People seem to forget that, behind closed doors, things are always a bit more involved than they seem from the outside.
No gaming company out there is the utopia you may think it ought to be. Every company has people, and where there are people there are politics and differences and power struggles and egos. id Software is no exception. Don't fool yourself into thinking things are simple, or that you always have The Big Picture; there's always a lot more going on under the covers than what's apparent on the surface.
People get fired for good reasons, for bad reasons, and (most of the time) for a bit of both. I doubt Steed's case was any different. -sq
read "The Elegant Universe" instead
on
The Mind of God
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· Score: 1
Still, Brian Greene's Elegant Universe is head and shoulders above the Mind of God
Absolutely. The Elegant Universe is one of the most insightful, clear, uncompromising, yet down-to-earth books I've ever seen written about modern physics theory. It covers topics such as Special and General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Superstring Theory in the most simple, powerful, elegant, and memorable terms I've ever read. And believe me, I've read a lot of this stuff (my undergraduate degree is in Physics and Mathematics, both of which are pet interests I've pursued since then).
Also, unlike the Mind of God, this book (a) IS new - published in 1999 - and (b) does not subject itself to fanciful pseudoscience and speculation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm the first person to open my trap about the interrelations between relativity and quantum mechanics and spirituality, but at that point (as several slashdotters have pointed out) it ceases to become science. File it under philosophy. Read this book (The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene). I guarantee you won't regret it. And I also guarantee that you won't be overwhelmed by technical terms and mumbo jumbo; Greene's pedagogical style is as brilliant as his writing.
You are on a merry-go-round going fast; you have to hold on to keep from flying off. The force you apply is DIRECTLY towards the center of rotation, which does nothing to the angular velocity.
Very close, but not quite right. Technically, the force you apply does nothing to the speed (magnitude/length) of the angular velocity vector, but it does apply an acceleration to that vector by continuously modifying its direction. In physics, the term velocity refers to a vector (both direction and magnitude), whereas speed refers to a scalar quantity (magnitude only).
Another point which seems to be hanging up a few folks is the difference between an orbiting object and a rotating one. The M&Ms(tm) in the movie were NOT tied together with string (in pairs); if they had been, they would each provide their counterpart M&M(tm) with the inward, perpendicular (centripetal) force that would allow them to continue spinning neatly and (nearly) endlessly, much like the earth does (tides and such aside). In M2M(tm), however, they were not tied together in any such fashion, so each M&M(tm) would continue to fly in a straight line off on its own (inertia, often mistakenly referred to as the non-existent centrifugal force). Unless, as one poster astutely pointed out, our boy Chump-For-Brains had managed to give each M&M(tm) just the right amount of spin to cause it to travel in a curve (like a curveball). This is possible only in air, of course, and damned near nutty to pull off.
Basically, the string holding each opposing pair of M&Ms(tm) together - or the lack thereof, in the movie - is the difference between orbital motion and angular motion, two very different situations in curvilinear mechanics. Perhaps if the M&Ms(tm) had been made of ridiculously dense not-so-fat-free dark matter...
Seriously, folks, M2M IS a big nasty skanky dog of a flick. With maggots. Bow wow. HOWEVER... we all had so much fun laughing AT it that it was almost worth the (otherwise complete waste of) $7. My advice? Wait for video release and pitch in $.50 with each of your friends to rent it on "bad bad movie night." You'll get more than your money's worth of fun-poking both during and after this fine piece of... er... cinema. -squirrel
Having read all of the responses to this post, this one ("My child's readling list. By two geeks.") is by far the best selection for your daughter and you to dig into. Start with Madeleine L'Engle, Hobbit, and/or Narnia (though these may be a bit TOO light for her). Still, in my opinion, better to reel her in with "easy" stuff and tempt her with "the really good stuff when you think you're ready". She'll want to rise to the challenge.
If/when she's ready for more "grungy" and/or adult material, it's time to break out ENDER'S GAME - one of the greatest Sci-fi books of all time. If you think she can appreciate the verbal humor in it, Hitchhiker's Guide is fantastic and fun.
Books like Foundation, Gateway, Snowcrash, 2001, Dune... are fantastic but probably not the best for a junior-higher with a fresh interest in a great genre. They tend to be a bit heavier-handed and might squash her interests too early.
As far as films go, I'd highly recommend Contact (as it's got a broad spectrum of levels of appeal) and - although it's not specifically sci fi - Searching For Bobby Fischer.
