation takes away from some kid in a dark and damp factory who doesn't have a choice, a voice or a say. So, as Jon Stewart shows in the following clip, you might want to think about all those unnecessary gadgets you carry around, and the real costs that producing them and giving you a lower price ultimately represent.

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And when it comes to food, external costs are also paid by the poor animals who must endure nightmarish living conditions on a daily basis until they are cruelly slaughtered... all so you can enjoy some steak or a hamburger that will eventually give you diabetes...

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Dangerous Knowledge

Beneath the surface of the world are the rules of science, but beneath them there is a far deeper set of rules, a matrix of pure mathematics, which explains the nature of the rules of science...

So begins this David Malone tour-de-force tribute to four geniuses who dared to confront the nature of the rules underlying all mathematics, logic and science, and saw in their various ways that the certainty with which we had become so familiar and comfortable was but an illusion.

Their stories are both inspiring and tragic. These men, Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing, were all destined for intellectual fame and greatness, if only posthumously, but because of the nature of their research, because of the intense dedication that their academic problems demanded of them, because of the great resistance they had to overcome from detractors, and because of the major threat they posed to our most foundational beliefs, they came to the brink of madness, and their ends were all tragic, lonely and regrettable. For all of that, however, and however briefly, they each got a glimpse of a reality few, if any of us, will ever get to experience.

This is, quite possibly, the best thing you may do for your brain this week...

And for another masterpiece on Alan Turing's intellectual contributions, check out Jim Al-Khalili's The Secret Life of Chaos.

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Circular Tip of the Hat / Wag of the Finger

One of the mantras underlying conservatism is the idea of radical freedom and personal responsibility: in America, you have the freedom to become anything you want. So, when you succeed, you should be able to keep your earnings (this is one reason they hate taxes). But when you fail, don't come crying and asking for handouts: it's your own damn fault.

Never mind that the system is rigged to perpetuate social and class differences: it's always easier to point fingers and blame those we trample instead of getting our feet off their heads.

Freedom and responsibility are important values to uphold, but the world is full of complexity and nuance. Simplistic false dilemmas and sound bites may sound good to unsophisticated ears, but they do a disservice to the kind of discourse that's necessary for our nation to move forward.

Unfortunately, things are getting so bad that, as Stephen Colbert shows, presidential hopefuls like Rick Santorum are blaming sick, poor, unemployed people who can't afford health insurance for being sick, poor and unemployed...

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Rick Santorum is a douchebag because Rick Santorum is a douchebag :)

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William Lane Craig vs Peter Millican - Does God Exist?

While there is a venerable history of philosophical inquiry into the question of God's existence, debates geared for lay audiences out there tend to display a painful and embarrassing lack of philosophical sophistication. To begin with, the distinction between metaphysics and epistemology, between truth and justification, is so often overlooked that the opponents usually don't realize they are each talking about something completely different from each other. But even when they are not ships missing each other in the dark, the performances leave much to be desired.

Believers tend to assert that God exists because they don't know how else to explain certain phenomena, or because life would meaningless otherwise, or because it's part of their cultural tradition and upbringing. Whatever their merits, such arguments have nothing to do with the question of whether God actually exists or not. Skeptics, on the other hand, tend to turn scientistic, and argue that the only way to know something is through science, and since the claim that God exists is either unfalsifiable or has actually been falsified (and let's ignore the logical inconsistency in those claims), the God hypothesis cannot even get off the ground. Needless to say, both camps tend to embarrass themselves, and each other.

But what if we have two professional philosophers, such as Peter Millican and William Lane Craig, argue the question? I have to admit that I find Craig fascinating... and disturbing. He's an interesting case study of a very intelligent and learned man who will use the most state-of-the-art scientific and philosophical scholarship to support the mutually contradictory beliefs that are the legacy of the virtually illiterate goat-herders who gave us Christianity (the ultimate cult of child sacrifice), but he's really good at this, and he knows how to stand his ground against very smart people. His rhetorical skills and his careful word choice usually takes his unsuspecting opponents by surprise (probably because they're used to debating ignoramuses), and whatever merit their views may have, they usually fumble and stumble in his presence. But Peter Millican is no ordinary thinker, and that can only mean that we are in for a fascinating exploration of philosophical issues that must be addressed even before touching on the question of God's existence.

For instance, who carries the burden of proof? The believer or the skeptic? It makes more sense to me that the person making the affirmative case (the believer in this case) should satisfy the skeptic's standards of evidence, and that the skeptic has every right not to believe until those standards have been met, but as you'll see, Craig is a master at challenging this position in really ingenuous ways...

