I realized that most of my posts have been little more than science news links thus far, so I shall now remedy this imbalance.
Here is a morning incantation. A brief affirmation of willful endurance. Speak it upon arising in the morning:
I am a spark of the cosmic fire.
My voice is a whisper of the roar of creation.
I chose to be here, in this time and this place.
I will overcome all adversity.
Fuck the dumb shit.
(Banish with laughter)
Envision a Venn diagram composed of Science and Magic. This is the intersection.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Asymmetry via neutrino oscillation?
Researchers at the T2K project neutrino sensor in Japan have announced their initial findings that muon neutrinos can apparently change into electron neutrinos.
Here's the article on the BBC's website: Neutrino particle 'flips to all flavours'
Here's the article on the BBC's website: Neutrino particle 'flips to all flavours'
Monday, June 6, 2011
LHC team traps antimatter for over 15 minutes
A team has managed to keep antimatter stable long enough to begin contemplating serious study of the material:
Article at Ars Technica
Abstract: Confinement of Antihydrogen for 1000 Seconds
Article at Ars Technica
Abstract: Confinement of Antihydrogen for 1000 Seconds
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Null Conversation (a speculative dialog)
I wrote this in 2005. It's a parable of magic and gardening. It illustrates part of my point of view regarding magic.
The following conversation probably never took place:
Captain Greedle: All of this sorcery talk is bunkum.
Tentacle Boi: Why do you think that?
G: What do you mean? Just look at it. It's pure hokum. The universe is deterministic, and there's no way that you can convince me that you can change it just by saying "Mumbo Jumbo" and thinking really hard about the way you want the universe to change. It doesn't work that way.
T: Wow. You're a paragon of rationalism. Most people don't hold such strong opinions about cosmology.
G: No, I just know new age crap when I see it.
T: Well, what if I told you that I was a sorcerer, and that I've had pretty good results with this stuff.
G: You're a what? Oh come on. I guess that I would probably say that you're crazy.
T: I'm crazy because I believe in causality?
G: Causality?
T: Yes, Causality. Cause and effect. Certain actions result in certain outcomes.
G: That sounds like more clap-trap to me.
T: Hmmm. Have you ever planted a seed?
G: Well, yes, I used to garden a bit. I love rhubarb.
T: Please, tell me about the process.
G: It's very simple really. You dig a little hole, and put the seed in. You cover the hole back up with soil, add some fertilizer, make sure that the seed gets enough water, and wait for the plant to grow.
T: That all sounds interesting, but I'm not sure that I believe it.
G: What? What do you mean? It's part of nature.
T: Well, how does a whole rhubarb plant come from such a tiny little seed?
G: It just does. I don't know how it all works, but I've done it. I'm sure that a biologist could tell you how it all works.
T: Maybe it's just a coincidence.
G: I beg your pardon?
T: Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe there's really no relation between your planting a seed and a rhubarb plant appearing.
G: Of course it's not a coincidence. Like I said, it's just part of nature. Plants have to come from somewhere!
T: Does it always work? Do you always get a plant when you plant a seed?
G: Well, no, not always. Some seeds don't grow into full plants.
T: Why not?
G: Well, the soil could be the wrong type, or the seed might not get enough moisture. I don't know exactly why.
T: So it doesn't work all of the time, but in general, if you plant a seed, and take care of it, it will grow?
G: Yes, exactly.
T: Same thing with sorcery.
G: What? How can you make that comparison? That's crazy talk.
T: Well, if formulate my desire into a directed statement, that's like a seed.
G: Please.
T: No, really. When I launch my statement as a spell, that's like planting the seed.
G: You really should see someone about these delusions.
T: Sometimes the spell works, sometimes it doesn't. But more often than not, something happens.
G: Well when you think it's working, I'd say that's just a coincidence.
T: I'm fine with that way of looking at it, as long as I can get that coincidence to happen when I want it to.
G: Do you really mean to tell me that you believe that you can get these things to happen when you want them to?
T: Not all of the time, but yes.
G: Now I've heard everything. How deluded and egotisitical must you be to believe such hog wash? So do these spells of yours come from the devil?
T: No, the devil is only an archetype. He's a manifestation of the collective negative aspects of mankind.
G: But the bible says that he's real.
T: The bible is an amalgamated collection of parables and Semitic mythology compiled to justify the edifice of the Christian church.
G: What? Oh, now you are surely going to Hell. I'll pray for you to see the error in your ways.
T: What do you think happens when you pray?
G: I ask God to bestow his grace and forgiveness.
T: So God is like an operator, standing by, just waiting for your call?
G: He's everywhere and everything. He knows all and sees all.
T: So he's the whole universe?
G: Yes, and much more.
T: So when you pray, you're basically formulating a desire, and entreating an all-powerful universal being to fulfill it for you?
G: Well, yes, I suppose so.
