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Representations [[ Harold and Aaron sitting on a hilltop under starry skies... ]] / Aaron: When we understand something, we've developed some sort of mental model for how that thing works. / Aaron: In a sense, it's as if there's a replica of that thing, albeit an abstract virtual one, saved in our brain. / Harold: Then from a materialistic point of view, creation of knowledge is a process in which disparate parts of nature, that of your brain and that of the world outside it, become intertwined as better representations of each other. / Aaron: Sounds like you understand what I mean. / Harold: [[ Happily ]] Hey, that means our brains have become more intertwined! / Aaron: Now that's just scary. / {{ Alt-Text: A discussion of what the creation of knowledge means from a materialistic point of view. }} / {{ Title: If this doesn't make sense, then I blame the fact that I was drinking when I wrote it. But if it makes sense, then I take all the credit! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=572
The Ultimate Representations [[Scene: starry night; landscape with no trees.]] / Harold: If the advance of knowledge is nature organizing itself as better representations of itself*, where does it all end? / [* - See previous comic for 1st part of this discussion.] / Aaron: I guess the ultimate representation is the creation of reality itself, like a virtual world. And even if humans don't achieve this, given the size of the universe, it's gotta happen somewhere. / Harold: Wow, so starting with our universe and the process of evolution, nature develops better and better representations of itself through the beings that evolve, until eventually a new universe is born, and it all starts again. / [[Scene: zoom back to show characters in silhouette on round hilltop, tree on left , starry sky and glow along wavy horizon.]] / Aaron: If that's the case, why should we think that our universe was the starting point? / {{Title Text: And if you believe the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, there are a LOT of opportunities for a virtual world to be produced somewhere at some time.}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=573
Epiphany [[ Ferdinand sitting in front of a television while Harold looks on... ]] / Ferdinand: I've just had an epiphany! I'm leading such a pathetic life!!! / Ferdinand: All I do all day is read comics, play video games, and watch superhero animated movies. / Ferdinand: Maybe I need to do more-- like raise some kids. / Harold: Is that so you can have a more fulfilling life? / Ferdinand: Heck no! It's so I can do all the same stuff, but justify it as "quality time." / {{ Alt-Text: If all you do is read comics, play video games, and watch superhero and animated movies, what can you do to justify it? }} / {{ Title: Uh oh, my secret's out! Wait, my wife doesn't read this site, does she? }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=574
Giving Versus Taking Annual Taxes Paid Versus Money Received / [["Federal Spending Received Per Capita" on x-axis, "Federal Taxes Paid Per Capita" on y-axis]] / Red: States that voted Republican in 3 or 4 of the last 4 presidential elections / Purple: States that voted twice for each party / Blue: States that voted Democratic in 3 or 4 of the elections / Data from the Tax Foundation for 2004, taxfoundation.org / {{Alt text: Next time right-wing pundits complains about government handouts, show them this chart. Also note that the Tax Foundation is considered by many to be a conservative organization.}} / {{keywords: plot, graph, politics, spending, budget, deficit}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=575
Artist and Audience [[ Harold and Aaron sitting back against a tree on a point of land. ]] / Harold: What's the proper relationship between and artist and his audience? / Harold: If the artist always caters to the audience, then it's pandering. / Harold: If the artist ignores the audience, then it's arrogance. / Harold: What if the artist just gives up and kills himself? / Aaron: Then he's a legend. / {{ Alt-Text: What's the proper relationship between an artist and his audience? }} / {{ Title: That's why the smart thing to do is to wait until your popularity peaks and then fake your own death! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=576
 
