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Private Message added 2013-02-08 |
| Date | 2013-02-07 |
| Location |  |
| Message | George, I was reading (again) your article about solar panels and albedo from a 2009 SA post. It seems to me an extremely important question and I'm wondering if since the time you wrote that post whether you have run across research that might clarify the issues and give a clearer calculation of the carbon offset benefit vs the reduction in albedo. It would be great if there were a decision tool that individual home or building owners could use to sort through the question Thanks Joe Dempsey |
| Date | 2013-01-27 |
| Location | |
| Message | Dear Sir, I was recently going through a stack of old Scientific Americans when I ran across the September, 2010 edition. As a mathematician interested in the nature of time and space, I read your article --Could Time End?--possibly again. I have a question, actually quite a few, but one stands out. You write: "... the timelines formed by successive moments in our lives get bent so that they are lines through space instead." What, exactly, do you mean by "get bent"? Now, this is a problem, I find, with all popularized science writing; transitional ideas are glossed over by handy and overly simplistic metaphors, seldom elaborated on, as though the writer wasn't quite sure, and so jumped over the moon. Could you please explain what you mean by "get bent" and also what causes this bending? Thank you. Tom Dorn |
Private Message added 2013-01-20 |
| Date | 2013-01-13 |
| Location | |
| Message | Hi George, I just read "Free Will and Quantum Clones" on "The Best Science Writing Online 2012", and thought it was excellent. I am a science aficionado myself, and have been thinking about science writing - not to make a living, but just for the reward of it. My question to you, if you will kindly answer it, is: What does it take to write excellent science writing? What makes a writing piece excellent and not simply good or ok? What preparation, skills, or traits do do you find in successful science writers? Apologies if this adds to an already large batch of mail. I do thank you for taking a few minutes to respond though. Thanks! - Tony |
Private Message added 2013-01-03 |
| Date | 2012-11-25 |
| Location |  |
| Message | Hi George, I am a 3rd year undergraduate Physics student at Imperial College London. I read your Scientific American article, "Could Time End?" with interest. However, I was wondering if you could given me a little more insight into the Big Lurch; more specifically when you mention matter working "itself up into a frenzy"? Your help on the matter would be greatly appreciated, as I am giving a related presentation as part of my course. Regards Keiran Suchak |
Private Message added 2012-10-21 |
| Date | 2012-10-19 |
| Location | |
| Message | Dear George (if I may), I write the Templeton Report for the John Templeton Foundation. In the next issue, we are reporting on the New Frontiers in Astronomy and Cosmology conference in Philadelphia. By all accounts it was a tremendous event. I hope you won't mind me asking for your sense of it. I hope these questions might help. If you were able to jot down some answers, not necessarily responding to all of them; or else suggest a time when we might speak, I'd be very grateful. (If you were able to do this in the next couple of days that would be very helpful indeed.) 1. First, thinking about the Big Questions around which the event was framed, what was the most interesting or important contribution you heard on: i. The earliest state of the universe? ii. Is the universe unique or part of a multiverse? iii. What is the origin of the complexity? iv. Are we alone in the universe? 2. There was a lot of engagement between the speakers and the students taking part. Did you gain a sense of this and the issues coming up? 3. From the essays you heard, what contributions are highlights for you? 4. From the research proposals, what projects are highlights for you? 5. Any other elements that would be important to cover? Once again, very many thanks indeed for any help you are able to offer. Very best wishes, Mark Vernon |
Private Message added 2012-10-14 |
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