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Brian May, Rock Legend, Publishes His Thesis

Posted by kdawson on from the eyes-just-like-a-laser-beam dept.

A year ago we took note when Brian May, guitarist for Queen for the last 30 years, submitted his thesis for a Ph.D. in astrophysics. The news now is that the thesis has been published. You, too, can read all about the population of tiny asteroids and space dust that cause the Zodiacal light. The completed thesis appears as the book "A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud" (Springer and Canopus Publishing Ltd., 2008), available at Amazon for $71.96. May was awarded his Ph.D. last summer and accepted a position as chancellor at a British university in November.

198 comments

  1. Too pricey by Ron_Fitzgerald · · Score: 5, Funny

    $71.96? Come on, Halo 3 was only $60 and that cost $100,000,000 to make.

    --
    ~ Ron Fitzgerald
    1. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, but it didn't that 35 years!

      Actually I went to his Imperial College lecture on the subject, and he was well into it.

      Sadly not being a physicist I was initially more interested in that he was using Powerpoint on a Macbook Pro to present the material. But it all looked good, graphs and explanation were all there.

      Glad the guy could finish the PhD he started way back then!

    2. Re:Too pricey by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 1

      $71.96? Come on, Halo 3 was only $60 and that cost $100,000,000 to make.

      Welcome to the world of academic publishing!

      --
      "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
    3. Re:Too pricey by commodoresloat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Authors usually don't choose those prices, and a price like that generally reflects a low confidence that anyone besides libraries will purchase this work. In this case it seems like a strategic error; I bet there's a huge market for this among fans of his music if it were say $25. But I don't see how that market can be very large at this price point. I suppose once they notice interest in it they might consider releasing it in paperback. But a $71 price tag is generally not something an author wants to see on their published dissertation. I'm surprised he didn't negotiate something different though.

    4. Re:Too pricey by BigBadBus · · Score: 1

      He was bloody lucky. I got my PhD from York University (England), and they got so pissed off with people taking ages to write up and submit that they issued a decree that you must submit within 4 years of starting.

      --
      My web domain.
    5. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      $71.96? Come on, Halo 3 was only $60 and that cost $100,000,000 to make.

      So tell him where to stick that fancy label.

    6. Re:Too pricey by reset_button · · Score: 5, Informative

      I just paid $60 for a copy of MY OWN dissertation! Five years of hard work and then my university makes me pay $200+ for copyright and publishing, then charges me another $60 to get a copy!

    7. Re:Too pricey by DarkKnightRadick · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That's cold, perhaps you should have considered using the CCD CopyWrite, instead?

      --
      "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
    8. Re:Too pricey by tyrione · · Score: 1

      He was bloody lucky. I got my PhD from York University (England), and they got so pissed off with people taking ages to write up and submit that they issued a decree that you must submit within 4 years of starting.

      You must have been the rejected 5th Beatle I take it? What credible University would turn down Brian May and call him lame for leaving his post-graduate work to persue and help supplant QUEEN as rock legends?

      If you hum a few bars I'm sure a few of us around here can fake it.

    9. Re:Too pricey by CowardWithAName · · Score: 3, Funny

      So tell him where to stick that fancy label.

      Somehow I doubt May has been sleeping on any sidewalks recently...

      </inside-joke>

    10. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And this my friends, is the part of the reason why nobody in his right mind busts his hump to participate in science/engineering/mathematical scholarship--and why we have way too many lawyers.

      With very, very few exceptions, you really would have to be at least a little psychotic to want to become an engineer, chemist, physicist, etc. given: the rewards most people reap in these fields of study, the expenditure of money, time and the discipline required to reach competency in your own little niche.

      Yeah, this dude had to pay $200+ and $60, to get further raped in the wallet. You'd think that after paying a fuckton--er going into debt by about another bazillion bumfucking Benjamins, that they'd have the goddamn courtesy to at least give you a free fucking copy of your own dissertation, which in a just and sane universe, could do nothing but remain your own property...

      Have you ever noticed that most people with a Ph.D. in a natural science, engineering or mathematical field tend to be a little off balance (or a lot)? Even since the ancient times, philosophers in every culture with surviving writings have likened the human emotion love to psychotic behavior. Modern science, through the technology of looking into the human mind, has verified this long held, if casual presupposition. One would have to love something very much indeed, to go through the trials and tribulations our Ph.D. friends volunteered for.

      Guess they were just a little bit too crazy--or stupid--to become a chiropractor or psychiatrist, or prostitute.

    11. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about open sourcing your dissertation? Copyleft it?

    12. Re:Too pricey by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      Didn't you print out a copy for yourself when you submitted it?

    13. Re:Too pricey by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      Did they require you to erase all copies of the original data from our computer, including backups, assuming that you made backups?

    14. Re:Too pricey by sunny256 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Queen sucks! They are the worst band I've ever heard (tied with Rush and Avril Lavigne). Does anyone actully listen to them? And if so, why?!?

      Well, they were declared "best British band" by listeners of BBC2 (20.000 votes total), and came on second place in another contest (600.000 votes total).

      You may not like the music, but you're hardly in a position to say they suck.

    15. Re:Too pricey by Zwicky · · Score: 1

      That was my first thought too.

      Geez, for that price, it sure as heck better come with 'free' compact discs containing the consummate Queen back catalog or something.

      --
      "Three eyes are better than one" -- Lieutenant Columbo
    16. Re:Too pricey by reset_button · · Score: 1

      It's actually up for free on the web - anyone can download it and print it. I want a nice, bounded copy. The $200 that I initially paid includes the cost for bounded copies for the school's library, but if I want one for myself I have to either pay them, or pay someone else to do it (I heard from others that it won't look the same or as good as the original).