Lil' Calamities and Curious George [[ Lil'Ferdinand, watching TV. ]] / Adult: TV again? Why don't you do something constructive, like read a book? / [[ Adult (off panel) hands a book to Lil'Ferd.]] / Lil'Ferd: Man, I hate reading! What is this?... "Curious George"? / [[ We now see a page from a "Curious George" book, where George (a monkey) encounters a large bottle of "Ether". ]] / [[ George the monkey wanders by, sees a bottle labeled "Ether". ]] / Caption: George was very curious. / [[ George opens the bottle...]] / Caption: It smelled funny! / [[ Illustration shows things going wavy, George gets dizzy ]] / Caption: Suddenly his head began to turn. / [[ More visual distortions ]] / Caption: Then he felt as if he were flying. / [[ Even more visual distortions ]] / Caption: Then rings and stars danced before his eyes / [[ George collapses, eyes closed, with a smile. ]] / Caption: Then everything went dark... / [[ Final Curious George drawing with the monkey laid out flat on his back asleep, still smiling. ]] / [[ Return to Lil'Calamities: Lil'Ferdinand with a big grin on his face ]] / Lil'Ferd: Reading is awesome! / {{ Alt-Text: Lil' Ferd learns about the joy of reading Curious George. }} / {{ Title: I came across this for the first time when I was reading to my daughter, and needless to say, it took me a little while to formulate an explanation of what was going on. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=577
Disconnect [[Harold and Aaron are out for a walk with a sunset in the background and red trees.]] / Harold: In our modern Western society, we value critical thinking and the scientific method for acquiring knowledge. / Harold: Nevertheless, our education system still puts a large emphasis on rote learning and instilling habits via psychological pressure. / Harold: Even though it feels like people are learning science, what lesson are they really absorbing? / [[Camera pans back to show the silhouettes of the characters in front of the sunset.]] / Aaron: Maybe that's why we live in a world where people can spend their weekdays performing genetic tests on blood samples and their weekends praying to supernatural deities.
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=578
The Treachery of Images Raymond: The text bluntly reminds us that the picture is nothing more than a representation. / Harold: But there's also the irony that _everything_ we see is really just a representation. / Harold: What do you think, Ferd? / Ferdinand: [[weeping]] It's so _sad_!! What could be more heartbreaking than to realize it's _not_ _real_?!? / [[ Our guys are viewing a painting by Ren? Magritte of a thick piece of bacon, with the text "Ceci n'est pas du bacon." (This is not bacon.) ]] / Ferdinand: Sob! / {{ Title: You see, Magritte was actually making a reference to Francis Bacon in this painting.... }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=579
The Tweaker Strikes Back Text Panel: For the upcoming release of Star Wars on Blu-Ray, here's a sneak peek at some of the changes made by George Lucas. / Caption: The Cantina aliens are replaced by cuddly creatures... / [[ Obi-Wan and Luke look at a blue cat, red dog, and green bear creatures. ]] / Obi-Wan: What happened to the wretched hive of scum and villainy? / Red-dog: It wasn't marketable. / Green-bear: Want a refreshing Pepsi? / Caption: Greedo now shoots ten times before Han shoots back... / [[ Han, seated against the wall behind a table, confronts Greedo]] / Han: You realize you're missing from about three feet away, right? / Greedo: Can you just shoot me and put me out of my misery? / Caption: Yoda now talks in Lolspeak / Luke: But I need your help, I've come back to complete the training. / Yoda: Already knoe u, dat which u ned. / Sub-caption: George Lucas, u killd mah childhood! / {{ Title: Thousands of years from now archeologists will find an original film reel of The Empire Strikes Back, and they'll be flabbergasted to learn that Lando wasn't originally Luke and Leia's step brother from Princess Amidala's affair with Mace Windu. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=580
The Physics of Math [[Aaron and Harold are walking through the woods]] / Aaron: Biology is just applied Chemistry, and Chemistry is just applied Physics, but Math stands above them all as the most pure discipline. / Aaron: Mathematical truths are absolutely necessary and transcendent, but our knowledge of these truths always comes from proofs. / Aaron: The act of developing a proof always relies on some sort of physical process, whether it be in a brain or computer, and this cannot contradict what is true about nature. / [[Aaron and Harold stop walking, Aaron faces Harold, and Ferdinand peeks his head in from the right side]] / Aaron: So ultimately, whether a mathematical proposition is provable or unprovable, decidable or undecidable, depend on the laws of Physics. / Ferdinand: In other words, Math is Physics bitch!
