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There Is No Such Thing as a "Nuclear Scientist". There Are Only Physicists

Let’s bury the dangerous, lazy, and politically convenient idea that there exists a distinct...

The Thirty Meter Telescope May Be Cancelled Not by Ordinary People's Protest, but by Wealthy People's Whim

Astronomy, it seems, finds itself at the mercy of political caprice and economic machinations yet...

NASA Predicts Asteroid 2024 YR4 Might Hit The Moon.

According to observations made by NASA using the James Webb Space Telescope, there is a three point...

Basically No chance 2024 YR4 will hit Earth.

Recent observations have virtually eliminated any concern about an impact from asteroid 2024 YR4...

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Hontas FarmerRSS Feed of this column.

My research focuses on astrophysics from massive star formation to astroparticle physics. Born and raised in Chicagoland I have lived in Bellwood, IL since 1984 and attended public schools here... Read More »

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If graduation numbers are so important that they will give degrees to dead people,then don’t work there. LGBT scientists in academe now are highly vulnerable to the phenomena of adjunctification. A career that used to have as a common outcome finding a job which was permanent if one was objectively competent has become gig work. 

Gig work that requires a Masters or a Doctorate to get.   

Trump did not know science neither does his opposition.  Mask work, social distancing works, copious rapid testing works but no one or two or all of these things are a ironclad guarantee one will not get sick.  Keeping six feet apart reduces your chance of getting sick by a certain fraction, as does mask wearing, as would testing everyone.  We can reduce that probability of infection to a single digit percentage.  No one, no matter how righteously they believe, will be completely immune.   

What is math and is math real?   Math is the language of physics right down to figuring out what one hand full of fingers plus another hand full of fingers is.  Right down to a duck counting her ducklings even animals know that level of mathematics.  More advanced mathematics like algebra, calculus… or the rules of matrix arithmetic, are all set up so that they will be consistent with the math we see in real everyday numbers.  It is a matter of figuring out who got more fish to eat, or who has more cattle.  

How many apples are there?

Mainstream “news” has a problem. Reporters for more traditional big name organizations no longer need to present actual proof of anything they report.  The reason mainstream reporters do this is to feed the beast of the 24-72 hour news cycle.  The most recent “revelations” by “anonymous sources” regarding alleged statements by President Trump exemplify this issue. It is a story which fits the preconception that he does not respect veterans, but there is a huge difference between going after a political opponent who happens to be a vet and insulting dead WWI or WWII soldiers.

Standard English exist because not everyone in the world who uses English is a native speaker of English.  According to a group of English writing instructors it is racist to expect that in formal academic writing expecting standard English is racist.    In this one scientist opinion that is factually incorrect. 

What are the best computing devices for online classes?  As an adjunct professor here is my opinion on what makes for a good computer for online courses, and a few suggestions of which computers to buy.  The key factors to consider are compatibility with commonly used software.  Flexibility in terms of input, portability, and price.   Considerations like raw computing power are not necessarily part of this calculation though more power is a plus.