T: Hmmm, that sounds vaguely familiar. Does it always work?
G: Well, no, not always. No one may know the mind of God, for he moves in mysterious ways.
T: Don't you think that it's a little egotistical to expect God to alter his plans of how things are supposed to be for you? If you're asking for a change, isn't that implying that God has done something wrong?
G: Uh... I've never thought of it like that.
T: I guess that a lot of people probably haven't.
The following conversation probably never took place:
Captain Greedle: All of this sorcery talk is bunkum.
Tentacle Boi: Why do you think that?
G: What do you mean? Just look at it. It's pure hokum. The universe is deterministic, and there's no way that you can convince me that you can change it just by saying "Mumbo Jumbo" and thinking really hard about the way you want the universe to change. It doesn't work that way.
T: Wow. You're a paragon of rationalism. Most people don't hold such strong opinions about cosmology.
G: No, I just know new age crap when I see it.
T: Well, what if I told you that I was a sorcerer, and that I've had pretty good results with this stuff.
G: You're a what? Oh come on. I guess that I would probably say that you're crazy.
T: I'm crazy because I believe in causality?
G: Causality?
T: Yes, Causality. Cause and effect. Certain actions result in certain outcomes.
G: That sounds like more clap-trap to me.
T: Hmmm. Have you ever planted a seed?
G: Well, yes, I used to garden a bit. I love rhubarb.
T: Please, tell me about the process.
G: It's very simple really. You dig a little hole, and put the seed in. You cover the hole back up with soil, add some fertilizer, make sure that the seed gets enough water, and wait for the plant to grow.
T: That all sounds interesting, but I'm not sure that I believe it.
G: What? What do you mean? It's part of nature.
T: Well, how does a whole rhubarb plant come from such a tiny little seed?
G: It just does. I don't know how it all works, but I've done it. I'm sure that a biologist could tell you how it all works.
T: Maybe it's just a coincidence.
G: I beg your pardon?
T: Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe there's really no relation between your planting a seed and a rhubarb plant appearing.
G: Of course it's not a coincidence. Like I said, it's just part of nature. Plants have to come from somewhere!
T: Does it always work? Do you always get a plant when you plant a seed?
G: Well, no, not always. Some seeds don't grow into full plants.
T: Why not?
G: Well, the soil could be the wrong type, or the seed might not get enough moisture. I don't know exactly why.
T: So it doesn't work all of the time, but in general, if you plant a seed, and take care of it, it will grow?
G: Yes, exactly.
T: Same thing with sorcery.
G: What? How can you make that comparison? That's crazy talk.
T: Well, if formulate my desire into a directed statement, that's like a seed.
G: Please.
T: No, really. When I launch my statement as a spell, that's like planting the seed.
G: You really should see someone about these delusions.
T: Sometimes the spell works, sometimes it doesn't. But more often than not, something happens.
G: Well when you think it's working, I'd say that's just a coincidence.
T: I'm fine with that way of looking at it, as long as I can get that coincidence to happen when I want it to.
G: Do you really mean to tell me that you believe that you can get these things to happen when you want them to?
T: Not all of the time, but yes.
G: Now I've heard everything. How deluded and egotisitical must you be to believe such hog wash? So do these spells of yours come from the devil?
T: No, the devil is only an archetype. He's a manifestation of the collective negative aspects of mankind.
G: But the bible says that he's real.
T: The bible is an amalgamated collection of parables and Semitic mythology compiled to justify the edifice of the Christian church.
G: What? Oh, now you are surely going to Hell. I'll pray for you to see the error in your ways.
T: What do you think happens when you pray?
G: I ask God to bestow his grace and forgiveness.
T: So God is like an operator, standing by, just waiting for your call?
G: He's everywhere and everything. He knows all and sees all.
T: So he's the whole universe?
G: Yes, and much more.
T: So when you pray, you're basically formulating a desire, and entreating an all-powerful universal being to fulfill it for you?
G: Well, yes, I suppose so.
T: Hmmm, that sounds vaguely familiar. Does it always work?
G: Well, no, not always. No one may know the mind of God, for he moves in mysterious ways.
T: Don't you think that it's a little egotistical to expect God to alter his plans of how things are supposed to be for you? If you're asking for a change, isn't that implying that God has done something wrong?
G: Uh... I've never thought of it like that.
T: I guess that a lot of people probably haven't.
Music from Supernovae
University of Victoria graduate student Alex Parker and University of California, Santa Barbara, postdoctoral researcher Melissa Graham have assigned musical notes to a sequence of supernova to generate the Supernova Sonata.
Scientific American article
Scientific American article
Friday, May 27, 2011
Brian Greene goodness
I've just started reading The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. I enjoyed reading his book The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory about five years ago. I like the accessibility of his writing. I also highly recommend the NOVA episodes based on Elegant Universe: Part 1
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