Slashdot Mirror
People seem to forget that, behind closed doors, things are always a bit more involved than they seem from the outside.
No gaming company out there is the utopia you may think it ought to be. Every company has people, and where there are people there are politics and differences and power struggles and egos. id Software is no exception. Don't fool yourself into thinking things are simple, or that you always have The Big Picture; there's always a lot more going on under the covers than what's apparent on the surface.
People get fired for good reasons, for bad reasons, and (most of the time) for a bit of both. I doubt Steed's case was any different.
-sq
Absolutely. The Elegant Universe is one of the most insightful, clear, uncompromising, yet down-to-earth books I've ever seen written about modern physics theory. It covers topics such as Special and General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Superstring Theory in the most simple, powerful, elegant, and memorable terms I've ever read. And believe me, I've read a lot of this stuff (my undergraduate degree is in Physics and Mathematics, both of which are pet interests I've pursued since then).
Also, unlike the Mind of God, this book (a) IS new - published in 1999 - and (b) does not subject itself to fanciful pseudoscience and speculation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm the first person to open my trap about the interrelations between relativity and quantum mechanics and spirituality, but at that point (as several slashdotters have pointed out) it ceases to become science. File it under philosophy. Read this book (The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene). I guarantee you won't regret it. And I also guarantee that you won't be overwhelmed by technical terms and mumbo jumbo; Greene's pedagogical style is as brilliant as his writing.
You are on a merry-go-round going fast; you have to hold on to keep from flying off. The force you apply is DIRECTLY towards the center of rotation, which does nothing to the angular velocity.
Very close, but not quite right. Technically, the force you apply does nothing to the speed (magnitude/length) of the angular velocity vector, but it does apply an acceleration to that vector by continuously modifying its direction. In physics, the term velocity refers to a vector (both direction and magnitude), whereas speed refers to a scalar quantity (magnitude only).
Another point which seems to be hanging up a few folks is the difference between an orbiting object and a rotating one. The M&Ms(tm) in the movie were NOT tied together with string (in pairs); if they had been, they would each provide their counterpart M&M(tm) with the inward, perpendicular (centripetal) force that would allow them to continue spinning neatly and (nearly) endlessly, much like the earth does (tides and such aside). In M2M(tm), however, they were not tied together in any such fashion, so each M&M(tm) would continue to fly in a straight line off on its own (inertia, often mistakenly referred to as the non-existent centrifugal force). Unless, as one poster astutely pointed out, our boy Chump-For-Brains had managed to give each M&M(tm) just the right amount of spin to cause it to travel in a curve (like a curveball). This is possible only in air, of course, and damned near nutty to pull off.
Basically, the string holding each opposing pair of M&Ms(tm) together - or the lack thereof, in the movie - is the difference between orbital motion and angular motion, two very different situations in curvilinear mechanics. Perhaps if the M&Ms(tm) had been made of ridiculously dense not-so-fat-free dark matter...
-squirrel
Seriously, folks, M2M IS a big nasty skanky dog of a flick. With maggots. Bow wow. HOWEVER... we all had so much fun laughing AT it that it was almost worth the (otherwise complete waste of) $7. My advice? Wait for video release and pitch in $.50 with each of your friends to rent it on "bad bad movie night." You'll get more than your money's worth of fun-poking both during and after this fine piece of... er... cinema. -squirrel
Having read all of the responses to this post, this one ("My child's readling list. By two geeks.") is by far the best selection for your daughter and you to dig into. Start with Madeleine L'Engle, Hobbit, and/or Narnia (though these may be a bit TOO light for her). Still, in my opinion, better to reel her in with "easy" stuff and tempt her with "the really good stuff when you think you're ready". She'll want to rise to the challenge.
If/when she's ready for more "grungy" and/or adult material, it's time to break out ENDER'S GAME - one of the greatest Sci-fi books of all time. If you think she can appreciate the verbal humor in it, Hitchhiker's Guide is fantastic and fun.
Books like Foundation, Gateway, Snowcrash, 2001, Dune... are fantastic but probably not the best for a junior-higher with a fresh interest in a great genre. They tend to be a bit heavier-handed and might squash her interests too early.
As far as films go, I'd highly recommend Contact (as it's got a broad spectrum of levels of appeal) and - although it's not specifically sci fi - Searching For Bobby Fischer.
-sq