Category Archives: sciences

rabbi rentseeking

David Bernstein, of the Volokh Empire, reports on an appalling funeral in Israël mechanically presided over by a mandatory Ortho rabbi. (Title borrowed from Rasmusen.)

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if it swims like . . .

Ducks’ odyssey nears end A consignment of thousands of rubber ducks is expected to wash up any day on the coast of New England – after more than a decade at sea.

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a new kind of fiat currency inflation

The Nigerian jackpot has suddenly grown much bigger. No more chump change like 18 or 21 million dollars; today’s offers are for $55M and $75M.

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throw a pebble

I have long taken delight in how the Net lets me rub electrons informally with scholars such as John Conway and Larry Trask. On September 12, I wrote to Eric Weisstein of MathWorld: If the tetrahedral rotation group is isomorphic … Continue reading

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the brief fame of 2003 QO104

Current asteroid impact risk. These tables interested me less for of the warning they carry than for the way they present data. I had wondered how astronomers reckon impact probabilities, and these tables present it neatly. (Explanations at the foot … Continue reading

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circling the square

Circles made of Lego blocks

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dismal liberty

“Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question“, source of the phrase ‘dismal science’. . . . with regard to the West Indies, it may be laid down as a principle, which no eloquence . . . can invalidate or hide, except for a short time … Continue reading

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