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=581
 
Interbreeding [[ Harold and Aaron at a lake, sitting at the end of a dock. ]] / Harold: The conventional view has been that humans today descended from a single population that arose in Africa and replaced all other Homo species without interbreeding. / Harold: But recent evidence suggests that Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and other archaic species that lived alongside human ancestors have contributed to the DNA of modern humans. / Aaron: Well, that supports a long-held suspicion of mine / Harold: What, that we still have a lot to learn about the history of humans? / Aaron: No, that if given the chance, people will have sex with anything. / {{ Title: I'm not sure how it would work, but we must have some sheep DNA in us. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=582
Serene for Now [[ Harold and Aaron sitting on a hill top under starry skies ]] / Harold: The nighttime sky sure is peaceful. We're pretty lucky that such a serene place like earth exists for us to live on. / Aaron: Serene? Asteroids wider than a half-mile strike the earth every 250 thousand years or so. That means there's been tens of thousands of these collisions since life has been on earth. / Aaron: It's not that we live in an especially peaceful place... / Aaron: ... it's just that the timescales of our experiences are so short. / {{ Title: At least this is what Phil Plait tells us, but of course he's just a godless liberal. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=583
Time Dilation [[ Ferdinand at a bar, trying to pick up a young lady. ]] / Ferdinand: According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, time goes slower the lower something is in a gravitation field. / Ferdinand: That means I'm actually younger down here [[ Ferd points down himself]] closer to the earth than at my head. Interested in experiencing some young and vigorous equipment? / Lady: How much younger is it? / Ferdinand: After thirty years it's about one hundred nanoseconds younger. / Lady: [[ with a big smile... ]] So about the time it takes for you to have an intimate moment? / Ferdinand: Yeah-- Wait, I mean NO! / {{ Title: When I was writing this comic, I was surprised to find out that this effect was not as ridiculously small as I expected. }} / {{keywords: physics, Einstein, relativity}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=584
Spreading Science Text Panel: As Science become increasingly important in our society, what is the best way to inspire kids to study these subjects? / Caption: Fill a large auditorium with people with Science degrees, and sprinkle in kids that are less interested in science... / [[ We see a young kid in an auditorium seat surrounded by adults ]] / Kid: [[Thoughts:]] Whatever this is, I hope it's not Science. / Caption: Show a slideshow of comics from "XKCD" and "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal"... / Adult-to-the-left: Ha! Ha! Sweeps out the same area every night! / Adult-to-the-right: Fluorine wouldn't bond to her! Ha! Ha! / Kid: [[Thoughts:]] Why is everyone laughing?... I am intrigued! / Caption: Soon a new generation of Science enthusiasts is born. / [[ Kid, now meeting with a guidance counselor ]] / Counselor: So you want to study Physics for the career opportunities? / Kid: No! Zach drew something about quantum tunneling dicks, and I must understand the punchline! / {{ Title: Sometimes organizations make lame, superhero-style comics like "Laser Man" or whatever, and somehow these are supposed to inspire kids to study science. Isn't the answer to this problem obvious? Dick jokes! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=585
A Time for Every Skill [[ Aaron and Harold take a walk. ] / Harold: People often think of survival of the fittest as survival of the absolute best, but really it's only best for a given environment. / Harold: Viewed this way, every skill, no matter how obscure, may have some use if just given the right situation to thrive in. / Aaron: It makes one wonder what kind of seemingly useless skills at one time may become advantageous at another time? / Caption: Twenty thousand years ago... / [[ A scene with cave dwellers- A skinny cave man is tied to a spit, starting to roast over a fire, while a more burly cave man walks off with a couple cave-babes. ]] / Skinny caveman: Strength may give you the upper hand now, but someday status will be determined by one's ability to write Star Wars fan fiction, and then _my_ kind will rule! / Burly caveman: Whatever! / {{ Title: If only we could have kept George Lucas to only doing fan fiction. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=586
 