    17. Re:Too pricey by reset_button · · Score: 1

      No, not that I would have done it anyway. It's up on the web, for free. They actually had more expensive options, where I would pay another $100 or so for a company to put it up on their site and sell it, and I would get a commission. However, I'd rather have a larger audience read it.

    18. Re:Too pricey by idlehanz · · Score: 1

      Brian May sells 12 copies to his mother. Halo3 sold a bazillion copies. The math works out.

      --
      Changing the world... one research project at a time.
    19. Re:Too pricey by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      Well, binding does cost money...

    20. Re:Too pricey by HungSoLow · · Score: 1

      You mean your supervisor is too cheap to foot the bill? Mine is very stingy on money and he's shelled out $1000's for draft print outs, committee print outs, good copies, etc...

    21. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hate to be the guy to tell you, but no one's gonna read that piece of shit anyways. Actually, I loved being the guy to tell you.

    22. Re:Too pricey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand why you didn't just print a copy for yourself.

    23. Re:Too pricey by Lodragandraoidh · · Score: 1

      I saw Queen live in concert in 1982 - excellent musicians. Unlike today's 'artists' (and I use that term loosely), they were in tune, on time, and the songs - aside from their interactions with the crowd - sounded like it came right off the album.

      As a musician myself, I know how hard it is to sound consistently good - groups like Rush, Queen and others make it look easy - but the technique and practice that must have come before are staggering to me.

      I saw a show that was honoring Motown artists - and introducing new singers at the same time - and it was a disaster. The 'new' singers were to sing a Motown song along with the original artist - and the new singers couldn't hold a tune - it was quite obvious when the Motown artists blew them out of the water.

      Most new corporate artists suck as musicians/singers; they haven't payed their dues - and don't have a work ethic or the talent to do it like the old-timers. Thankfully there are some exceptions - and Indy artists who do give a sh&t.

      I would be interested in hearing what the grandparent thinks is good...aside from trolling, they haven't made their point.

      --

      Lodragan Draoidh
      The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
    24. Re:Too pricey by 74nova · · Score: 1

      not only that, but hate Rush if one must, but they are also far beyond the skills of most anyone I hear today.

      my niece has the opposite problem: if she likes them, they are a really good band. I'll admit that me liking someone doesn't make them good

      --
      use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
    25. Re:Too pricey by AgentSmith · · Score: 1

      Queen sucks! They are the worst band I've ever heard (tied with Rush and Avril Lavigne). Does anyone actully listen to them? And if so, why?!?

      Hell called. They are going to create another circle just to store you after typing and posting that despicable piece of shite.

  2. Rock music by DivineGod · · Score: 5, Funny

    This sorts of gives that term a new meaning?

    1. Re:Rock music by Ron_Fitzgerald · · Score: 5, Funny

      I though for sure the first bad joke would have something to do with Mercury!!

      --
      ~ Ron Fitzgerald
    2. Re:Rock music by xenocide2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Maybe. I'd heard calls to make scientists into rockstars, but never rockstars into scientists!

      --
      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

    3. Re:Rock music by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Goes_To_College

      Milo from the Descendents got his doctorate in Biochemistry.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    4. Re:Rock music by Neuropol · · Score: 1

      welcome to der weinerschnitzel
      may i take your order please?

      yeah i want:
      two large cokes
      two large fries
      chili-cheese dog
      large doctor pepper
      super deluxe, with cheese and tomato

      you want bill sperm with that?

      no!

    5. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      too little to late...http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8098288299406749997&hl=en. rap music has already surpassed the Ph.D quota that rock and roll can claim.

    6. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      perhaps being a rap artist requires no musical education..... perhaps......

    7. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Awesome. I am really surprised to see anyone else on Slashdot who like the Descendants.

    8. Re:Rock music by chill · · Score: 2, Funny

      Mercury or Uranus. Maybe both.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    9. Re:Rock music by Pseudonym · · Score: 2, Informative

      Someone else mentioned Milo. Brian Cox is probably the most hard-core. He used to be the keyboard player in Dare and D:ream and once got into a bar fight with Jimmy Page. He is now a full-on professor of physics. But you're kinda right. It's actually more common for scientists to be classical or jazz musicians.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    10. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn! Yet another MC Hawking video!

    11. Re:Rock music by originalTMAN · · Score: 2, Funny

      what does Freddie Mercury have to do with Uranus?

    12. Re:Rock music by tyrione · · Score: 1

      what does Freddie Mercury have to do with Uranus?

      Perhaps it's been a dream of his to have Mercury orbit it?

    13. Re:Rock music by tyrione · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Goes_To_College

      Milo from the Descendents got his doctorate in Biochemistry.

      Who? The Descendents who?

    14. Re:Rock music by tyrione · · Score: 1

      Someone else mentioned Milo. Brian Cox is probably the most hard-core. He used to be the keyboard player in Dare and D:ream and once got into a bar fight with Jimmy Page. He is now a full-on professor of physics. But you're kinda right. It's actually more common for scientists to be classical or jazz musicians.

      How he managed to have that long actor career and be Captain O'Hagan of Super Troopers is still a mystery.

    15. Re:Rock music by vondiggity · · Score: 1

      Only one of the best punk bands to come out of the Los Angeles area in the 80's. They are also pretty much responsible for the poppy punk music your hear today.

    16. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well.. If Mercury were alive he probably would get Ph.D. too. His thesis would certainly contain the word "Uranus".

