Philosophy
Let's test the intuitions today with one I gave to my first year seminar yesterday:
You are sitting in the aisle seat of a jet awaiting take-off when the child next to you hands you his helium balloon. You hold it in your hand next to the aisle as the plane taxis down the runway. During the taxiing, before take off, does the balloon move towards the back of the airplane, the front of the airplane, or float straight up?
- Intuition And Truth
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy. In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently...
- Are Atoms Real?
I gave a talk to a group of parents last Friday and asked whether we should believe atoms are real. The group overwhelmingly thought it was a silly question until one parent, clearly a scientist, piped up and informed everyone that atoms are not directly...
- Helium Shortage
"Helium shortage is on, and prices are up, up and away" Science and medicine are using more of the element, so there’s less for things like balloons. by Joyce Smith and Lisa Gutierrez August 19th, 2012 The Kansas City Star A helium...
- Boeing 367-80, Or "dash 80", Or 707
Noisy and still in operation. "July 15, 1954: Boeing 707 Makes First Flight" by Jason Paur July 14th, 2010 Wired 1954: The Boeing 367-80 makes its first flight from Renton Field southeast of Seattle. The jet-powered airliner will become the Boeing 707...
- The Politics Of Selling Helium Reserves
The National Academies Press: Helium has long been the subject of public policy deliberation and management, largely because of its many strategic uses and its unusual source-it is a derived product of natural gas and its market has several anomalous...
Philosophy
Folk Physics
Let's test the intuitions today with one I gave to my first year seminar yesterday:
You are sitting in the aisle seat of a jet awaiting take-off when the child next to you hands you his helium balloon. You hold it in your hand next to the aisle as the plane taxis down the runway. During the taxiing, before take off, does the balloon move towards the back of the airplane, the front of the airplane, or float straight up?
- Intuition And Truth
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy. In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently...
- Are Atoms Real?
I gave a talk to a group of parents last Friday and asked whether we should believe atoms are real. The group overwhelmingly thought it was a silly question until one parent, clearly a scientist, piped up and informed everyone that atoms are not directly...
- Helium Shortage
"Helium shortage is on, and prices are up, up and away" Science and medicine are using more of the element, so there’s less for things like balloons. by Joyce Smith and Lisa Gutierrez August 19th, 2012 The Kansas City Star A helium...
- Boeing 367-80, Or "dash 80", Or 707
Noisy and still in operation. "July 15, 1954: Boeing 707 Makes First Flight" by Jason Paur July 14th, 2010 Wired 1954: The Boeing 367-80 makes its first flight from Renton Field southeast of Seattle. The jet-powered airliner will become the Boeing 707...
- The Politics Of Selling Helium Reserves
The National Academies Press: Helium has long been the subject of public policy deliberation and management, largely because of its many strategic uses and its unusual source-it is a derived product of natural gas and its market has several anomalous...