All posts by ben

Introducing: My Titanium Physicists!

Hi everyone. I’m here to announce that science… sort of has a new baby brother. It’s name is The Titanium Physicists Podcast .

Turns out that Physics is full of SUPER SEXY IDEAS which are way too technical for science journalists to talk about. No, the best way to taste this fruit is to go to the tree. I (ben) have assembled a team: my titanium physicists. A group of  the rarest sort. technical experts, and also lucid and fun.

But you can’t just throw a group of experts together in a room. they start talking technical and it’s impossible to follow. So to keep everything under control, we bring on a special guest each week! Awesome people who are good at interrupting nerds.

the result is a half-hour long show, released fortnightly. it’s super fun and i encourage you to listen. we’re up on itunes!

Share

Ben’s Math Education Response in Terms of Carts & Horses *AWESOME REMIX*

Another in our series of Ben’s ramblings Patented Wisdom BOLTS that didn’t make it to air! This week Chad asked us about our thoughts on math education, and Ben had things to say. We were running long I Didn’t want the reader’s ears to explode with wisdom so I didn’t read it, but I’ve posted Chad’s question here followed by Ben’s response. It’s interesting stuff from the newly minted PhD and teacher  the prophet of thunder, so hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did. And make sure you listen to the full episode from this Ep 110 – Back to School!

-Ryan (with edits by Ben)

Continue reading Ben’s Math Education Response in Terms of Carts & Horses *AWESOME REMIX*

Share

Ben’s Science Sort of manifesto.

written for Patrick, who wanted to know what i thought of SSO, based on an earlier claim that i thought SSO’s mandate is to socialize science.

My friends, Science is not something we DO, it’s something we are.
If you play video games, you are not necessarily a gamer.
If you answer phones for a living, you are not necessarily a receptionist.
But if you have been trained in the sciences, you are a scientist.

Continue reading Ben’s Science Sort of manifesto.

Share

Eternal Tragedy: falling into a black hole

Hey everyone! The christmas season is upon us, and it’s a chance to spend some time with your friends and family.

let me share my burden with you.

Being a theoretical physicist is terribly depressing. not because of the pay. that’s depressing, but it’s not why.

Are you familiar with the Total Perspective Vortex, from the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Theoretical physics often involves taking a long, deep stare into it. and then afterwards, when you look at your pretty wife and happy apartment…

this is me when i’m not working. Any time you see me smile, it’s because the sand is warm around my ears.

Anyway! Merry Christmas. Today I’m going to explain what happens if you fall into a black hole. If you find it depressing, well. sorry. If you don’t find it depressing… don’t think too hard about it.

Continue reading Eternal Tragedy: falling into a black hole

Share

PODCASTS that i enjoy

Hey peeps.

I listen to podcasts. A LOT OF PODCASTS. i am always wearing my headphones, and i am always listening to podcasts.

see the wire? I am listening to a podcast!

Like all the time. Podcast stories. Podcast news. Podcast science. I love podcasts!

So I decided that this week instead of telling you about awesome theoretical physics, I’ll just tell you about some podcasts that you might enjoy listening to… I call it THE 2010 Ben’s CHOICE IN EVERYTHING BUT SCIENCE PODCAST AWARDS.

Continue reading PODCASTS that i enjoy

Share

Cosmic Microwave Background Beachballs

Okay, so In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson at Bell Labs were working on a radio telescope. It looked like this.

it didn’t have a plaque with their names on it when they were working on it.

So. they got a kind of noisy signal. (incidentally, the same noisy signal you get when you plug a tv antenna in… that static screen) They thought, at first, that the noise was caused by pigeon and pigeon poop. So they cleaned it out. but it was still there.

Long story short, they’d discovered cosmic microwave background radiation. the residue of the big bang!

so what is cosmic microwave background radiation?

Continue reading Cosmic Microwave Background Beachballs

Share

Nerdy Stuff You Need To Be Like bn!

SO. you are friends with a dudenerd, and you gotta give him a christmas present. what does he want? to be ben, of course!   Or maybe you’re married to a nerd and you just want him to be like me. I don’t know, maybe you’re training my doppelganger to replace me.  … … …

suppose that for some reason, you want to turn person X into a ben, or at least a first order approximation… HERES SOME STUFF YOU WILL NEED TO FACILITATE THE CHANGE.

Continue reading Nerdy Stuff You Need To Be Like bn!

Share

F*cking magnets: how do they work?

Oh god why won’t this meme die?! Every time anyone refers to the infamous lyrics, we end up paying attention to the worst people in the world.

but it dawns on me that the problem here might be that most people don’t know how magnets work. So when we keep making fun of Scrabbly Jay and Mooman 4 Weed (no, i’m not going to look up their names), we’re actually wondering aloud about them. For instance, it topped one of the Lists of things people want famous physicist Sean Carroll to explain.   Recently I’ve even come across a video of Physics King Richard Feynman stumbling over the question.

Dick’s point, in brief, is that asking how magnets work is too difficult a question to answer. It demands a concise description of a completely unfamiliar system in terms of super familiar things. It’s like asking, “how does japan work”. what?

Anyway, i’m throwing my F*cking hat into the F*cking ring, in hopes that we can all forget about Scrabbly J and mooman 4 Weed.

cursing is for louts and people who have just hit themselves on things.

Continue reading F*cking magnets: how do they work?

Share

DARK MATTER: NOT HOCUS POCUS


Hi everyone, ben here! I’m trying to experiment right now with a NEW MEDIUM:

SCIENCE INFOCOMICS.

we’re going to do our best, guys. I’m going to try to get better pens, and find some better paper as we go. So without much more rambling:

DARK MATTER: It’s not hocus pocus.

You Know What's AWEFUL for this? BALLPOINT PEN!

Continue reading DARK MATTER: NOT HOCUS POCUS

Share