The long winter is over and we’re celebrating spring in the traditional way: with Irish dancing and higher order mathematics. This time we’re doing it with some friends. For those interested in what we were solving Polly had this: Ryan had this: And both of us had to solve this: »
Though we all know that our senses don’t see the world as it is — what we perceive as an image is a bunch of photons bouncing off of an object, what we perceive as sound is a series of pressure waves hitting our eardrums — we live mostly separated from this fact. We can’t actually perceive the differences between the real world and our perception of it, so it’s an eas... »
I have a minor knowledge of computer science. In that I literally have a minor in computer science. There were never many other women around, even the huge lecture-hall classes. My classmates were somewhat confused about why I was there; not only was I only taking a few CS classes for my minor, I was also an art student. Baffling! So we didn’t hang out, and I essentially solo-ed my way throu... »
Superspeed is a popular superpower but it comes with some challenges when rationalizing the physics behind it: friction at supersonic speeds would tear a human’s face off, accelerating and stopping would require impossible traction, a stray pebble in the air would rip through them like a bullet, staying on the ground when running on hilly terrain would be impossible… the list goes on. ... »
In preparation to a Panel at CONvergence, I’m going to explore some of the oddities in the superhero dress code. More specifically, I intend to explore the physics needed for them to do what they do. My first exploration will be into the drag forces on capes. The cape is a rather popular accessory for the comic book hero. Their aesthetic appeal clearly outweighs the tripping and strangulatio... »
THE BACKSTORY Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a St. Pi-trick's Day party, hosted at the home of Marie Porter of Celebration Generation fame. You may have seen her geeky cakes, costumes, and/or other artistic endeavors popping up around the web. You may have even seen stories about how her home was hit by a tornado around a year ago, and how part of her home's restoration invo... »
Casimir Fornalski is a regular Skepchick and Mad Art Lab reader (username casatron) and a professional graphic designer. We became friends when he started doing design work for Cocktail Lab, and I soon realized that he was involved in the San Francisco and online atheist communities. Now Casimir serves as the official designer for the Atheist Film Festival, for which he recently designed a brand n... »
A recent video from Feminist Frequency has been making the internet rounds. The gist of the video is that the majority of best picture nominees for this year’s Oscars fail the Bechdel test. For those new to the idea, the Bechdel test is a way of determining whether or not a movie contains meaningful female characters. It was initially presented at a tongue-in-cheek shot at the gender bias in movie... »