And another thing we can learn from such a debate is that disagreements even about such a fundamental question as this, can be carried out with complete civility, and with each party taking the other seriously enough to provide a robust and productive dialogue from which everyone can benefit.

Are you feeling smarter now? Or does your brain hurt?

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What Is U.S. Debt?

Everyone knows that we ought to live within our means. It's just common sense, isn't it?

And yet, consider your own situation: chances are that you are in debt, either because of some sort of loan or because you have a line of credit (or multiple) to pay for your house, your car, your drug addiction, your ipad, your medical expenses, etc.

Now, consider that just like you are in debt, so is virtually everyone, including your own country, and up to a point, that's not too much of a problem. But before we start pontificating, let's first understand the basics of debt first with the following animation:

Now the question is: how much debt is too much debt? As it turns out, there is some empirical evidence to provide a tentative suggestion:

Me? I'm too cautious (and poor) to succumb to the temptation of credit, so although sometimes it's hard to make ends meet, I have absolutely no debt.

I'm poor, but I'm free, bitches! :)

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God's Message to Pat Robertson

I've never been able to figure out whether Pat Robertson believes the crazy things that come out of his mouth, or if he's purely a manipulative sociopath trying to advance his political and economic agenda by any means necessary.

Well, apparently, God speaks directly to him now, telling him the outcome of the next presidential election. One has to wonder why God didn't start this line of communication earlier... say, when Pat Robertson was running for president himself. Maybe God is a bit of a jerk...

In any case, Stephen Colbert wants to emulate his role model, but discovers in the process the logical futility of petitionary prayer... rAmen :)

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And the lady thought it's a better idea that Robertson does not divulge the information God allegedly shared with him? How does that make any sense at all???

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Evolution through hands

As someone with an incredibly short attention span, I've been thinking of lots of things lately, from the classics to history, biology, existentialism, love, to math, fractals and infinity.

And the ideas of fractals and evolution reminded me of the weird video below, portraying the history of the evolution of life on earth, so I thought I'd share with you.

And just in case that proves a little too disturbing for you, you can always watch a beautiful 5-minute animation of how evolution really does seem to have played out (based on the fossil record), accompanied by the awesome sound of some Nine Inch Nails.

Creeped out?

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Hilbert's Infinite Hotel

If you study subjects like philosophy, cosmology or mathematics, it won't be long until you find yourself deep in the contemplation of the nasty little business of infinity.

Zeno's paradoxes of motion represent some of the earliest attempts to confront this beast, and although modern tools like calculus or the idea of an infinite sum seems to resolve the problem, I can't say that we've really solved it. It's more like we've brushed it aside and agreed to pretend it's been dealt with. Although I find myself on a small minority here, I still sympathize with Zeno.

One thought-experiment I've never been able to swallow, however, is Hilbert's Infinite Hotel. From the very beginning, it seems to want to assume premises that I would not want to grant... but this is not about me. It's about you, dear reader, and it's about exposing you to interesting ideas that will be worth your while to think about, so here's a short introduction:

And if you want more, check out the Grandfather paradox or the Chinese Room thought experiment.

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Doodling in Math - Spirals, Fibonacci and Plants - 1

Time for some math. No, don't run away! I guarantee even the greatest of mathophobes among you are going to love this, not only because it's a new episode of the Doodling in Math Class series (narrated by the future mother of my children, although she doesn't know this yet), but because it's related to golden spirals and the Fibonacci sequence.

The mathematical properties of this sequence are easy enough to understand. The marvel comes from the fact that it is instantiated all over the place. You've seen a stunning animation of this phenomenon before, but why don't we put the idea to the test with some real-world examples:

As she said, there's nothing really mystical about the appearance of this number in these plants. If you consider this to be an engineering problem requiring the most efficient packaging solution, then it shouldn't be that surprising that the blind process of evolution should have eventually stumbled upon this pattern. For more, take a listen to this great discussion of the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio from In Our Time.

And if you're still hungry for more, learn more about fractals from none other than Arthur C. Clarke, or how simplicity can give rise to complexity in The Secret Life of Chaos, with Jim Al-Khalili.

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Louie Schwartzberg - The Hidden Beauty of Pollination

As a new year begins and we do what we can to leave the past in the past, however unsuccessfully, it seems rather appropriate to think about new beginnings, not only as they apply to our own individual lives but as they relate to life in general, and to the fact that life is only possible because of new beginnings.

The following captivating short film by Louie Schwartzberg captures in exquisitely fine and beautiful time lapse detail some of the intricacies that take place among the many insect, avian and mammalian animals that are responsible for helping plants perpetuate their legacy. You may think you've seen it all, but trust me, some of this footage, like the hummingbird doing acrobatics with a bee, will blow your mind.

Don't forget to check out more TEDTalks.

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