killin' (trees) in the name of...
I pulled out one of my little blank Moleskine notebooks, and started a to-do file for myself this morning. Given that this is my last day in the city before classes start, I want to make sure I get all my nitpicky tasks straightened out before Monday. Anyway, I quickly filled the page with things-to-do, and nearly every entry begins with the word "print" or "copy". Clearly, although I've gone all-digital in terms of my personal documents and research, I haven't figured out how to conduct a class the same way.
I'll be ready for the first day, but just *barely*. The class I wanted to have a whole semester's worth of reading guides done for? Half done. The new course that requires me to basically "GM" a historical role-playing game? I have quickly skimmed the instructor's guide. The course that should be my most important foundational science course, but instead is a last-minute after-thought every year? I just tweaked the syllabus as a last-minute after-thought.
The thing is - I have a couple of courses that could be REALLY GOOD this semester. That is, if I wasn't also teaching two OTHER courses, mentoring 3 senior research projects, doing consulting work, and being distracted by the siren song of the sabbatical on the horizon. Oh, also, there is a chance I could be chairing one of the most important committees at the college.
If I can stay ahead of it all, it could be a decent semester. If not, it could be a fucking nightmare.
Place your bets, kids...
Thursday, August 13
what Dave has to say to science crackpots...
There is particular technique used by physics crackpots (of which there are LOTS) when they are defending their own theories. What they do is to assail Quantum Mechanics or General Relativity on some conceptual ground, and if you try to explain to them how the equations work or how their predictions are confirmed by experience, or god forbid you ask them to show you the equations in THEIR theory... they accuse physics of being a priestood/cult that uses mathematics as a weapon to deny ordinary people admittance. Almost every physics crackpot will use some version of that line somewhere.
The reason physics seems closed off and "cultish" is that there is a significant barrier to entry- which is- in order to be part of the conversation you need to understand the theory. You can not do this by watching the Discovery Channel, reading paperback pop-sci from Borders, and then thinking about it really hard. You learn the theories by working WITH the theories, and just to do THAT takes a minimum of 2-3 years of mathematics courses. Which is why the great majority of crackpots conveniently decree that REAL science doesn't NEED all that math.
But without a familiarity with the tools and techniques of the theories themselves, you have as much chance of making a sensible contribution to the scientific process as someone who has spent the past year in their room playing "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" has of doing a good job filling in for Joe Perry on the next tour. Call it the CULT OF MUSIC PRIESTS if you want, but pushing the colored buttons on your PS3 controller is not even close to the real thing, no matter how much the fake crowd cheers.
(adapted from YouTube comment thread)
There is particular technique used by physics crackpots (of which there are LOTS) when they are defending their own theories. What they do is to assail Quantum Mechanics or General Relativity on some conceptual ground, and if you try to explain to them how the equations work or how their predictions are confirmed by experience, or god forbid you ask them to show you the equations in THEIR theory... they accuse physics of being a priestood/cult that uses mathematics as a weapon to deny ordinary people admittance. Almost every physics crackpot will use some version of that line somewhere.
The reason physics seems closed off and "cultish" is that there is a significant barrier to entry- which is- in order to be part of the conversation you need to understand the theory. You can not do this by watching the Discovery Channel, reading paperback pop-sci from Borders, and then thinking about it really hard. You learn the theories by working WITH the theories, and just to do THAT takes a minimum of 2-3 years of mathematics courses. Which is why the great majority of crackpots conveniently decree that REAL science doesn't NEED all that math.
But without a familiarity with the tools and techniques of the theories themselves, you have as much chance of making a sensible contribution to the scientific process as someone who has spent the past year in their room playing "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" has of doing a good job filling in for Joe Perry on the next tour. Call it the CULT OF MUSIC PRIESTS if you want, but pushing the colored buttons on your PS3 controller is not even close to the real thing, no matter how much the fake crowd cheers.
(adapted from YouTube comment thread)
Wednesday, August 12
summer in brief...
Heading in to the city on the train this morning. I have to say - 6:45 comes awfully fucking early when you've spent the summer staying up until 2 and sleeping until 9 or 10:00. I have a meeting today for some new consulting work. I figured the train would give me a chance to post something on the blog. Where to start? Since last I blogged, I have...
* Finished Moby Dick on my Kindle
* Worked up from 1 mile to three miles of running at a stretch
* Lost 10-12 pounds
* Harassed crackpots on YouTube
* Gone to yoga class exactly twice
* Played at 2 open blues jams, neither impressively nor embarrassingly
* Reactivated Netflix
* Played multiple 10-year-old Zelda series games w/ the kids.
* Worked up a half dozen peculiar acoustic cover tunes
* Made $5000 in consulting income, yet remain broke and in debt
* Got a kitten that I did not want.
* All but ignored the impending semester of classes.
So. The usual.
Heading in to the city on the train this morning. I have to say - 6:45 comes awfully fucking early when you've spent the summer staying up until 2 and sleeping until 9 or 10:00. I have a meeting today for some new consulting work. I figured the train would give me a chance to post something on the blog. Where to start? Since last I blogged, I have...
* Finished Moby Dick on my Kindle
* Worked up from 1 mile to three miles of running at a stretch
* Lost 10-12 pounds
* Harassed crackpots on YouTube
* Gone to yoga class exactly twice
* Played at 2 open blues jams, neither impressively nor embarrassingly
* Reactivated Netflix
* Played multiple 10-year-old Zelda series games w/ the kids.
* Worked up a half dozen peculiar acoustic cover tunes
* Made $5000 in consulting income, yet remain broke and in debt
* Got a kitten that I did not want.
* All but ignored the impending semester of classes.
So. The usual.
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