MAZDA LAUNDRY GOES “HMMMMMM”
BACK IN the 1970s, Mazda made the excellent point that conventional engines went “boing boing boing,” whereas its rotary powerplant went “hmmmmmm.” Today, high-efficiency laundry facilities may go “hmmmmmm” as … Continue reading
IMPRESSIONISM, SACRÉ BLEU AND CADMIUM-SULFIDE YELLOW
THIS IS triply a celebration of an era, a book review and a scientific tidbit. The era is the Belle Epoque, 1871 to the outbreak of World War I, when … Continue reading
ENGINEERING THE SEAHORSE
THERE’S A joke about God’s engineering background: He’s an Electrical Engineer because of the brain’s neurological wonders, a Mechanical Engineer because of the skeleton’s elegant efficiency, a Chem Eng because … Continue reading
NIKUMARORO PERSON? KENNEWICK MAN?
WITHOUT SCIENCE, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I wouldn’t know the latest in the search for Amelia Earhart. Nor would I know who … Continue reading
A CLOSE SHAVE WITH SET THEORY
YESTERDAY’S ITEM on countability mentioned Russell’s Paradox, but, in the interests of set-theoretic sanity, side-stepped details. Now that we’re rested, what the hey, why not delve into it? Among Bertrand … Continue reading
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME—OR MAYBE NOT
COUNTING SEEMS the most basic of mathematics, so isn’t it puzzling that lots of things are genuinely uncountable? To make any sense of this, let’s begin with the essence of … Continue reading
THE CYBERPHILOLOGIST WILL SEE YOU NOW…
IN THE old days, I mean really old, the word “scientist” didn’t exist. I learned this reading “Megafauna,” by Adrienne Mayor, in the London Review of Books, July 2, 2015 … Continue reading
SLEEP ON IT
ALDOUS HUXLEY’S Brave New World describes a chilling example of childhood indoctrination through sleep-learning. This novel takes place in a London of 2540 (referred to as 632 A.F., After Ford, … Continue reading
A BEWILDERING SWIRL OF LIFE
THERE’S AN ecosystem at least as significant as the Earth’s rainforests in its richness, diversity, sustenance and epochal importance to mankind. Because of the miniscule character of its constituents, though, … Continue reading
PHYSICS FOR GEARHEADS
MY HIGH-SCHOOL physics teacher liked cameras. Following his whims, and not any school board guidelines, I came away with a deep appreciation for optics. He evidently hated levers. And, to … Continue reading
