Readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of Quora, because it lets non-experts raise the kinds of speculative questions that don't normally come up in formal scientific discussions. One frequent theme that comes up is the issue of what we would do if we found intelligent life on a planet around another star. A recent posting in particular caught my eye: "What would we do if we found an Earthlike planet with intelligent life that is 500 years behind us in technology and advancements?" ...read more
It seems obvious. You arrive at the checkouts and see one line is much longer than the other, so you join the shorter one. But, before long, the people in the bigger line zoom past you and you’ve barely moved toward the exit.
When it comes to queuing, the intuitive choice is often not the fastest one. Why do lines feel like they slow down as soon as you join them? And is there a way to decide beforehand which line is really the best one to join? Mathematicians have been studying these qu ...read more
Arbitrary and unfair behavior by scientific journals risks damaging the public's perception of science.
Two weeks ago, the Journal of Translational Science published a paper that reported a correlation between vaccination and autism in 666 children. On Monday, the paper disappeared from their website, with no explanation or retraction notice. Google's cache still has the paper here. Retraction Watch has more details.
In my view, this journal's behavior is a perfect illustration of ...read more
During a checkup, a patient’s deepest concern is sometimes expressed at the last moment.
My annual physical was nearly over. The doctor had asked routine questions, used her stethoscope to listen to my heart and lungs, and ordered tests of my cholesterol and vitamin D levels. Throughout the visit, which happened years ago, I pondered sharing what had been preoccupying me for weeks. It was embarrassing, unexpected and probably meant nothing, I thought. As my doctor’s hand clasped ...read more
In the early 20th century, a young mathematician developed a theorem. Eventually it would become a bedrock of modern physics and used to discover new particles and better understand black holes.
In 1915, two of the world’s top mathematicians, David Hilbert and Felix Klein, invited Emmy Noether to the University of Göttingen to investigate a puzzle. A problem had cropped up in Albert Einstein’s new theory of gravity, general relativity, which had been unveiled earlier in the ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
