David’s Comments (group member since Dec 13, 2009)

David’s comments from the Science and Inquiry group.

I've really wanted to read that book! Here is a link to it:
The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values

Any more nominations? We could use a couple more.

What Is Your Dangerous Idea?: Today's Leading Thinkers on the Unthinkable looks like an interesting book.

Alex, you've got it right. The exact statement of Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle is:
(Uncertainty in Position)X(Uncertainty in Momentum) = h/4*pi.
Here, h is Planck's constant, a very very very small number. So, the better you know position of a particle, the less well you know momentum (and hence, speed), and vice-versa.

People make a common mistake of trying to apply the Uncertainty Principle to macroscopic objects, that is, to everyday objects. For example, some people might say, "the mere presence of the scientist in the room altered the outcome of the psychology experiment". While this might be true in some circumstances, it is in no way related to the Uncertainty Principle. The Principle only applies to the very smallest particle scales, because Planck's constant is so small.

There are lots of weird things associated with quantum mechanics. For example, light is both a collection of particles (photons) and waves. You can design an experiment to discern individual photons or waves, but as soon as you make an observation, you will find either photons or waves, not both. The list of weird things goes on and on...it gets very interesting, because we build our everyday intuition on macroscopic scales, and it simply doesn't apply.

Sandra,
Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World looks like a great book--I'm definitely putting it on my "to-read" list. Keep in mind, that since it is a very new book, you probably won't find it yet at your local library.

It's hard to believe that October is coming to a close. It's time to nominate books for December already! Nominations will be open until October 31st.

I just discovered that you may be able to customize goodreads to look up books "automatically" at your local library. Go to your my account page and choose the "book links" tab. On the right-hand side of the page, try to find your local library. (You may want to alphabetize the list to make it easier to find.) Then, simply "add" the link, and then "push" it upwards to where you want in your list, using the up-arrows buttons.

If you do not find your local library in the list, you can add it using the add a new link button on the right. There are instructions on how to add a link to your library. It is a bit tricky--but if I can do it, anyone can.

I remember reading somewhere, that birds are survivors of dinosaur extinctions. I wonder how that fits in with this theory, that birds are markers for extinction in other populations?

What do people think of the author's "folksy" style of writing? It sort of put me off a bit, to read sentences with the word "um" or "well" stuck in the middle.

Here is an interesting video about Bernd Heinrich and ravens on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8L4KN...

This photograph of a raven riding on a vulture is amazing:
http://i.imgur.com/fLbNu.jpg
The photo is one of a couple by a Spanish nature photographer:
http://www.larred.es/
and there is much debate on the web, on whether the photograph has been "doctored".

It looks like our poll ended in a tie between two books:
The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . .
So, both books will be in our November Book Club discussion. People are encouraged to read either of the two books--or both!

I just finished reading The Disappearing Spoon. It is quite an entertaining book. It is packed with interesting stories and anecdotes. Jennifer W is reading it now ... anybody else?

Usually, I prefer to check out books from the library, rather than purchasing them. Unfortunately, since this book was published just a few months ago, there is still a big demand for it at the local library; there is a long queue of people who have reserved the book. So, I bought it from Amazon. Is anybody else finding the book difficult to obtain?

Nominations for the November Book Club are now closed. Please vote for one of the three excellent nominated books by October 6 in our
poll.

Heather wrote: "I just picked up Stiff by Roach and listened to her interview on the podcast Skepticality about her latest book Packing For Mars."

Heather, How did you like "Stiff"? I was thinking about listening to it, as an audiobook.

Alex, I just finished the book. What an excellent book! Very entertaining, and full of a very unique point of view. I enjoyed most of all, the descriptions of how the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are written in language that only a scientist would use. The author's point of view is very convincing. Mainly, that nations that are founded "as an experiment"--and do not have constitutions and laws that are cast in stone forever--are bound to be most successful in the long run. Conditions change over time, and no unchanging constitution or set of laws can possibly cope with these changes. A flexible set of laws and a constitution written in such a way that allow democratic changes--these help prevent tyranny. The analogies with science are very interesting; for example, the fact that science is a process, not an end result with definitive conclusions.

The countries that have historically contributed to the advancement of science have all been liberal, and the author shows why this is not a coincidence. The book points out a long-standing myth, that science has flourished under various tyrannies. Science did not advance well at all under the Soviet Union, despite tons of money thrown at it. Science under Nazi Germany coasted for a while, and then sort of fluttered out. China has not contributed much to science in the past century.

I just got a copy of The Science of Liberty from the library, and started reading it. Is anybody else reading the book?

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements is the winner for the October book of the month. Looks like a great book!

As someone who has an astronomy background, I thought I was familiar with the zoo of astronomical objects. But wait...this image is of a totally new species. A binary star system is spewing out gas as it rotates, so it looks similar to the spiral of a water sprinkler. Wow!

Alex wrote: "I recently learned the hard way that one can suddenly develop an allergy to poison ivy at any stage in one's life. My days of showing off my immunity: over. Turns out poison ivy totally sucks."

I agree. For the first time, I just got a bad case of poison ivy a few months ago. I didn't have a clue, as to where I got it. I felt totally miserable for about a week.

Nominations are closed now. Please
vote for one of these great books by September 6.