    17. Re:Rock music by dosun88888 · · Score: 1

      Mercury was only interested in the dust clouds around Uranus.

    18. Re:Rock music by DigitalHammer · · Score: 1

      Count me in. I also like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and The Void. Bonus points to any slashdotter who knows The Void.

    19. Re:Rock music by Forrest+Kyle · · Score: 1

      I realize you are (probably) joking, but just in case anyone was really confused (like me) there are two different Brian Coxes.

      One is the actor from X2 and Super Troopers, the other is the musician/physicist guy.

    20. Re:Rock music by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Informative
      It's actually more common for scientists to be classical or jazz musicians.

      Richard Feynman was a pretty serious bongo drummer.

    21. Re:Rock music by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's also Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, too. Life Sciences professor at UCLA.

      --
      "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
    22. Re:Rock music by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      There's also Buckaroo Banzai who besides being a rock star was a physicist and a renowned brain surgeon. :)

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    23. Re:Rock music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Michael Gerald of Killdozer is now an attorney.

    24. Re:Rock music by MichaelTheDrummer · · Score: 1

      Greg Graffin of Bad Religion has a PhD as well.

    25. Re:Rock music by Zwicky · · Score: 1

      Nevermind, I'm sure he'll get himself back on his feet someday ;)

      --
      "Three eyes are better than one" -- Lieutenant Columbo
    26. Re:Rock music by show+me+altoids · · Score: 1

      GALILEO galileo GALILEO galileo GALILEO FIGARO!

      --
      I feel sorry for people that don't drink, because when they get up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel
    27. Re:Rock music by Nutria · · Score: 1

      what does Freddie Mercury have to do with Uranus?

      I can't tell if you're serious or continuing the joke.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    28. Re:Rock music by Elky+Elk · · Score: 1

      He (Brian) does have a PhD in physics and works in the physics dept at my uni but he's not a professor and he doesn't do research. He's effectively a PR man for public understanding of science.

    29. Re:Rock music by Avohir · · Score: 1

      there's also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Holland from the Offspring. He was a PhD candidate, although he dropped out to do the band thing

      --
      To err is human, to really foul up requires a computer
  3. Full thesis title by radimvice · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Another One Bites the Dust: A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud".

    1. Re:Full thesis title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was thinking more "we will rock you"

    2. Re:Full thesis title by philspear · · Score: 4, Funny

      I wonder if he used a radio-ga-ga telescope to get his data?

    3. Re:Full thesis title by pxlmusic · · Score: 1

      brilliant!

      --
      "If for any reason you're not satisfied with our service, I hate you."
    4. Re:Full thesis title by Melkman · · Score: 1

      At least he has made his final break through now...

    5. Re:Full thesis title by MarkTraceur · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, it was "Fat-Bottomed Girls, They Make the Rockin' World Go 'Round: A Study of Possible Causes of Gravity."

      (TOTALLY stolen from UserFriendly, go upmod that site if you like this comment)

    6. Re:Full thesis title by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      "I wonder if he used a radio-ga-ga telescope to get his data?"

      He is, but, first, he has to tie his mother down.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    7. Re:Full thesis title by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      I wonder if he used a radio-ga-ga telescope to get his data?

      He tried, but all he got was some background noise. So he ended up having to watch the stars on videos, which took ages.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    8. Re:Full thesis title by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      Video killed the Radio star.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    9. Re:Full thesis title by nick_davison · · Score: 5, Funny

      The rotation of oscillating rotational planets, as influenced by female homo sapiens with large gluteal regions.

    10. Re:Full thesis title by mike260 · · Score: 1

      I wonder if he used a radio-ga-ga telescope to get his data?

      Indeed, he did. I believe he also harnessed a SETI@home-like distributed effort to filter the radio ga-ga from the radio goo-goo and radio bla-bla.

    11. Re:Full thesis title by tyrione · · Score: 3, Funny

      The rotation of oscillating rotational planets, as influenced by female homo sapiens with large gluteal regions.

      Fat-bottomed Girls to the less verbose-minded.

    12. Re:Full thesis title by Eccles · · Score: 2, Informative

      Unnecessary. Open your eyes, look up to the skies, and seeeee...

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
    13. Re:Full thesis title by An+ominous+Cow+art · · Score: 1

      Too bad those of us who aren't Princes of the Universe can't harness radio telescopes, even for One Vision.

    14. Re:Full thesis title by rk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm so glad that there's always someone to explain all these liberal egg-head jokes around here to me.

    15. Re:Full thesis title by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Hey, let's not make fun of the guy. I think he's paid his dues, time after time. He's done his sentence, and committed no crime. And sure, he's made bad mistakes. He's made a few. He's had a lot of sand kicked in his face. But he's come through.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  4. So that song was at least good for something... by anomnomnomymous · · Score: 0, Redundant

    And another one bites the zodiacal dust.

    --
    When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
  5. Two down, two to go by plopez · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now all he needs to do is learn how to do brain surgery and start making movies.

    If you don't get the joke, rent this one:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086856/

    and watch the extended version

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  6. Professors by Enderandrew · · Score: 5, Funny

    His astrophysicist professors kept arguing with him that despite his assertions, fat-bottomed girls did not make the world go round.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    1. Re:Professors by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Funny
      His astrophysicist professors kept arguing with him that despite his assertions, fat-bottomed girls did not make the world go round.

      However, it appears that travelling at the speed of light would make a supersonic man out of you.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    2. Re:Professors by Legion_SB · · Score: 0, Redundant

      I was hoping the first person to bring up "fat-bottomed girls" would make some kind of gravitational forces of large bodies comment.