Michele Bachmann Text Panel: Michele Bachmann doesn't think Evolution or Global Warming are true, and she's said the cervical cancer vaccine has caused mental retardation. Here's an exclusive look at her views on other Science topics. / Caption: On Gravity: / Michele Bachmann: Why should we believe something that's only a "theory"? / Caption: On the periodic table... / Michele Bachmann: Students need to hear all sides and decide for themselves. That's why I support teaching that the elements are Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. / Caption: On the Big Bang... / Michele Bachmann: Clearly it's not true because everyone knows there's no sound in space. / Sub-Caption: Vote republican if you too and anti-reality! / {{ Title: The problem with the Republicans becoming the anti-science party is that science has a pretty good track record of being right in the end. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=587
Life Without Death [[ Harold and Aaron take a walk... ]] / Harold: It won't happen during our lifetime, and maybe not the next generation, but someday soon we'll have the technology to prevent death from old age. / Harold: The afterlife is such an important aspect of so many faiths. What will happen to religion in a world where people can potentially live forever? / Aaron: Don't worry, something can always be found for people to be afraid of. / {{ Title: Like clowns, there will always be those goddamn clowns! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=588
Presidential Prejudice Ferdinand: In 2008, the U.S. finally elected a black president. But looking ahead to 2012, there's still a lot that can be done for underrepresented groups. / Ferdinand: Those with facial hair clearly face prejudice. We haven't had a president elected with a beard or mustache in over 100 years! / Ferdinand: There's also a preference for tall candidates. We haven't elected a president that was shorter than the average U.S. male since William McKinley in 1900. / Raymond: So _you_ want a short, hairy president? Why do I sense a bias? / Ferdinand: McKinley was assassinated in 1910! Coincidence? I think not! / {{ Title: On the other hand, from 1861 to 1909 all but two presidential elections were won by candidates that wore either beards or mustaches. This is also known as the Golden Age. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=589
Who Benefits from US Prosperity? [[ Today's comic is a chart. ]] / [[ Heading: Who Benefits from the United States' Prosperity? ]] / [[ Left (vertical) heading: Percentage Change Since 1967 ]] / [[ Left scale runs from negative 40% to positive 100% in 20% increments. ]] / [[ At 0%, a horizontal line extends rightward showing the year, starting at 1965. The line is marked in 5-year increments with every 10th year labeled starting with 1970 and ending with 2010. An arrow points towards the future. ]] / [[ All lines plotted on the graph start at 0% in 1967 and end at 2010. Reading the lines from bottom-most to top-most, we have: (percentages/years are approximate) ]] / [[ Purple line, showing "Minimum Wage". ]] / [[ "Minimum Wage" immediately goes negative, down to -20% in 1973, rise to -10% in 1974 then staying in the -10 to -15% range until about 1980 when a steady slide begins, reaching about -40% in 1988. Rise to -30% in 1991, fall to -35% in 1995, rise to -25% 1997, then a steady fall back to about -40% in 2006. "Minimum wage" rises to about -20% in 2009 then slips back a little going into 2010. ]] / [[ Blue line, showing "Median household income". ]] / [[ "Median household income" starts rising to about +10% in 1969, then stays at about the +10% level, give or take, until maybe +8% in 1983. A steady rise starts in 1983, reaching a peak of +20% in 1989, then falls back to +15% in 1991. It holds at that level until 1993-4 then starts to rise, reaching +25-30% in 2000. "Median household income" then falls a little but holds about steady until 2007, then start to slide, reaching +20% in 2010. ]] / / [[ Red line, showing "Income of the top 5% of households". ]] / [[ "Income of the top 5%" initially starts to fall but quickly returns to +4% by 1969. It holds steady at +4% until 1971 then it quickly rises to match the "Median household income", which it follows closely until 1981. A rise begins in 1981, reaching over +40% in 1989, but then falls to +30-35% in 1991. Slight growth from '91 to '92, then a steep rise to +60% in 1993, and a continued rise to +100% in 2000. "Income of the top 5%" fell in the early 2000s, to +85%, but recovered to +100% in 2007. Since then it has fallen to only 80% in 2010. ]] / [[ Green line, showing "US GDP per capita". ]] / [[ "US GDP per capita" has seen fairly steady growth, reaching a peak of +100% in 2007. There are plateaus or slight declines from 1969-70, 1973-75, 1977-83, 1989-91, 2000-02. Since the high in 2007, "US GDP per capita" fell back to +90% in 2009 but was growing again as it reached 2010. ]] / [[ "US GDP per capita" briefly lagged the "Median household income" from 1967 to mid 1971, but since then the gap between them has been growing steadily. ]] / [[ "US GDP per capita" was exceeded by the "Income of the top 5%" from 1993 to 2002, a difference of about 10-15% at its greatest in 2000-2001. ]] / [[ Bottom Caption: All figures adjusted for inflation. Incomes taken from the US Census Bureau at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/. Minimum wage taken from the US Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm. US GDP per capita taken from The World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/indicator. ]] / {{alt: As the US GDP per capita continues to rise, even when adjusted for inflation, which segments of society are benefiting? }} / {{title: Unfortunately, the US Census Bureau only records the income of households and not individuals, so somewhere it should be taken into account that there are more two income households these days than there was in the past. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=590
