When I studied history of science, my teachers — especially Ken Manders and Paolo Palmieri — hammered two principles like drill sergeants: Always read the original manuscripts; Always pay attention…
Read moreBill Unruh’s recent collection on black hole analogues begins, Deep beneath the great encircling seas of the Discworld lived a species of hyper-intelligent fish. (Unruh 2007, p.1) Unusual, but inspiring:…
Read moreRoger Penrose came to Pittsburgh on Friday, presenting his new picture of cosmology. It was my first time seeing a Penrose presentation, and I was delighted to find it filled…
Read moreThe unfolding of time is typically described as a sequence of spatial regions: one region of space gets realized, and then another, and then another. For example: consider a region…
Read moreThere is a lot of literature about how it is that important successes in science apparently stemmed from false belief. Belief in the existence of caloric is a common example:…
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