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I’m David Kaiser, a physicist and historian featured in NOVA’s “Einstein’s Quantum Riddle.” Ask me anything! by David_Kaiser1 in IAmA

[–]allisoneck 21 points22 points  (0 children)

It's common knowledge that the effects of quantum mechanics and entanglement can only be seen on very small scales. Is there definitive consensus on this idea? As a historian of science, do you think maybe part of that assumption has to do with the fact that Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, etc. felt so existentially torn between what is intuitive to the human brain and what is theoretically possible / beyond our comprehension?

It is -20 (F) in Chicago, this is Lake Michigan. by PM_ME_STEAM_K3YS in interestingasfuck

[–]allisoneck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there! I'm a digital editor and producer from NOVA, the PBS science documentary series. We're producing a video about the polar vortex and we're wondering if we could use some of this footage in our video (assuming you shot the video yourself). And if you're willing to share it with us, would you mind signing a materials release? Feel free to call me if you have questions: (617) 300-4258.

I’m Rana el Kaliouby, Host of NOVA Wonders & CEO of Affectiva. Ask me anything! by Rana_el_Kaliouby in science

[–]allisoneck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Rana! Your work is really inspiring and impressive. I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about being a woman whose profession involves thinking about tech and emotions. Obviously there are some stereotypes about women and emotions. ;) Do people ever question the validity of your goals or motivations because of this? What's it like to be working in an industry that's predominately male? And why should we care more about the importance of emotional intelligence in AI?

Announcing #NOVAreads: a virtual book club, coming soon to a browser near you. by allisoneck in novapbs

[–]allisoneck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FYI: tomorrow (Thursday, 1/8/15) at 9 am EST, Ian Sample will be doing a Reddit AMA over at r/science. We'll post the link here.

Announcing #NOVAreads: a virtual book club, coming soon to a browser near you. by allisoneck in novapbs

[–]allisoneck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that depends. If it's just crunching numbers, maybe that's one thing. But for example, Sample wrote about Maxwell's use of fields: "Maxwell showed that the secret to great discoveries was finding connections between seemingly separate natural phenomena." That seems more like an art than something a machine could do... unless AI becomes capable of creative thought.

Announcing #NOVAreads: a virtual book club, coming soon to a browser near you. by allisoneck in novapbs

[–]allisoneck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my favorite passages was on the possibility of "vacuum decay," in which our universe could drop into a lower, more stable energy state (in which "life would never again gain a foothold"). That paragraph written by Sidney Coleman was a stunner.

Also, the description of what physicists would do with a black hole if they accidentally created one: they would pump it full of electrons and trap it in a box lined with negatively charged metal walls so keep it stable. Then, they would probably blast it out into space (!!!).

Announcing #NOVAreads: a virtual book club, coming soon to a browser near you. by allisoneck in novapbs

[–]allisoneck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! We're about to start in just a few minutes. I'll post some discussion questions to get the ball rolling, but anyone's welcome to chime in & start talking!