      Sadly, the parent poster here took the easier, less clever road. :(

      --
      'a';DROP TABLE users; SELECT * FROM DATA WHERE name LIKE '%'... if you're reading this, it didn't work.
    3. Re:Professors by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

      However, it appears that travelling at the speed of light would make a supersonic man out of you.

      Not in vacuum, though.

    4. Re:Professors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since it's basically impossible to make a perfect vacuum, which space is certainly not, there will still be a speed of sound. Which will certainly be slower than the speed of light.

    5. Re:Professors by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      Not in vacuum, though.

      Space isn't quite a vacuum. There is a very sparse gas, through which the solar wind blows; doesn't really matter for interplanetary navigation as it's not really under pressure, so you don't need much force to break through.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    6. Re:Professors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funniest joke so far!

    7. Re:Professors by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

      That actually raises an interesting question on the side, namely what is the lowest density of matter required for sound wave propagation? Presumably (IANAP so please correct me if I'm wrong) if the density is only a few particles per unit of space, then it becomes very unlikely that a single oscillating particle can transmit an excess energy quantum to the closest (but far away) neighbour. There must therefore exist a critical percolation density below which a sound wave cannot propagate.

    8. Re:Professors by weeboo0104 · · Score: 1

      Since it would be in space, wouldn't it make you more similar to Flash Gordon? BTW, He'll save every one of us.

      --
      It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
    9. Re:Professors by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      Nor does he have time for losers, now that he is the champion.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    10. Re:Professors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm guessing the lowest density would be a function of the mean-free-path, and average velocity of the molecules of the medium. You don't get sound when the medium can't support the the standing waves. So it would be a question of what are the odds that molecules encounter other molecules in such a way that they will vibrate. For a visual if you can imagine Newton's Cradle if each ball travelled in 3 dimensions, what would be the odds they would encounter each other.

  7. Dedicatory by gmuslera · · Score: 3, Funny

    To all people that didn't finished school to search for fame and fortune.

    1. Re:Dedicatory by Eighty7 · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's more common than you'd think. For example, it is a little known fact that Ms Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics. And the president himself knows a few things about high energy physics.

  8. Checking astro-ph... by ettlz · · Score: 1

    ...Nope, can't find it. Come on May, put your thesis on the arXiv like everyone else does these days.

    1. Re:Checking astro-ph... by Faux_Pseudo · · Score: 2, Funny

      He isn't going to publish it on a public source because he is
      following the advice of everyone on Slashdot and adding some form of
      value added feature to his music. At $71 a print he can make enough
      money to support his touring habit and get all the money that the
      labels never paid out from their lawsuits-to-protect-the-artists.

      Think of it as a very expensive tour shirt except that has a lot more
      text on it and you can't get it on a tour. /end insane_justification

      --
      Ascii artist &
    2. Re:Checking astro-ph... by Cheesey · · Score: 1

      It is most annoying to see people trying to make money from their theses, especially as almost nobody actually succeeds in doing so. In many cases a thesis is written using tax money, and in all cases the purpose of the thesis is to advance scientific knowledge. So why try to stop people reading it?

      The only reason I can see is that a thesis is often not very good, and if you publish it on the web, this will be obvious to anyone who cares to look. Whereas if someone has to go to the British Library or buy it for $$$ in order to read it, you're not going to get as many critics.

      --
      >north
      You're an immobile computer, remember?
    3. Re:Checking astro-ph... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if he published some papers during his research. At least that the norm if you are working towards a PhD in a decent university. I had to publish at least 4 papers (at least one in a top tier journal) to get mine in engineering. If he did, it would be very interesting to take a look. If only to know whether he is a LaTeX user.

  9. Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure beats getting coked out and dying in a gutter like some other rock legends.

    1. Re:Good for him by philspear · · Score: 5, Funny

      As someone going for their PhD, I have to wonder if it actually does.

    2. Re:Good for him by jwiegley · · Score: 1

      Lesson here is... Get coked out and famous FIRST. then your thesis will be worth $70 a copy and sells on Amazon.

      If you skip the coke/fame thing then you get my deal... I can't give away copies of mine.

      So QUICK! suspend your defense, join a band, get famous and then finish. It's too late for me but for you there is still hope.

      --
      I will never live for sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.
    3. Re:Good for him by commodoresloat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As someone with a PhD, I can assure you that it doesn't. Posted anonymously for obvious reasons.
       
      D'oh!

    4. Re:Good for him by EricWright · · Score: 1

      Apparently so. I skipped the getting famous part. I think there are exactly 5 copies of my thesis in existence: mine, my parents, a copy for each of my co-chairs and one for the university library.

      The worst part is that I had to PAY for all of them!

    5. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am just beginning the long process towards a Ph.D. in Applied Computer Science. I hope it does not take me as long as it took Brian May.

    6. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone going for their PhD, I have to wonder if it actually does.

      You there: read another book.

    7. Re:Good for him by tyrione · · Score: 1

      As someone going for their PhD, I have to wonder if it actually does.

      Depends on if your field of study includes access to Level I drugs. If so, then you've got a legal reason to verify your theories.

    8. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bugger how long it takes. What I would be asking for is to have as much fun along the way as Brian May has. I wouldn't care if my thesis took 30 years if along the way I got to see the world. Most people's takes a fraction of that time but they also have a fraction of the fun.

    9. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone with a PhD, I can tell you it doesn't ;)

    10. Re:Good for him by dhk42 · · Score: 1

      As someone going for their PhD, I have to wonder if it actually does.

