Friday, November 23, 2007

Galaxies

I totally admit I read and watch tons of science fiction. From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams to The Heechee Series by Frederick Pohl and everything in between: I read and watch. There are a some characters that stick out such as Paul Atreides in Dune and Valentine Michael Smith in Stranger in a Strange Land. And who can forgot the Marvin, the depressed and paranoid robot from the Hitchhiker's Guide.


Some of my favorite series include Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, and Dr. Who. I appreciate PBS airing Dr. Who(the old shows) and would love to be able to watch the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. What attracts me most about Doctor Who is the concept of time as being fluid and akin to an interstate system in which different points can be accessed if you only have the key or are a timelord. The new Dr. Who show doesn't seem to have the same ummph as the old. I don't think anyone can top Tom Baker as Dr. Who.



I've been watching youtube this morning. Yeah! Four days off!! And came across a couple I liked.

Marvin: The Paranoid Android

and

Doctorin the Tardis

Science fiction has it all: epic battles, epic space exploration, and epic imagination on what the future will look like. But real science is even more fascinating. Echoing Life, the Universe, and Everything, tongue in cheek, scientists have been searching for The Theory of Everything. An unemployed surfer dude who also happens to be a physicist has come up with an elegant and simple solution.

Despite this unusual career path, his proposal is remarkable because, by the arcane standards of particle physics, it does not require highly complex mathematics.

Even better, it does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space, when some rival theories need ten or even more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts. And it may even be possible to test his theory, which predicts a host of new particles, perhaps even using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year...


In his post, Solomonia pointed out this interesting diagram Garrett Lisi drew up in support of this new Theory of Everything:



As Spock would say, "Fascinating".

1 comment:

Deadman said...

I always thought that show should have been called Dr. WHY...