Reed Me : cosmology

I think I’ve read that one. By Haldeman, right?

reedme — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:09:31 GMT

Would somebody please turn on the Large Hadron Collider so we can just end the debate? One way or another? Srsly? It might solve some other problems, too. *snicker* In short, a new paper says that the reports of the probable demise of black holes created by the LHC are greatly exaggerated (off by a half a second or more). Heh. Sounds familiar...

Joe Haldeman staged his “Forever Peace” novel around the possibility that an übercollider being built in the orbit of Jupiter could destroy all life in our solar system. (Not the only subject of purest conjecture in the novel, but I’ve been nostalgic about Haldeman’s work since I read “Forever War” as a kid.)

The book suggested that “now that we know what to look for” we can see all the other solar systems that other so-called intelligences used to inhabit before they built their own übercolliders and destroyed themselves... and only a magical mind-melding device that will make pacifists of us all can save humanity! (It’s a good book, if you like escapist scifi with remote controlled robots fighting our wars in the near future and a good bit of close up violence despite the peacenik dogma.)

Anywho, back to Reality™ where bombastic headlines and journalistic license sell advertising @ Fox News:

Casadio, Fabi and Harms think the black hole would lose out, and pass through the Earth or out of the atmosphere before it got to be a problem.

[snip]

If the worst comes to pass, and there's now a slightly greater chance that it might, at least it might explain why we've never heard from extraterrestrial civilizations: Maybe they built Large Hadron Colliders of their own.

Scientists Not So Sure 'Doomsday Machine' Won't Destroy World

I think J.D. summed it up nicely in his Sunday comic: *wibble*

Even my 10 year-old daughter laffed out loud when it was suggested that we shouldn’t proceed with experiments until we know what will happen when we do them.

Where did I put that crowbar? (Just in case!)

Thank you, Captain Obvious! (@ NASA this time.)

reedme — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:30:46 GMT

If there’s not already a medal for stating the obvious, I should start a foundation to present one. Why should the Darwin Awards have all the fun?

There is "something new and interesting going on in the universe," said Alan Kogut of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Mystery Roar from Faraway Space Detected (space.com)

I’ll admit it’s cool that’s there a loud “roaring” sound in the radio band. I want to know how a radio signal can be equated with a roaring sound, but I’ll bet it’s the subatomic monkeys!

Duh. This is like flipping through the channels and stopping on a channel that you’ve never watched before and being surprised by its programming. “d00d, wow. Check out the weird stuff on this channel! I’ve never seen nuthin’ like that before.” Seriously, NASA?

Or like psychics’ predictions (including all the talking heads on financial news networks)... If they are so psychic and/or so good at picking stocks, why are they hosting TV shows and/or working pay-per-minute telephone lines instead of on the beach in Cabo?

Unless Alan Kogut is the same age as my 4-year-old nephew or my 9-year-old oldest son (to both of whom everything is still new and exciting), he wins the Captain Obvious Award this week.

I've read some Dumb Science in my life, but...

reedme — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:12:12 GMT

This takes the cake...

"The intriguing question is this," Prof Krauss told the Telegraph. "If we attempt to apply quantum mechanics to the universe as a whole, and if our present state is unstable, then what sets the clock that governs decay? Once we determine our current state by observations, have we reset the clock? If so, as incredible as it may seem, our detection of dark energy may have reduced the life expectancy of our universe."
Mankind 'shortening the universe's life' (Telegraph)

My baby brother has been preparing to launch the Journal of Stupid Science next year (2008) and I've nominated this travesty of gross misunderstanding of Heisenberg for Issue #1. Somebody needs to point out the difference between active and passive observation to the wacky cosmologists.

Wow. It must be easier to get a PhD these dayz than it used to be!