      I absolutely guarantee that none of the people who modded this funny have a Ph.D.

      This comment was "insightful" people. Pay attention.

      David

    11. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm both a lawyer and a Ph.D. in hard science. Recently at the age of 40, I tried cocaine for the first time. It was my birthday, and I was first in the VIP room of a strip club with three coked-out whores, then in a penthouse suite on the Vegas Strip. Let me tell you: That's exactly how I want to die.

      "It took the medical examiner and a team of paramedics three days to get the smile off his face."

    12. Re:Good for him by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      daaaaammm it means that Eric Clapton could get a Phd in Quantum Physics....

  10. And he still plays! by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Andrea Corr & Brian May performing "Is This The World We Created?" at the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert at Hyde Park on June 27th 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amG-3BiiEu8

    --
    Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
    1. Re:And he still plays! by bsDaemon · · Score: 1

      What? No Rick Roll?

    2. Re:And he still plays! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What? No Rick Roll?

    3. Re:And he still plays! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here, I got it: wow, check out this other brilliant Brian May performance!

    4. Re:And he still plays! by tyrione · · Score: 1

      Andrea Corr & Brian May performing "Is This The World We Created?" at the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert at Hyde Park on June 27th 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amG-3BiiEu8

      You expected him to pack it in? The guitar is his Girlfriend. You'll have to pry his axe out of his cold, dead hands.

  11. I quite My Astrophysics PhD To Work In Music... by szyzyg · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I moved from Ireland to California to work at a company called myplay.com and later moved to Napster. Now I'm at imeem.com

    I still entertain some deep down belief that one day I might return to astrophysics and submit my thesis, maybe if one of these internet music companies finally make me some money.

    (of course, even if I stopped work tomorrow I now have young kids to take care of...)

    1. Re:I quite My Astrophysics PhD To Work In Music... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please do the world a favor and drop these imminent-failure attempts at web services in order to return to your PhD. Imeem is just another doomed service from the Napster d-bags after they sold the brand.

    2. Re:I quite My Astrophysics PhD To Work In Music... by tyrione · · Score: 2, Informative

      I moved from Ireland to California to work at a company called myplay.com and later moved to Napster. Now I'm at imeem.com

      I still entertain some deep down belief that one day I might return to astrophysics and submit my thesis, maybe if one of these internet music companies finally make me some money.

      (of course, even if I stopped work tomorrow I now have young kids to take care of...)

      You may know Astrophysics, Quarks, Blackholes and more, but you'd think it's very simple to figure out which companies make money off of music via the Internet. Give me an A! Give me a P! Give me another P! Give me a L! Give me an E! What's that spell? MONEY.

      Besides there are quite a few Astrophysicists, including former SETI folks that work at Apple so you won't be the only one orbiting the campus.

  12. Professor ? Not yet by zymano · · Score: 1

    Not until he can build a timemachine.

  13. Beyond impressed by Pheidias · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To an opera singer who is wading into comp. sci. / AI / brain science (and rapidly getting submerged, I must admit), this is rather inspiring.

    Come on, Neil Peart! Don't let the guitarists get all the PhD's!

    --
    811.29.3.2
    1. Re:Beyond impressed by rob1980 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Peart is a fantastic writer. If he put out a thesis in anything I'd take a look just because it'll be an interesting read.

    2. Re:Beyond impressed by porcupine8 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not a musician, but Mayim Bialik ("Blossom") got her PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA last year. She's still working as an actress, too - mostly voice work in cartoons and guest appearances. As a theater major getting a science PhD, I keep an eye out for these types, they're definitely inspirational. :)

      --
      Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
    3. Re:Beyond impressed by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years), who co-wrote a paper on mathematics.

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
    4. Re:Beyond impressed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since Peart didn't even finish High School, I doubt he'll be able to get a PhD.

    5. Re:Beyond impressed by tyrione · · Score: 1

      Not a musician, but Mayim Bialik ("Blossom") got her PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA last year. She's still working as an actress, too - mostly voice work in cartoons and guest appearances. As a theater major getting a science PhD, I keep an eye out for these types, they're definitely inspirational. :)

      Hmm. I wonder why the parts for visual acting aren't ringing off-the-hook?

    6. Re:Beyond impressed by DigitalHammer · · Score: 1

      Well of course

      "A modern-day warrior
      Mean mean stride,
      Today's tom sawyer
      Mean mean pride."

      surely catches the eye better than "The socioeconomic effects on personal introspection and Western civilization." :P

    7. Re:Beyond impressed by Myrddin+Wyllt · · Score: 1

      I fell asleep at a Rush gig in the 80s. At Bingley Hall, Staffordshire. That's an all-standing venue.

      --
      [ ]Half Empty [ ]Half Full [x]Twice as big as it needs to be
    8. Re:Beyond impressed by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      "You're known for your long songs, have you ever written a song so epic that by the end of the song, you were actually influenced by yourself at the beginning of the song?"

  14. WIth a cool doctoral dissertation like that by Hawthorne01 · · Score: 4, Funny

    the guy will finally be able to score with the chicks!

    --
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
    1. Re:WIth a cool doctoral dissertation like that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the guy will finally be able to score with the chicks!

      Or (Queen, starring Freddie Mercury)... whichever!

      Either way, not that there's anything wrong with that!!

  15. My opinion by DrugCheese · · Score: 2, Informative

    I didn't read the article, but Brian May is one of the greatest unsung guitar heroes still alive.

    --
    *DrugCheese rants*
    1. Re:My opinion by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      In what sense is Brian May, world famous guitarist with Queen and physics PhD unsung?

