Category Archives: Entertainment

You Kids, Knock Off That Horseplay

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Sean Carroll

And for a change of pace, here’s Bill Nye putting Neil deGrasse Tyson in a hold so Brian Greene can knock him around.

Share
Posted in Entertainment | 18 Comments

Your Attention Spotlight and the Art of Picking Pockets

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Sean Carroll

Apollo Robbins is a master pickpocket, but he uses his skills (as far as I know) in the service of entertainment rather than crime. Probably more lucrative, anyway. In this video he shows Adam Green how it’s done. As Green … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment | 11 Comments

Lincoln

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Part of our traditional Christmas celebration is going out to see movies. This year we saw Lincoln, which was even better than I thought it would be. Daniel Day-Lewis is a genius, as you don’t need me to point out, … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment | 6 Comments

Time and Space, Remapped

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Sean Carroll

A short two-person dance, with a twist. Or more accurately, a shear: time is remapped so that there is a delay that increases as you move from the top of the frame down to the bottom. Or in math: (x’, … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment, Math | 6 Comments

Dismal Global Equilibria

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Sean Carroll

The Civilization series of games takes players through the course of history, allowing them to guide a society/nation from way back in prehistory up through the near future (say, 2100). You develop technologies, choose political systems, and raise armies. There … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment, Technology, World | 22 Comments

Avengers Assemble!

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Mostly I’m holed up at home these days, pounding out paragraph after paragraph about the LHC and the Higgs boson. But even the most dedicated author needs a sanity break, and mine is coming tonight, in the form of The … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment | 10 Comments

Robot Helicopter Electrik Band

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Sometimes a label conveys it all: “Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme.” This video was shown today at the TED conference by Vijay Kumar of Penn. (H/t Al Seckel.) Note that the little helicopters are pre-programmed; they’re not being remotely … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment, Music, Technology | 6 Comments

A 3.8-Sigma Anomaly

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Every professional football game begins with the flip of a coin, to determine who gets the ball first. In the case of the Super Bowl, the teams represent the National Football Conference (NFC) or American Football Conference (AFC). Interestingly, the … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment, Science | 44 Comments

Mind = Blown

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Apologies that real work (to the extent that what I do can be called “work”) has gotten in the way of substantive blogging. But I cannot resist sharing the amazing things I learned this weekend — amazing to me, anyway, … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment, Music | 10 Comments

Good News/Bad News: Nobel Edition

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Sean Carroll

The good news about winning the Nobel Prize: you get better parking on campus. The bad news: Sheldon Cooper makes fun of you on national TV. Of course you don’t need to watch the ceremonies to learn what all the … Continue reading →

Share
Posted in Entertainment | 19 Comments