Detailed Balance Explained to My Son

Detailed Balance Explained to My Son

Detailed balance is a simple and powerful rule to describe the dynamics of two-state systems. If you know the probability of a transition from a state A to the other state B of a physical system (in…
The Origami Frog High Jump Challenge

The Origami Frog High Jump Challenge

Many geeks adhere to Stiff Paper Theory (SPT), holding that frogs made of expensive company letterhead will jump higher than those made of flimsy copy paper. However, while SPT adds giddy-up to any…
Ancient Algebra Could Help Future Biologists

Ancient Algebra Could Help Future Biologists

Future biology may rely more heavily on ancient math - namely algebra - according to researchers at Sweet Briar College and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech. Future…
Who's To Blame For UK Gun Crime?

Who's To Blame For UK Gun Crime?

If you're an ordinary, law-abiding citizen in the UK, you can't own a gun.  So who owns them?  Criminals, of course, making crimes easier to commit.   But it isn't just organized crime…
Apollo 11: What a difference an A makes

Apollo 11: What a difference an A makes

It’s 40 years this week since the Apollo astronauts landed on the moon. Analysis of the tapes shows that Neil Armstrong did say “small step for a man” – and not “small step for man” – though he said…
The New Yorker Versus The Kindle

The New Yorker Versus The Kindle

If you live in New York and like to feel a part of the local intelligentsia, you simply have to read The New Yorker. Which I do, regularly, every week. I can't get through the whole thing, so I…
A Perspective On Individualism

A Perspective On Individualism

Individualism is the political philosophy or ideology that emphasizes independence and self-reliance. Individualists advance the idea of realizing one's goals and desires, while opposing most…
Rudiments of the Method of Maximum Likelihood

Rudiments of the Method of Maximum Likelihood

Besides the usual share of random readers who google something and get directed here by mere chance (to be read: by the sheer amount of valuable information I have posted here), this blog is read by…
Ministry Of Silly Tweets

Ministry Of Silly Tweets

Ministry Of Silly Tweets It could only happen in Britain.  Or the U.S.  Or just about anywhere where you find bureaucrats, which is just about everywhere, I suppose. A Whitehall…
Transparent Aluminum? You know what that means...

Transparent Aluminum? You know what that means...

Now we can contain whales in our starships!(sorry for just pasting and running, really busy...) "Scientists claim to have created a form of aluminum that's nearly transparent to extreme ultraviolet…