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Learning After Age 40
Posted by Dr. Science on 04/17/2013
How come learning is so much more difficult after 40?
———- from Keith Kitchen of Madison, WI
For the same reason we choose to listen to new age music, that washof audio wallpaper rather than the driving, howling screeching howls ofheavy metal. The older we get, the more we seek to hide from the harshreality of life. Many of us find employment that allows us to keep aveneer of productive respectability while going to sleep. Face it, it’shard to learn anything when you’re asleep. You may be sitting in yourlittle office cubby, browsing the web or playing solitaire, but you’re stillasleep.
Divining Rods
Posted by Dr. Science on 04/15/2013
What are divining rods made of?
———- from Jo Anne Fritz of Columbia, MO
Divinity, that pink and white foamy nougat. Moisture from underground waterdeposits find their way to the atmosphere above ground and cause the rod toweaken and droop. Of course, some discount dowsers use coat hangers butthey’re frauds, unless the hangers are made of divinity. If you’ve made themistake of hiring one, ask to hold the hanger and quickly take a bite out of it. It’s worth a few chipped teeth to discover the truth.
Firing Bullets from Cars
Posted by Dr. Science on 04/12/2013
If you were driving a car at a constant speed, pointing a gun straight up and fired it, where would the bullet land?
———- from Mark Locattelli of Chicago, IL
You’d never find out, because you’d be in jail when it landed. That’s how tough they are in this war on crime. Like most Americans, you’re probably heavily armed when you drive, that’s normal. What isn’t normal is bringing science into the equation. It’s impossible to pay attention to driving, aim a weapon, and do good science at the same time. Maybe when the war on crime is over, the police will be willing to help you with your little ballistics experiment. My data suggests a truce will be declared by the end of the next millennium. That’s a long time to wait for hard data.
Bending Gravity
Posted by Dr. Science on 04/10/2013
If gravity bends light, how come light isn’t refracted as it leaves the sun?
———- from Adam Wesner of St. Louis, MO
It is and that’s why sunlight appears to be yellow, instead of its naturalcolor, purple. A big grape in the sky just wouldn’t be the same and, thanksto Einstein’s math homework, we don’t have to live with a purple sun. Asanyone who has spent enough time in school knows, it’s our descriptions ofthe natural world that define it, and without human codification, the worldstudied by science is a hellish place, a vortex of chaotic forces,randomly swirling.
Raising a 7-Year-Old
Posted by Dr. Science on 04/08/2013
My father has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and I can’t even figure out howto use the second function keys on the scientific calculator. My seven yearold son, however, thinks numbers are “fun”, and he and my father play mathgames together. Should I just leave my son with my father until he gets hisPh.D. too, and hire a Swedish au pair to keep me company?
———- from Michael Strecker of Santa Rosa, CA
