Beginnings are arbitrary, but important
Why does the year begin on the first of January?
Articles for December 2015
No more trade-offs
It’s easier when you can have it all
Life was more complicated in the old days. Not only were many things more difficult and tedious to accomplish, often you had to work out which of several methods you should use depending on what you really needed done. It’s much easier now. Really.
The anti-selfie
Candid photography (for the expert)
We turn again to the theme of technology transforming society, or at least one part of it. With the invention of the 35mm still camera about a quarter of the way into the twentieth century, a whole area of life was suddenly opened up to photography. That was not the intention of the inventor, who was only looking for a lighter-weight way to take pictures himself.
The need for distraction
The ubiquitous earphone
Our astronomer visited the exercise room last night, as is his regular habit. This time there were several other people there. How one of them went about his workout routine prompted some thought and some speculation about the importance of the earphone to modern society, as well as underlining the differences between people.
More on paradoxers
Some features of the species
Our chief consultant writes:
Some weeks ago I mentioned paradoxers, those people from outside a certain science who come up with some amazing or important result that, sadly, is not accepted by those inside–mostly because it’s not true. I promised to describe the outstanding characteristics of this fascinating species; here are two.