Comments on: Smackdown Watch

By: Maynard Handley

Maynard Handley — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 02:51:58 +0000

To be fair to the Pope, have you seen the things that people like Jerry Falwell say about him? Apparently he is Satan incarnate, deliberating luring billions to eternal torment in hell.
It’s like watching _Dumb and Dumber: When Harry and Lloyd got Religion_

By: Elliot

Elliot — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:00:39 +0000

Gee this week the Pope declares Catholicism the only true path to salvation. In a related story the Archdiocese of Los Angeles approves a 660 million dollar settlement to children abused by priests.

You don’t even have to write a punch line for this.

elliot

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:34:26 +0000

…manifestly inferior people in the community…

“We underestimated them [SSC opponents]. We never thought that the prof would allow the C- students to take over the class.”

Arrogant attitudes like that are one reason that not every physicist cried buckets when the SSC was killed. I think its demise had more to do with Texas vs not-Texas congressional politics than any opposition from non-high-energy physicists, though.

Simon White, love him, hate him, or think he’s misguided, is not some random joker looking for publicity. He doesn’t need that, professionally. He has some legitimate points. Lots of people went into astronomy in part because they didn’t want to be cogs in a large particle experiment. That’s not to say that being a cog is bad, but it’s not to everyone’s taste.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:10:55 +0000

I don’t believe in astrology. But then again–I’m a Leo, and sometimes we can be like that.

By: Seidl

Seidl — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:56:21 +0000

Just messing with ya lt.milo.

By: lt.milo

lt.milo — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:58:59 +0000

“Hmmm. Roman Catholic Church declares itself the One True Church. In a related Exclusive…Pope John Paul II: Still dead!”

What are you trying to prove?

By: Low Math, Meekly Interacting

Low Math, Meekly Interacting — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:21:48 +0000

Hmmm. Roman Catholic Church declares itself the One True Church. In a related Exclusive…Pope John Paul II: Still dead!

By: lt.milo

lt.milo — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:32:08 +0000

————”I know, right? My horoscope is always a little off; I think Astrology needs a little fine-tuning.”———

Ahhh! sorry, I’m not sure why I put that. I probably should have put something more along the lines of Astrophysics or Astronomy. That was stupid, but you get what I mean.

By: Tom C.

Tom C. — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:19:04 +0000

Leahy wins going away.

On one hand, it’s not a fair fight: we get to see and hear the Senator’s fusillade (and, to even greater effect, the quivering mass of jelly that is his target) but only get a flat, monomedia reproduction of the Pope’s & SDMW’s. But I think I’d still be voting the same way even if Leahy was only represented in plain text.

By: Seidl

Seidl — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:09:37 +0000

I can’t imagine the discoveries that would be found if the money had been used for Astrology.

-lt.milo

I know, right? My horoscope is always a little off; I think Astrology needs a little fine-tuning.

By: Archer

Archer — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:33:47 +0000

“It’s admittedly very difficult to imagine how to lower the level of the New Scientist, but Simon White has done a good job.”

I can remember how people like this killed the SSC. When somebody connected with the SSC was asked how it was that manifestly inferior people in the community were able to do that, the answer was something like: “We underestimated them. We never thought that the prof would allow the C- students to take over the class.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:23:32 +0000

Seems that Simon White’s inferiority complex is once again interfering with his scientific judgement. Side effects include foot in mouth and transparently bitter envy. Please stop giving him press.

By: Ellipsis

Ellipsis — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:59:46 +0000

lt.milo: did I see your name on the NSF MPSAC?

It’s admittedly very difficult to imagine how to lower the level of the New Scientist, but Simon White has done a good job. Unfortunate that the only professional extinction would be his own. That is, if it ever qualified as a species to begin with.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:31:02 +0000

Annette,

Please read this thread. I think it sums up the view on “alternative” theories.

http://cosmicvariance.com/2007/06/19/the-alternative-science-respectability-checklist/

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:08:21 +0000

what’s another word for “thesaurus”?

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:03:13 +0000

See? Now that one, I’m keeping. Come on, people, drag out that thesaurus and put a little imagination into it.

By: C. N. Ship

C. N. Ship — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:25:13 +0000

Sean thats cute. You are not only effeminate but also pusilanimous and feckless to boot. Never had such a good laugh.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:54:30 +0000

Annette, I do not “censor” anything, as I’m not a government. But we do regularly delete things that are off-topic, impolite, not constructive, or just annoying.

By: lt.milo

lt.milo — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:41:58 +0000

I am very happy to see the article by New Scientist. Dark matter really is taking physicists away from Cosmology and physics in general on larger scales.
Huge amounts of money are being spent on the particle accelerators and I can’t imagine the discoveries that would be found if the money had been used for Astrology.

By: Vince

Vince — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:31:47 +0000

This reminds me of the saying, “String theory is the only game in town.”