Tabletop Astronomy

Astronomy is one of those "Coffee-table Sciences", by which I mean: a science that manages to bridge the gap between academic research and popular culture. There are a few simple (but reliable) ways to determine whether a particular branch science falls into this category. Firstly, does Exclusive Books sell a book about it (especially if the book is too large to read in bed)? Secondly, has a Marvel or DC comic-book villain ever been a practitioner of it? And thirdly (and most importantly), how often does it spark heated arguments between individuals who have not even read the introductory paragraph on its associated Wikipedia entry?

Pieces of Eight

Seven is supposed to be the perfect number. It can be found throughout history in almost every religion and culture: the seven-day week of the Christian calendar, the seven heavens of Islam, the seven worlds and seas of Hinduism, the seven branches in a Menorah, the seven lucky Gods of Japanese mythology, and even the seven-fingered, seven-toed Irish hero, Cú Chulainn. For over 4000 years of recorded human history, seven's dominance has remained largely uncontested. That is until the dawning of the second half of the 20th century, when a new number gradually began gaining support from the most unlikely members of society. We call ourselves Computer Scientists; and our number is eight.

Whitespace

Have you ever looked at a blank page laid-out before you and thought, "This is better than anything that I could ever hope to add"? -- I have.

I think that this is going to be quite an unusual post. Firstly (and perhaps fore-mostly), I want to relate my experience of building an over-sized whiteboard for my bedroom (/lab). But secondly, I also wish to share some of my philosophical ideas regarding the concepts of white-space, emptiness, as well as their roles in the task of creation. In my eyes, these two disparate subjects are inseparably linked: the philosophical ideas were the protagonists that eventually convinced me to build my whiteboard, and in turn, the whiteboard exists as the only physical evidence of my mental struggle with these ideas over the past weeks. But unusual is good right? So let's see how this goes.