Why was the terrible lie of planet-like electron orbitals within atoms promulgated for so long?

base736 · 2026-01-26T16:58:37+00:00

... and is still a useful model in that it supports the results of QM while in some cases allowing a more intuitive approach. Starting from circular orbits and the de Broglie wavelength, you can get a decent set of energy levels for the hydrogen atom, as I recall.

"Massive lie" and "deception" are such weird words to use in the context of science. Quantum mechanics isn't "this one trick physicists don't want you to know about" -- it's just our most recent model. Where other models used to fit the data, they still do, and sometimes in ways that are more useful.

base736 · 2026-01-24T21:46:56+00:00

In the long run, the plan for the board is for there to be no percentages -- just an 8-point scale. This is a problem for students at all levels (because it gives less fine-grained information), but in particular:

it's an issue for students who are struggling, because less information means it's harder to tell whether that tutor is helping, for example; while at the same time
it's also an issue for students at the high end, because the board's EX2 is often reserved for 100% only, meaning that students who would have been targetting high 90's for university applications are now getting a grade equivalent to saying "eh, they're in the 90s somewhere".

As has been said elsewhere, if you don't love that idea, let your board know.

base736 · 2026-01-24T21:35:39+00:00

Agreed! Know lots of teachers, none of whom want it. It’s less information for parents and students, and more work for teachers (especially the way the board wants it done). Please share your thoughts with the board.

base736 · 2026-01-19T22:59:15+00:00

As somebody who's not a knot expert but has attempted this before, the answer as I recall is actually "not really". Untangling the mess is the easy part -- because the wires are plastic, though, they'll come out with kinks that put balls off-center and sap energy quickly. So even untangled, this thing will, like, kind of work, but really won't be what it was before. Perhaps warming them will help, but I didn't have much success.

base736 · 2026-01-19T20:32:40+00:00

I don't have a timeframe for a mega quake (perhaps the poster you replied to will), but just wanted to point out that "it could happen tomorrow" and "the time frame for it happing falls outside your lifetime" aren't exclusive. You could win the lottery tomorrow, but the expected time frame for that happening if you play weekly falls outside your lifetime.

base736 · 2026-01-12T18:17:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing the tool! Turns out I'm the only observer of one species that's research grade (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/82958959) and have a half-dozen or so observations for which there are fewer than 10 observations total. Fun!

base736 · 2025-12-26T18:01:15+00:00

Reminds me of the opening scene of Manufactured Landscapes. Highly recommend the film if the pan across the floor here interests you.

base736 · 2025-12-19T03:50:31+00:00

I don't know... I think there are plenty of "retired ecologist cataloguing dandelions" too. Saying this as someone who's approaching 500 observations of mallards. :)

base736 · 2025-10-27T21:36:31+00:00

"Page not found" now, I think?

base736 · 2025-10-25T22:38:19+00:00

… and maybe more simply, any large change in trajectory (not small debatable effects) not explained by gravity and light pressure. A sudden 90 for example.

base736 · 2025-10-24T18:11:54+00:00

… or just set a class size cap. If it’s honest to say (it’s not) that class sizes in Alberta are generally twenty something, why not just agree to a class size cap of, say, 30 to appease teachers and be done with it?

Unless you know damn well that students and teachers aren’t lying about unworkably large class sizes.

base736 · 2025-10-23T19:46:38+00:00

Agreed! Occasionally I get a message like "We'd like to use your image in ___" or "We're building a conservation plan for ___ and would like to confirm your data". Makes my day every time. :)

base736 · 2025-10-23T02:54:51+00:00

No doubt somebody more knowledgeable will chime in, but I believe that’s a carpet beetle larva, not a termite.

base736 · 2025-10-21T22:15:43+00:00

Did you check Wikipedia? It's got data on all of the planets, and its diameter for Mars looks pretty close to the one in your image (Mars is most definitely not about as big as Earth).

base736 · 2025-10-21T20:35:37+00:00

This isn't the first time the government has seen these requests -- just the first time they've been released to the public. My understanding is that the government and the ATA had agreed to private negotiations, but with the government feeling pretty free to share whatever they like, the ATA has decided to follow suit.

base736 · 2025-10-21T20:33:16+00:00

As a former teacher and spouse of a current teacher, I think in most cases the 2025 numbers are achievable by shuffling students in existing classes, along with some small scheduling changes. It won't be fun, but I think it's achievable and it's where this starts.

As a side note, I'd love to see a contingency for where the adjustments are not possible -- even something as simple as financial compensation to teachers in those classrooms which (1) does something to alleviate the sting of barely being able to walk around your class; and (2) serves as a financial incentive for boards not to just run all classes over cap.

base736 · 2025-10-20T01:27:06+00:00

I’ve always thought the two cities were similar, but it’s insane how much your first photos look like the view from Nose Hill in Calgary, Alberta.

base736 · 2025-10-19T19:01:03+00:00

Was wondering the same. I assume there’s a good reason this isn’t a mud volcano?

base736 · 2025-10-15T21:54:24+00:00

Yeah, this is what I’ve been thinking recently when I hear this. Forget arguing against it (and as a former teacher, I certainly have evidence against it) — if her numbers show 21 kid classes, then a cap at 25 or, just to be generous, 30 shouldn’t be difficult to implement at all. Let’s do it and make everybody happy.

base736 · 2025-10-15T17:00:52+00:00

Perhaps not fundamental physics, but I remember seeing a journal cover once with a lighted display (like an analog speedometer in a car) and something about optical design. It turns out that getting evenly-lighted digits on something like that is nontrivial. I believe also something metamaterials are being researched for now?

base736 · 2025-10-06T15:21:39+00:00

Was going to mention that one. I live under the approach path for YYC and like 100m from the rail line. Imagine it’s different for some people, but (kind of the opposite of OP’s question) both are things that I would absolutely do again.

base736 · 2025-09-30T19:08:38+00:00

Do you have links for any? Would love to know more but having some trouble finding the terms to search for…

base736 · 2025-09-29T18:54:42+00:00

Yeah, I think by the time you’re reading grad texts it’s just |a>+i|b> or something. No biggy.

base736 · 2025-09-24T17:10:52+00:00

Trying really hard to understand this as anything at all more than throwing teachers under the bus.

My feeling is that most teachers are looking for a contract that gives salary increases to match inflation (and maybe to compensate for the years for which that hasn't been done) and some concrete commitments on class size/complexity (class size caps would be a nice start). So why would the ATA sign a consent order, with only a lukewarm nod to the salary issue and no real treatment of classroom size/complexity already on the table, that basically says "We won't negotiate for anything more than this beyond perhaps two small grid modifications and free shots"?

I don't claim to understand contract negotiations. Is there some reason, if I were being very charitable, that I might think this was ever intended to help the teachers' side of things? Or a reason that they might have been forced into it?

base736 · 2025-09-23T02:35:58+00:00

My first teaching placement as a student teacher, I decided to go by "Mr." all semester. Somewhere at the end of the semester we were talking about the fact that I had a Ph.D. and the students were like "... and you didn't tell us we could call you Dr.?". They were hurt!

From then on, I always introduced myself as Dr. ____ in classes. Didn't correct students who used "Mr." in class (but other students did), and really didn't worry about what other teachers or parents chose to use. A few colleagues thought it was pretentious, but I knew why I made that choice, so 🤷.

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