As smartphones increase in popularity, so have smartphone games. This year, The Entertainment Software Association reported that smartphone games are the fastest growing game market in the industry, quickly overtaking dedicated handheld systems like the PSP or Nintendo DS. This surprised me at first, but then I remembered that just a few months ago, I was playing Plants vs Zombies on my commutes t... »
When I first set about making comics about science and skepticism, the goal was deceivingly straightforward: Draw comics about science. In execution, the exercise is still, nearly two years later, a grueling, learning experience. In looking for guidance on how to concisely explain ideas in comic narrative, I often turned to the works of British cartoonist Darryl Cunningham. No doubt, many of you a... »
So I stayed up all night in order to watch the July 4 CERN announcement. It was worth it, and in case you somehow missed the news: We haz a boson. The various detectors at the Large Hadron Collider detected a particle consistent to that of the Higgs with the needed 5 Sigma certainty. In some cases, the combined data from detectors exceeded 5 Sigma (which is 99.9999% certainty that the event being ... »
Disclaimer: I’m going to use the word “asshole” a lot in this post. I will try to mix it up a bit with “asshat” and “crotchnozzle,” but apologies in advance. Also if you’re already up to speed on all of the instances mentioned in the comic, go ahead and skip to the bottom. Of course, everything below is my personal opinion and not any sort of profess... »
Last Tuesday, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) delivered a press conference and presentation that set hearts alight and renewed new hope in the search for the Higgs Boson, the legendary particle—part of the aptly named Higgs Field—that could make or break the Standard Model of Physics. Normally, I detest science-by-press-conference; I have been burned before. But alas, my job ... »
Today the collective voice of reason’s tongue became that much duller. Christopher Hitchens died today; his final moments spent among friends. As a dying man he lived more than most healthy living people. He took responsibility for his mistakes, and placed no blame for his affliction. He burnt his candle at both ends, and oh, how we basked in his light. »
On December 10th, 1815, Augusta Ada King, born Augusta Ada Byron, known later as Ada Lovelace, came into the world. Born the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron, she would grow to become an accomplished mathematician, and arguably one of the first computer programmers. »
Last I was here, it was for the anniversary of Galileo’s landmark, first observations of the moon via telescope. Today I have a story about another moon observation, one that involves debate, peer review, and comics. See, when I first set out to draw science comics, I had decided from the get-go that, like science, I would revise comics if new evidence came to light. »
