The physics of the 2015 Supertide in Western Europe
The causes of tides The tides are caused by two things. The moon’s gravitational force pulling on the oceans. The sun’s gravitational force pulling on the oceans. An eclipse does not…
Read moreReasons to love the "Dark Energy Task Force"
It’s official: the words ‘dark,’ ‘energy,’ ‘task,’ and ‘force’ have all been used in the title of a single scientific paper. The “Report of the Dark Energy Task Force” is…
Read moreRescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy
Photo Credit: John D. Norton The University of Pittsburgh has announced the establishment of the Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy. The details: Rescher Prize gold medal for…
Read moreSpringer Publishes Crank ‘Proofs’
crank, n. A pejorative term for a person who holds a belief that a vast majority of their contemporaries consider false. A “cranky” belief is so wildly at variance with…
Read morePenrose in Pittsburgh
Roger 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 more