Lying [[ Harold and Aaron, walking along an open ridge-line...]] / Harold: Lying is ubiquitous in out society, especially the "white lies" we use to spare feelings-- from telling someone she doesn't look fat in a dress to hiding details about past relationships. / Harold: But even when we have good intentions, by lying we presume that we are better judges of how much someone should know about the truth than they are. / Harold: This is an amazingly disrespectful attitude, which is particularly sad since such situations usually involve those we care about. / Aaron: Well, Immanuel Kant did say that _all_ lying is morally wrong. / Ferdinand: [[Poking his head into the frame... ]] Kant also died a virgin! / {{alt: Lying is ubiquitous in our society, especially the "white lies" we use to spare feelings. }} / {{title: True story: I wrote Ferd's line in the last panel first, and then I looked online to see if Kant really was a virgin. I'm not sure what this means. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=591
 
Ig Nobel Prizes Text Panel: The Ig Nobel prizes were recently awarded for "Research that makes people laugh then think." Here's a look at some of the winners. / Caption: The Chemistry Prize was for determining the ideal density of airborne Wasabi for waking people in an emergency. / Ferdinand: But really, the best way to wake people is by shoving the Wasabi right in the nostrils / Harold: [[ with green stuff in his nose, grimacing and yelling ]] YEEEAH!!! / Caption: The Medicine Prize went to research on how well people concentrate when they need to urinate. / Ferdinand: Now that your bladder is full, concentrate on fixing this leaky faucet. / Harold: That's not fair! [[gritting his teeth while the Faucet drips...]] / Caption: The Biology Prize was for discovering a beetle that only mates with a certain Australian beer bottle. / Ferdinand: Amazing! They hump beer bottles, but never wine. / Aaron: People get paid for this? / Sub-Caption: I guess beetles are more discriminating than humans / {{alt: Last week the Ig Nobel Prizes were announced. Here's a summary of some of the winners, including beetles that hump Australian beer bottles. }} / {{title: If you're planning on making your own Wasabi emergency alert system, I have bad news for you. A patent has already been filed under US patent application 2010/0308995 A1. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=592
Then and Now [[ Harold and Aaron take a walk. ]] / Aaron: Fifty thousand years ago people went from birth to death, repeating the exact same routines and customs as any previous generations they could remember. / Aaron: They had no expectations of any changes or innovations within their lifetimes. / Harold: And now?... / Ferdinand: [[ poking into the panel- ]] What's with this iPhone 4S $#*% ?! I wanted an iPhone 5! / {{alt: Fifty thousand years ago people went from birth to death, with no expectations of any changes or innovations within their lifetimes. }} / {{title: Apple should have really surprised everyone and instead announce the iPhone 6. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=593
Ten Years Later [[ A two part graph ]] / [[ Left half heading: "Deaths in the U.S. in the last ten years" ]] / [[ A tall blue column represents the deaths due to "Cancer": 5.61 million. ]] / [[ A thin blue line, almost no height at all, represents deaths due to "Terrorist Attacks": 2,977 ]] / [[ Right half heading: "Money spent by the U.S. in the last ten years" ]] / [[ A small red column represents the "National Cancer Institute": $50 billion ]] / [[ A tall red column, matching the tall blue column at the left, represents the "Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan": $1.26 Trillion ]] / {{alt: Ten years after the start of the Afghanistan War, here's a look at where US priorities lie. }} / {{title: Sorry for the size of today's comic. I wanted to draw it to scale and couldn't make the terrorist attack bar any less than one pixel. }} / {{keywords: war, politics, money, budget, graph, plot}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=594
Destructive Forces [[Harold and Aaron are walking through the forest.]] / Harold: Throughout history, religion has been a destructive force, bringing great suffering, torture, and death. / Harold: But with the many weapons of destruction created by physicists, biologists, and chemists in the 20th century, is science any better? / Aaron: No one has ever murdered in the name of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. / {{alt: Is science just as destructive as religion?}} / {{title: Schr?dinger's cat would beg to differ.}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=595
