"I think that would depend on how large the sphere was. "
Wayne Dirac's Groups
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Firefly Nerds
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MORMON NERDFIGHTERS!!!!!…
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Wayne Dirac's Discussions
Who are you really?
9 Replies
Ok, check out this clip from The Daily Show: …Continue
Tags: personality, daily show, online, lying, fraud
Started this discussion. Last reply by Kenny Jun 21, 2011.
The March of Science
43 Replies
About 500 years ago Nicolaus Copernicus humbly submitted to the world a heliocentric model of the solar system. This is recognized as the beginning of a part of human history known as the scientific…Continue
Tags: truth, nature, philosophy, science
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jay May 15, 2011.
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Wayne Dirac's Page
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Wayne Dirac replied to somanyfreckles's discussion is "standing up for what you believe in" intrinsically virtuous?"I think, if you believe in your heart of hearts that what you believe in is right, then yes it is virtuous to stand up for it. However, I must clarify as to what "standing up for it" means to me. I think your right to "stand up"…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"Indeed, not understanding the origins of life does not mean you do not understand thermodynamics. This is true. But I feel that vertigo has a good enough grasp of the science to feel that life cannot be sufficiently explained with current…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"Thonoir I submit that perhaps your understanding of the scientific concept of the second law of thermodynamics is lacking. I am not aware of any definitive scientific theory as to the exact origins of life. So to say that life does not violate the…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Josh Glunt's discussion What would happen?"Perhaps you are getting at the hypothetical situation where you are in a hallow room-sized sphere at the exact center of the earth that is indestructible and well air conditioned. I'd imagine that everywhere would be down. That is,…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"Are you kidding? They are incredibly finely tuned. First off, you have to guess at what earth's prebiotic conditions were, and then you have to simulate that in a lab where you have painstakingly ensured there is no contamination of any kind,…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"I'd like to point out that evolutionary psychology is one of the most bogus sciences out there. It is based almost entirely on conjecture with no actual empirical…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"This is just handwaving over the basic problem. Someone may have been able to create a self assembling RNA molecule in a lab under just the right conditions. But to say "yeah this is how life began. The molecules then just 'evolved'…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"Thermodynamics is only true for systems in thermal equilibrium. It is not the study of systems that are not in equilibrium. It is a big leap to go from the hydrophobic effect to the formation of self replicating proteins. Your explanation of the…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"Even with reproduction beginning asexually you have to somehow explain why this life stuff makes back up copies of itself in violation of the second law of thermodynamics. Why is nature making all these back up hard drives that go against an entropy…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Arjun Patel's discussion What if Einstein was wrong?!"Not much would change really. We might get an even better GPS system, but thats about it when it comes to all practical purposes."
Wayne Dirac replied to Joel Schama's discussion Vertigo: The Bible"General relativity is one of the hardest math constructs to calculate and understand. People spend years trying to grasp the full details of the theory. You have to understand non-linear partial differential equations really well, and so I highly…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Joel Schama's discussion Vertigo: The Bible"I think it is highly improbable for a lay person to find any evidence for relativity both special and general. It is not as simple as you were saying it was, and you have to just accept the word of prominent scientists regarding the evidence that…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Joel Schama's discussion Vertigo: The Bible"I've been following your guys' back and forth here for awhile, and I just want to interject here that you are absolutely wrong about relativity here Joel unless you are referring to Galilean relativity which I'm sure you are…"
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"You're right, that straw man version of the christian god you presented doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Good thing that isn't the actual christian god that christians worship."
Wayne Dirac replied to Jackalope Joe D'Antonio's discussion Prove god?"I'd like to get back to some points Joseph and Dylan have made, and refresh the reply tree. Joseph and Dylan have said that because a god is not necessary to explain the formation of the universe, that makes believing in him illogical. This is…"
Profile Information
- What Kind of Nerdfighter Are You?
- The Exceptional Kind
- About Me:
- I am a grad student studying Biophysics. I am married to an amazing artist. I am in search of my destiny.
- Favorite Books, Movies, Music, and more
- Books: Ender's Game, Siddartha, Crime and Punishment, Hyperion, Warbreaker, Physics for Future Presidents
Movies: MST3K, Chariots of Fire, Transformers (Cartoon and Live Action), Star Wars, LoTR
Music: Weezer, The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Postal Service, Broadway Musicals
TV: Dragonball Z, NBC's Thursday night block, Daily Show, Colbert Report
- What's your favorite thing to put on your head?
- Helmets
- If you could do your happy dance with anyone who would it be with?
- My Wife
- Website:
- http://www.hannahchristenson.com
- When did you start watching the Vlogbrothers?
- May, 2009
- Make up your own DFTBA initialism!
- Don Fabriso Triumphs By Attrition
Comment Wall (7 comments)
- At 11:28pm on February 23, 2012,
Julia Chapman said… I've seen you around here once or twice. You should come back more often. You are really good at making people think.
- At 11:20pm on February 23, 2012, Julia Chapman said…
Totally did not expect your comment when you asked to be my friend. Thank you, and I'm really sorry if I offended you.
- At 9:27am on May 11, 2011,
Alison Monahan said… Sorry I dropped off the map...
That's really cool. I like how focused this kinds of research is.
- At 10:59am on May 8, 2011, Alison Monahan said…
Yeah. I will definitely always have a soft spot for astronomy and astrophysics.
I always knew I liked the really big (stars, galaxies...) and the really small (particles, cells...). Plus the cancer directly ties to my family. My mom's had cancer twice and survived. Though I'm doing breast cancer research which she has not gotten. But I'm not sure where I'll be for my PhD so I don't know if I will continue with that kind of research for a while.
So what are you researching?
- At 10:58am on May 7, 2011, Alison Monahan said…
I would agree with your first statement. Physics majors are set up to think certain way (how we analyze stuff) and biology majors are rewarded for memorization. I just took a bio class that was memorization heavy, and to me that was really hard. But I did better than some bio majors in it.
I kinda fell into it in a similar way. I was in my first bio class and when my prof. introduced herself she said that she did cancer research. I also had her for lab. So one day I decided to ask her about her research. When I could follow what she was saying she said that they could always use smart people in the lab. Next thing you know I spend all summer and fall playing with DNA.
I miss the lab right now, but I'll be back in it on Tuesday. It's funny though because coming in as an undergrad I thought I wanted to be a theoretical physicist, probably in Astrophysics, but I realized that I love experimental, as well as simulational/modeling.
- At 11:37pm on May 6, 2011, Alison Monahan said…
I have the computer skills. My actual major is Computational Physics, so I've had two physics programming classes.
I've done cancer research with a biology prof. She really wants to start some computer work, which is one of the places I come in. I like DNA and simulating DNA. There's a lot of cool statical stuff there. But I have not been introduced to most areas of biophysics, so I'm still pretty open.
My main concern about choosing a grad program is the classes. This year taking E&M I felt a bit unmotivated because I saw no direct connection to my future career (among other reasons). This makes me anxious about taking Quantum mechanics too. So I've considered applying through a biology department and taking the approach that way, but I'm not sure how feasible it is.
Was there any other path you wanted, or you just weren't sure?
- At 9:25pm on May 6, 2011, Alison Monahan said…
- Hi, I saw your comment in the physics group. I'm getting my BS in physics right now. In the fall I'll be applying to grad schools, and I want to do biophysics. I was wondering if you would share any details or advise. Thanks and good luck with your research!
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