Robbie Gonzalez

Today’s XKCD Finally Takes Physics To Task

To be fair, though, physics has had this coming for years. Had this coming. What do I mean by that? Back in 2008, Randall Munroe published “Purity,” a single-panel comic that characterized sociology as applied psychology, psychology as applied biology, biology as applied chemistry, chemistry as applied physics, and physics as applied math. Maybe you’ve…

The Answer To This Puzzle Is Not What You’d Expect

There’s an obvious answer to this classic puzzle, and there’s the correct answer. Which will you choose? This week’s puzzle was suggested by reader Eric Ennis. It’s a classic brain teaser that reads a little like a distance problem (i.e. “if Train A leaves the station at such and such a time traveling such and…

How Should We Address Science’s Selective Memory?

At Slate, Ben Lillie reflects on the ongoing battle between those who would build a colossal, $1.5-billion telescope atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and the native Hawaiians who regard the dormant volcano as a sacred place. The conflict, says Lillie, is emblematic of a larger, and largely unspoken, truth about science: that many of its milestones…

This week in outstanding, eye-catching headlines: “Ancient megadrought entombed dodos in poisonous fecal cocktail.” The science is pretty excellent, too; David Shultz has the details at Science. Contact the author at [email protected].

A Glimpse Inside The Secretive World Of Human Cannonballs

Once she has lowered herself into the mouth of the cannon and slid down to the base of the barrel, Gemma “The Jet” Kirby performs a series of breath-synchronized movements that seem more suited to yoga or lamaze than to one of the deadliest stunts in circus history. This sequence is the culmination of hours…

How To Crack A Master Lock In Eight Tries Or Less

Security researcher Samy Kamkar developed a web app that can help you crack Master Lock’s ubiquitous padlock in a matter of minutes. Fiddling with your lock as described in this video gives you three numbers, which the app uses to generate eight three-number sequences, one of which will open your lock. See also: H/t Boing…

Could You Ride The Backwards Brain Bike?

The “backwards brain bicycle” is built for frustration. It turns right when you turn left, left when you turn right. Destin, of YouTube channel Smarter Every Day, thought it would be easy to translate his mechanical knowledge of how the backwards bike works into a smooth ride. He was wrong (for a few months, at…

The Disneyland Measles Outbreak Is Over In The U.S., But Not In Canada

On April 17, California health officials declared the large measles outbreak that began last December at Disneyland over. But the outbreak remains active in Canada, where its persistence highlights the looming risk of measles’ return in the United States. Photo Credit: AP All told, the Disneyland measles outbreak infected 147 people in the United States,…

New Science Magazine Is All About The World’s Coasts And Their Residents

Hakai Magazine is a newly launched science publication that will report on science, society, and the environment along the world’s coastlines, which are home not only to nearly half of the planet’s human population, but countless other species of plants and animals. Our stories are about the coast—past, present, and future. Around the globe, coastal…

A Scientific Guide To Surviving Summer

The first day of summer is fast approaching – will you be prepared for suntanning, swimming, and swarms of bugs? Here’s our handy guide to surviving the sultriest of seasons, with SCIENCE. Image by Jim Cooke, sources via Shutterstock. Why Do Mosquitos Bite Some People And Not Others? Above: Rockefeller University’s Emily Dennis offers her…

You Can Solve This Puzzle By Following One Simple Rule

It’s time for another blindfold puzzle! As we’ve seen before, brain teasers like this one aren’t even proper puzzles when you can see what’s in front of you. But remove vision from the equation, and you’re left with a seriously devious riddle. Sunday Puzzle #29: Counting Coins This week’s puzzle was recommended by reader Mikko…

Here’s A Handy Introduction To The Concept Of Spacetime

The latest episode of the PBS YouTube series Space Time is a great little eight-minute primer on, well, spacetime. Really looking forward to future episodes, which will explore the concepts that this video introduces in greater detail. [PBS via Laughing Squid]

On Leaving The Anti-GMO Movement

In this week’s NYT Sunday Review, British author, journalist, and environmental activist Mark Lynas recounts how he was converted to genetically modified food. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images A lifelong environmentalist, I opposed genetically modified foods in the past. Fifteen years ago, I even participated in vandalizing field trials in Britain. Then I changed my mind.…

Fuck Belle Gibson And The Enablers She Rode In On

“Wellness Guru” Belle Gibson lied about having terminal brain cancer and made a killing peddling bogus cures. At Boing Boing, Xeni Jardin excoriates Gibson and “the culture of magical thinking and hero idolization that built her myth into a profitable business, ignoring decades of real science, and placing vulnerable people with cancer at real risk…

There Is More Than One Type Of Near-Death Experience

Researchers have attempted to categorize near-death experiences according to seven major themes. Photo Credit: Gareth via flickr | CC BY-NC 2.0 At BBC Future, Rachel Nuwer describes the work of Sam Parnia, director of resuscitation research (what a title!) at Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York. Parnia, along with several colleagues, has…

Why Are There Clouds And How Do They Form?

The latest episode of MinuteEarth offers a surprisingly deep dive on the origins of clouds, (explaining, for example, why warm, humid air is more buoyant than warm, dry air), and in characteristically clear, concise, and accessible terms. One of my favorite installments in recent memory. Contact the author at [email protected].

Everything You Need to Know to Catch This Week’s Lyrid Meteor Shower

This year’s Lyrid meteor shower is expected to peak between midnight and dawn on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23rd. Here’s what you need to know to spot as many meteors as possible. Above: The 2012 Lyrid meteor shower, as seen from aboard the International Space Station. The flashes of white light are emanating…

Large-Scale Study Confirms: Still No Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism

The study, the results of which are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved a cohort of nearly 100,000 children, and is the latest in a long line of research that shows no link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism spectrum disorders. Above: Luke Tanner, 7, receives the combined Measles Mumps…

This week is National Park Week! From April 18—26, parks across the U.S. will be celebrating with walks, movies, talks, and tours, which you can find by searching the National Park Week Event Calendar. You can also click here to find the park nearest you.

Crickets Alone Will Not Save You, Futurist Foodies

“Eating bugs is a great idea!” shout future-minded gourmets, the kinds of people who eat waxworm tacos willingly and feed bug cookies to their coworkers. But are insects like crickets and grasshoppers really the solution to our environmental and food-security woes? Well… maybe not. Not entirely, at least. https://gizmodo.com/i-ate-fried-caterpillars-and-so-can-you-512202482 https://gizmodo.com/bug-eating-is-a-great-idea-and-we-should-all-be-doing-m-1494525087 https://gizmodo.com/should-you-really-start-eating-insects-509900937 At Real Future, Alexis…