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This Week Archive
We know what they write. But what do they read?
John Ellis reviews John Cornwell´s book Hitler´s Scientists this week. "It provides some food for thought -- particularly on the day that Germany inaugurates celebrations of 'Einstein Year'," he writes. It leads him to discuss what moral responsibilities physicists may have -- including the responsibility to promote the globalization of information.
Peter Steinberg describes a lecture by author Jared Diamond on his new book, Collapse. "I'm very relieved that somebody finally figured out how the Easter Island statues were moved 13 miles from the quarry -- without wheels," he writes. "And I'm still processing the story of the Vikings who starved to death, eating their pet dogs, but wouldn't dare imitate the pagan Inuits and eat fish."
José Ocariz relaxes with some rum, salsa music, and a great book, El Libro De La Salsa: Cronica De La Música Del Caribe Urbano. "It´s a great way to exorcise this cold and incessant rain," he writes (in Spanish).
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Speaking of music...
Quantum Diarist Alex Koutsman is touring this week in Iceland with his punk-rock band, Vitamin X. "We already had quite some success with the band," he writes. His blog describes his work on the ATLAS detector at CERN (in Dutch).
Stephon Alexander discusses the connections between mathematics and the music of John Coltrane. "It turned out that Trane was definitely into modern mathematic and its connections to his music," he writes. "I believe that his diagram to [Yusef] Lateef is concretely connected to Knot Theory -- but this is still work in progress."
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Making Connections, Part 2
It turns out that Quantum Diarists are like most people: They love to gripe about travel. Gordon Watts is a master of hilarious travel stories, and this week he doesn't disappoint with a tale of checked luggage.
Caolionn O'Connell is terrified of airplanes, but she also manages to find some humor in the most dreadful situations. "Once someone told me about the engine of their plane falling off," she writes. "That's just mean. I would have preferred a swift kick to the shin; it would have less long term effects on my psyche."
And Karsten Buesser gets upgraded, then manages to get some work done on the plane for an upcoming conference -- two accomplishments that would make many travelers jealous.
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