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    2. Re:My opinion by sir+fer · · Score: 1

      Well I don't hear anybody singing about him...badoom-tshh!

      --
      Debian FTW ;o)
    3. Re:My opinion by Free+the+Cowards · · Score: 1

      Yeah, right. Lead guitarist of one of the most famous rock bands of all time, unsung? Hilarious.

      --
      If you mod me Overrated, you are admitting that you have no penis.
    4. Re:My opinion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't read the article, but Brian May is one of the greatest unsung guitar heroes still alive.

      No, GlaDOS, we will not put your song in guitar hero 4. Isn't rock band enough?

    5. Re:My opinion by Darth_brooks · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's very easy to make the case for May being "unsung"

      -First and foremost, Queen is arguably the most successful and ignored band in the United States. Yes, they own the Rock Anthem chart and "we are the champions" is played to death at every major sporting event (C'mon, can't they try "February stars" by the Foo Fighters at the super bowl? just once? ), but in terms of album sales? Queen is so far down the list it's pathetic. Their worldwide sales were disproportionate to their US sales from 1975-ish on. Once glam rock died out, Queen all but disappeared from US charts. From about 84 on they still ruled the rock charts in Europe, but they never toured the US after 1982. As the "Home of rock and roll", i'd say that says something.

      -Solo success. I own Brian May's first post-queen solo album and I'm probably one of the 15 people in the US that does. He's a helluva guitar player (especially considering he and his father *built* his trademark guitar from a discarded fireplace mantle) but if you ask people to name the ten greatest guitar players of all time, I'd bet huge....tracts of land that you probably wouldn't get close to hearing his name. There are plenty of other "name" guitarists out there. He just doesn't have the cult of personality that Clapton, Page, Vaughn or Hendrix have. Heck, He doesn't have the following of Satriani or even Yngwie.

      He's one of the greats, but he's definitely not one of the best known. You've really got to know your guitar Gods to throw May's name out there.

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    6. Re:My opinion by tyrione · · Score: 1

      It's very easy to make the case for May being "unsung"

      -First and foremost, Queen is arguably the most successful and ignored band in the United States. Yes, they own the Rock Anthem chart and "we are the champions" is played to death at every major sporting event (C'mon, can't they try "February stars" by the Foo Fighters at the super bowl? just once? ), but in terms of album sales? Queen is so far down the list it's pathetic. Their worldwide sales were disproportionate to their US sales from 1975-ish on. Once glam rock died out, Queen all but disappeared from US charts. From about 84 on they still ruled the rock charts in Europe, but they never toured the US after 1982. As the "Home of rock and roll", i'd say that says something.

      -Solo success. I own Brian May's first post-queen solo album and I'm probably one of the 15 people in the US that does. He's a helluva guitar player (especially considering he and his father *built* his trademark guitar from a discarded fireplace mantle) but if you ask people to name the ten greatest guitar players of all time, I'd bet huge....tracts of land that you probably wouldn't get close to hearing his name. There are plenty of other "name" guitarists out there. He just doesn't have the cult of personality that Clapton, Page, Vaughn or Hendrix have. Heck, He doesn't have the following of Satriani or even Yngwie.

      He's one of the greats, but he's definitely not one of the best known. You've really got to know your guitar Gods to throw May's name out there.

      I know what you're saying, but if over 300 Million world-wide sales doesn't get you noticed in the States as pivotal in music then nothing will.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(band)

      One of rock's most successful, influential and popular acts, the band has released a total of eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one singles, and ten number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. Their total album sales have been estimated at over 300 million worldwide[76] including 32.5 million in the United States[77] alone as of 2004. The band is also the only group in which every member has composed more than one chart-topping single.[78]

    7. Re:My opinion by Forrest+Kyle · · Score: 1

      Brian May is an extremely skilled songwriter. The reason he isn't mentioned in the same breath as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yngwie Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai, etc... is that he simply does not have the technical skills to stand next to them.

    8. Re:My opinion by Freultwah · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've seen him standing next to Vai on stage and play a song of Vai's, together with the soloing. He did not miss a note.

    9. Re:My opinion by Forrest+Kyle · · Score: 1

      Well then let me rephrase that.

      Brian May does not display great technical skill in his recordings. He may possess it, but he is not known for it and does not make it known to the world at large.

    10. Re:My opinion by Lissajous · · Score: 1

      Brian May is an extremely skilled songwriter. The reason he isn't mentioned in the same breath as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yngwie Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai, etc... is that he simply does not have the technical skills to stand next to them.

      Was this an attempt at irony? If not, maybe you need to go back to rock school and resit your history classes.

      Expo 92 Video:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GanhKHEQSxQ

      (From Guitar.com)

      Yngwie Malmsteen: When I do listen to rock, it would be Queen, Deep Purple, and the old stuff.

      Guitar.com: What is your opinion of the new Queen collaboration with Paul Rodgers as the group's vocalist?

      Yngwie Malmsteen: I haven't heard it yet. But I think Paul Rodgers is a great singers, and Brian May is one of my favorite guys, and he's a good friend, too, as well as an amazing player and songwriter. It should be interesting to hear.

      Sadly, no Stevie Ray Vaughan collaboration, for untimely reasons.

    11. Re:My opinion by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      his technical skills are fine, especially in the multiple delay area

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    12. Re:My opinion by rochrist · · Score: 1

      Brian May is an extremely skilled songwriter. The reason he isn't mentioned in the same breath as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yngwie Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai, etc... is that he simply does not have the technical skills to stand next to them.