Making the Big Time [[ Harold on a park bench with a young man. They're talking, the man happily describing his accomplishments. ]] / Harold: So you're an actor? / Man: Yup, I fell in love with acting at age five, and have been involved with theatres one way or another ever since. / Man: I finished first in my class at Juilliard School, then won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. I've starred as Hamlet five times on Broadway and won two Tonys. / Man: Most recently, I got a part in a Hollywood feature film. / Harold: Congrats, what's the role? / Man: [[ not so happy ]] Crack Dealer. / [[ Harold looks a bit appalled. ]] / [[ Just a coincidence that the young man is not white? ]] / {{alt: Some commentary about Hollywood and black actors. }} / {{title: It's ironic that Hollywood is supposed to be run by these progressive people, but in many ways it's so backwards. I guess that's what they get for having to appeal to the lowest common denominator. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=596
 
Irreversible [[ Ferdinand and Harold, sitting with their backs against a tree, on an island or spit, looking out across the water. ]] / Harold: Sooner or later we all make mistakes in life. / Harold: But frustratingly, no matter how hard we try, it's impossible to reverse the past. / Ferdinand: #@%*ing entropy. / {{alt: No matter how hard we try, it's impossible to reverse the past. }} / {{title: I'd blame it on Boltzmann, but he came to such a sad end that I'd feel guilty doing it. }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=597
An Unprecedented Opportunity [[ Ferdinand sitting in front of a computer, as Raymond watches. ]] / Raymond: The Internet provides an amazing and unprecedented opportunity for self-expression. / Raymond: No time in history has it been easier for someone to share their singular vision with thousands or even millions of people without any editorial filtering or gatekeepers. / Ferdinand: That's a great point. Someday I should take advantage of this by doing my own blog or website. / Raymond: Someday? Why don't you start right now? / Ferdinand: I'm busy telling someone that their blog sucks. / {{alt: The Internet provides an amazing and unprecedented opportunity for self-expression. }} / {{title: But don't let that discourage you from posting a comment on today's comic, especially if you have something nice to say! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=598
The Great Debate [[ Not the usual cast of characters today. Two men, rapping into mics. ]] / Harlow Shapley: Da outer part of da galaxy is where da Sun's at, if ya playa hataz say "no" then rat-tat-tat goes my gat, spiral nebulae are part of da Milky Way, otherwise Andromeda's too #%@*ing far away! / Heber D. Curtis: The Sun's near da center of our galaxy, surrounded by starz like hos clingin' to me, spiral nebulae are actually other galaxies, and if you don't agree then I say "bitch pleaz!" / [[Text panel: _FACT_: The great debate of 1920 would have been awesome as a freestyle Rap battle. ]] / {{alt: The Great Debate, also called the Shapley-Curtis Debate, was an influential debate in 1920 between the astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis which concerned the nature of spiral nebulae and the size of the universe. }} / {{title: Next up: Newton vs Leibniz! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=599
The End of the Iraq War [[ Harold rushes in with news, finds Aaron at a table reading a newspaper. ]] / Harold: Did you hear? After over eight years, the Iraq war is ending! Obama announced that all troops will be home by December 31st! / Aaron: So can we use the money saved from the first two weeks out of Iraq to finally fund the James Webb space telescope? / {{alt: Friday Obama announced that by the end of the year war in Iraq will be over and all the troops will be home. }} / {{title: But after that, this is it, no more money! }}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=600
Studying Time [[Ferdinand and a guy are sitting on a bench.]] / Ferdinand: So what do you do? / Theoretical physicist: Theoretical physics -- I study the nature of time and time travel. / Ferdinand: What about particle physics? / Theoretical physicist: Theoretical Physicists in the 1960s and 1970s were incredibly successful in developing the standard model. It still stands today as our best theory of elementary particles and their interactions. / Ferdinand: So do you study this time stuff because you can contribute more to an understudied area of research? / Theoretical physicist: No... / Theoretical physicist: It's so I can figure out how to go back in time to the 1960s, take out all the theoretical physicists, and have all their glory for myself! / Ferdinand: Awesome! You'll be the physics-ator! / {{Alt text: Hasta la vista, Steven Weinberg!}} / {{keywords: physics, Sean Carroll}}
http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=601
 

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