Robert Crease observes at Physicsworld that the upcoming James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, is only one of many instances - some inaccurate or misleading - of "quantum" in our cultural discourse. To explain the ubiquity of the word, Crease invokes James Clerk Maxwell's observation that "the most absurd opinions may become current, provided they are expressed in language, the sound of which recalls some well-known scientific phrase."
More here.
Via 3 quarks daily.
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Robert Crease, a philosopher at SUNY-Stony Brook, has a brief commentary on metaphors and science over at Physics Web.
One of the very best books I ran across in the process of doing research for Eureka is The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-Century Physics by Robert P. Crease and Charles C.
Today, you can create your own fractal. (Don't worry, I'll still include one of my artistic fractals at the end of this post.) You don't need to download any programs, or learn any new techniques.
It's a diverse melting-pot of different groups, with hundreds of different cultures living together in harmony, many sticking to their own preferred areas. No, not London, New York or any other cosmopolitan city; I'm talking about your skin.