      Boy, you need to go back to rock and roll school. Steve Vai couldn't carry May's jockstrap. I'm fairly certain he'd be the first to tell you that too. And Yngwie fucking Malmsteen????

    13. Re:My opinion by aedan · · Score: 1

      One story was that the video for "I want to break free" killed their US sales because people in the US didn't get the joke.

  16. Cool. Way To Go. However by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    he thought he was researching fellow musicians not rock stars.

  17. Rock stars and school by ShawnH · · Score: 1

    So, is this going to inspire Tommy Lee to keep at it?

    1. Re:Rock stars and school by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, C'mon Tommy, we know you can get your GED! We're pulling for you. . .

  18. w00t! by neokushan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    He's the chancellor for MY university.
    Sadly, it's the only good thing I can say about said university, but as a massive Queen fan, that's good enough for me!

    --
    +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
  19. Rock legend becoming a PhD? by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 3, Insightful
    That's not news. PhD's are ten a penny and I see no reason to assume that rock legends are less intelligent than the rest of us. It's like those news stories that make a big deal of educated women. "And she has a degree in Mathematics - ooh, aah!"

    Now a PhD becoming a rock legend on the other hand. That would be news! Becoming a rock legend is not an ordinary everyday occurrence.

    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
    1. Re:Rock legend becoming a PhD? by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

      Not to belabor the obvious, but a Ph.D. in astrophysics literally *is* a rock legend.

    2. Re:Rock legend becoming a PhD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should bother to look into the person you are slagging off. The band formed while they were at university. May postponed his studies while he did the music thing, returning back to his studies later. I'd say that was pretty impressive. Decades of rock stardom, more sex and drug that you masturbate to, and returning back to what he was originally doing, despite zero need. He could simply live it up in one of his masions. I'd say his achievement is pretty impressive. Name 5 others who've done the same? Nah, thought so. You are full of shit, just like May's music.

    3. Re:Rock legend becoming a PhD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mark Weiser Rocks!
      http://sandbox.xerox.com/weiser/

    4. Re:Rock legend becoming a PhD? by Trogre · · Score: 1

      So tell me, how's that comic book shop working out for you?

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  20. Its not often you see a rock star ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    circling with heavenly bodies:)

  21. Obligatory Simpson's by LM741N · · Score: 3, Funny

    Homer: "Rock stars- they know everything!"

    1. Re:Obligatory Simpson's by catmistake · · Score: 1

      Homer: "Rock stars- is there anything they can't do?

      Fixed that for you.

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
  22. Not bad... by hyades1 · · Score: 2

    ...for a guy in a band that sang about fat-bottomed girls, bicycles and stormtroopers in stilettos.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  23. The real question is... by astrosmash · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is Brian May a LaTeX user? Perhaps he could write a song about it.

    --
    ENDUT! HOCH HECH!
    1. Re:The real question is... by mike260 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Is Brian May a LaTeX user? Perhaps he could write a song about it.

      I Want to Break Free?
      Chinese Torture?
      I'm Going Slightly Mad?

    2. Re:The real question is... by neminem · · Score: 1

      Heaven for Everyone? Made in Heaven? I Was Born to Love You? Note: TeX drives me crazy, too. I just like being contrary.

    3. Re:The real question is... by Bazman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Perhaps if Freddie had been, he'd still be here now...

      Oh, "LaTeX", not... you know...

    4. Re:The real question is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I sure hope he uses LaTeX. We all know what happened to Freddie.

  24. I agree by sir+fer · · Score: 1

    His guitar is also home-made.

    --
    Debian FTW ;o)
  25. I think... by david.given · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...he's going to be the only person in academic history to actually generate any income from selling his Ph.D thesis.

  26. We Are Stardust by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

    "We are golden" - CSNY

    By which they meant that most of our chemical composition elements were forged in the cores of stars before they went supernova. No PhD for plagiarizing Joni Mitchell, though.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:We Are Stardust by Xtifr · · Score: 1

      Apologies if I'm overlooking an Academia inside joke there, but merely covering someone's song (especially if that someone is a good friend) is not usually considered "plagiarism". Ferexample, George Harrison may have been convicted of plagiarism for "My Sweet Lord", but John Lennon got off scott free for this.

    2. Re:We Are Stardust by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

      Yes, that is indeed the joke (not an inside academia one, either).

      "All artists borrow. Great artists steal." - Picasso (who stole the line from Dali)

      --

      --
      make install -not war

  27. Does it matter? by eccenthink · · Score: 1

    The solar wind affects the zodiacal dust cloud but, "...anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me".

  28. Don't get too paranoid over this, Dale Gribble... by Nick+Driver · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I work for an outfit in Texas that installs these systems into patrol cars. It's hard enough to get a current database for these systems to compare the OCR'd license plates against. They currently have no ability to correlate all scanned plates with GPS coordinates and it would take a substantial development effort to put such a monster together anyway. All they do is compare OCR'ed plate numbers against a pre-determined database of already known stolen or wanted tag numbers and the systems as they exist today can barely accomplish that task with enough accuracy to be worthwhile to install at all.

  29. Why the fuck... by Nick+Driver · · Score: 1

    ...did Slashdot post this to the Brian May thread? I responded to the thread below it, dealing with license plate reader system on cop cars.

  30. duel with patrick stewart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    isn't patrick stewart the chancellor at yorkshire? i wonder if their schools every play soccer against eachother...

  31. Ranking not /.ed by SEWilco · · Score: 1

    "Amazon.com Sales Rank: #295,003 in Books"
    Someone hasn't bought their copy yet.

    1. Re:Ranking not /.ed by servognome · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for it to come out on CD

      --
      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  32. Re:Don't get too paranoid over this, Dale Gribble. by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

    You install Brian May? Can I have two?

  33. He's no Buckaroo Bonzai by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sure he's a rockstar and astrophyics scientist... But is no neurosurgeon, race car driver, nor comic book hero. He gotta ways to go.

    --
    God spoke to me.
  34. 30 years by narcberry · · Score: 1

    is a long time to be submitting a thesis. Someone get this man e-mail.

    --
    Modding me -1 troll doesn't make me wrong.
  35. Written in TeX? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if he wrote it using TeX. After all it probably contains a lot of mathematics. It would be awesome to know that Brian May knows TeX!

  36. I saw one of their videos once... by DG · · Score: 1

    ...but I discovered that, as I stared into it, it stared back into me.

    Which was a Nietzsche trick and all, but a little unsettling.

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
    1. Re:I saw one of their videos once... by DigitalHammer · · Score: 1

      YOU FAIL IT.

  37. Anyway... by faragon · · Score: 1

    ... the solar wind blows, Zodiacal Dust doesn't really matter to me... but I perceive maese May as a huge merit human, clearly and distinctly!

  38. I saw him a few years ago by trawg · · Score: 1

    Was one of the best concerts I've been to. I am too young to have seen Queen in concert, much to my huge disappointment. They're easily my favourite band, so when I found out he was playing (at some divey bar miles out in the boondocks), I jumped at the chance along with a couple mates.

    He was an awesome performer and I am really hoping he comes back again.

    If there's a band you love, don't pass up on the chance to see them live - before it's too late!

    1. Re:I saw him a few years ago by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: 1

      "If there's a band you love, don't pass up on the chance to see them live - before it's too late!"

      I agree with you. My favorite band is The Corrs, and I totally by accident found out they were playing in San Francisco during their 2004 tour. I got tickets and saw the concert. Since then, they've gone on hiatus and it's not certain they will be back - and even less certain they will ever tour the US again. So I'm glad I got to see them at least once live.

      --
      Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
  39. May's song on relativistic time dilation by infolib · · Score: 1

    Is called '39 and it's really beautiful. It's about an astronaut leaving Earth and coming back a year later to meet the daughter of him and his deceased love - a hundred years has passed on Earth in the mean time, see twin paradox.

    It's on A night at the opera, you might as well purchase the whole album. It Will Be Worth It.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
    1. Re:May's song on relativistic time dilation by aedan · · Score: 2, Informative

      '39 is also the 39th track on Queen's albums.

  40. He's got an article out on the topic by infolib · · Score: 1

    At least I think this is his (free download). It's from 1974 and on the topic of the thesis. Isn't that research a little dated for a dissertation?

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
    1. Re:He's got an article out on the topic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Supposedly he looked into what had been done since he started his thesis work, realized that not much had been done and that his work was still new and relevant so he finished and submitted the thesis.

    2. Re:He's got an article out on the topic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not as simple as just submitting the thesis. In the English university system you have to defend your thesis. It is a very rigorous task. You are heavily grilled on the contents and subject matter. Attempts are made to find holes in your work and you have to resubmit revised versions and defend these once again. It always amazes me that in the USA doctorates are awarded for studies that elsewhere would be considered bachelor level due to content and intellectual rigor. Then there is grade inflation through out the US system.

  41. He's also a /.-alike geek... by Moredhel · · Score: 2, Informative

    Or I'd guess so, having stood next to him in a toy shop (The Entertainer in Camberley, UK) selecting Star Wars figures, presumably for our respective kids, but you never know ;O)

    1. Re:He's also a /.-alike geek... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [i]Or I'd guess so, having stood next to him in a toy shop (The Entertainer in Camberley, UK) selecting Star Wars figures, presumably for our respective kids, but you never know ;O)[/i]

      Well, no-one at [i]the Imperial College[/i] will take you seriously, unless you possess a healthy collection of Star Wars figures.

  42. Next up: David St. Hubbins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, I don't really think that the end can be assessed as of itself as being the end because what does the end feel like? It's like saying when you try to extrapolate the end of the universe, you say, if the universe is indeed infinite, then how - what does that mean? How far is all the way, and then if it stops, what's stopping it, and what's behind what's stopping it? So, what's the end, you know, is my question to you.

  43. Imperial College by denominateur · · Score: 1

    I was quite surprised to meet him in the elevator or the break room on level 8 in the physics building at Imperial College :)

  44. Re:Professor ? Not yet by Von+Helmet · · Score: 1

    Last I checked, you only need to be a Doctor to invent a timemachine.

  45. Never Gonna Give Big Butts Up by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

    What? No Rick Roll?

    Oh well, if you insist!

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  46. Offtopic by m_frankie_h · · Score: 1

    There are two Alan Coxes (the Linux one and the FreeBSD one), is this some kind of a pattern? Coxes always come in pairs? Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Coxes?

    1. Re:Offtopic by 74nova · · Score: 1

      Coxes always come in pairs?

      In the current Queen context, umm... yes

      --
      use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
  47. Unsung hero? Not quite... by HeadlessNotAHorseman · · Score: 1

    According to this, there is at least one song written about him...

    --
    I like my coffee the way I like my women - roasted and ground up into little tiny pieces.
  48. In that case, to quote Bottom... by Shoseki · · Score: 1

    PhD's are ten a penny

    I'll have five quids' worth.

  49. Anonymous Coward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are the Champions of the World!

  50. One point is missing.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody knows that this guy was studiying astrophysics in the university of La Laguna, in Tenerife (Spain)? He left it when he joined to Queen...