It was my son's fault. He has been working on a project where the Wigner function is routinely invoked. He and now I am trying to understand its meaning. It was with some excitement that I located a thirty-year-old paper on the physical interpretation of the Wigner function. The combination of eating chocolates and having wine with dinner in the midst of my restricted carbohydrate diet reved up my metabolism. The paper, on the other hand, reved up my already racing mind. I was kept wide awake for most of the night in a frenzied state even after taking a dose of zolpidem and lorazepam tartrate.
Dirac notation is one of the most beautiful ways to formulate quantum mechanics because of its generality. A wavefunction, for example, represents all that we can know know about a system in terms of coordinates, such as the position or momentum. A state vector, on the other hand, is a general quantity whose projection onto the position axis gives the wavefunction as a function of position or a projection along the momentum axis gives a function of momentum. Since the Wigner function depends on momentum and position, I played mathematical tricks in my mind to represent it in the more general operator form.
One thing let to another, and I was trying to find ways to make transformations into a variety of forms that would give me insights. I played tricks by inserting closure, or used the inverse process of turning a variable into an operator so that I could collapse a sum with closure. I could not stop myself from making sense of the equations that tumbled around in my head. Eventually, sleep took its hold, but its grasp week. I woke tired, but looking forward to transcribing my ideas onto paper.
We are now packing and getting ready to fly back to Pullman. Though I am weary, an air of optimism fills my spirit that perhaps I will understand something new today. For now, my worries are tucked away in a hidden place.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
A silver lining
We have been visiting with family in the Philadelphia area. What should have been a fun time has been colored with tension and anxiety. First, there is the issue of what to do with my 95-year-old father.
He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. He and his buddies (all younger than him) occasionally drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town. Also, he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year olds with walkers.
Ten years ago, we built an addition to our home for my father. He refused to move in. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He participates in all sorts of events at the Ukrainian church and the Ukrainian Center. Pullman, on the other hand, has zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are there for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death most of the time. In Philly, he is an active part of his microcommunity participating in his ethnic culture that he cherishes.
My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, rendering his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he ages, he will become less independent. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.
The other day, my father fell as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to rule out a fractured hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and his wife Camille - a physical therapist, checked my father's injuries and ordered X-rays as a precaution. The local hospital quickly determined that he had not sustained serious injury.
This whole process reminded us of my father's situation and the painful decisions ahead. Unfortunately, every option other than the status quo is unacceptable to him: No to senior living homes, no to roommates, no to moving to Pullman, etc. For now, we are making arrangements to simplify his daily routine, but some day, we will need to bring him to Pullman, kicking and screaming.
We have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a debilitating migraine headache that put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.
This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news:
First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait.
While reading through the email from NSF, I got notification that a third paper on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers was accepted. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.
REVIEWER 1
The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...
REVIEWER 2
In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields.
On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.
While life throws all sorts of crap our way, I take great comfort in the fact that I will be able to continue my work in sum rules, and how they elucidate the nature of light matter interactions. Future work in this area, while remaining on the esoteric side, is converging on ideas that will impact practical applications. These thoughts temporarily allow me to escape form my wories.
Gotta pack and run...
He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. He and his buddies (all younger than him) occasionally drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town. Also, he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year olds with walkers.
Ten years ago, we built an addition to our home for my father. He refused to move in. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He participates in all sorts of events at the Ukrainian church and the Ukrainian Center. Pullman, on the other hand, has zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are there for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death most of the time. In Philly, he is an active part of his microcommunity participating in his ethnic culture that he cherishes.
My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, rendering his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he ages, he will become less independent. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.
The other day, my father fell as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to rule out a fractured hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and his wife Camille - a physical therapist, checked my father's injuries and ordered X-rays as a precaution. The local hospital quickly determined that he had not sustained serious injury.
This whole process reminded us of my father's situation and the painful decisions ahead. Unfortunately, every option other than the status quo is unacceptable to him: No to senior living homes, no to roommates, no to moving to Pullman, etc. For now, we are making arrangements to simplify his daily routine, but some day, we will need to bring him to Pullman, kicking and screaming.
We have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a debilitating migraine headache that put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.
This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news:
First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait.
While reading through the email from NSF, I got notification that a third paper on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers was accepted. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.
REVIEWER 1
The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...
REVIEWER 2
In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields.
On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.
While life throws all sorts of crap our way, I take great comfort in the fact that I will be able to continue my work in sum rules, and how they elucidate the nature of light matter interactions. Future work in this area, while remaining on the esoteric side, is converging on ideas that will impact practical applications. These thoughts temporarily allow me to escape form my wories.
Gotta pack and run...
A silver lining
We have been on the east coast visiting with family in the Philadelphia area. What should have been a fun time has for me been colored with sadness and anxiety. First, there is the issue of what to do with my 95-year-old father.
He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. In fact, in the summer, he and his buddies (all younger than him) routinely drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town - for a day of walking on the beach and eating out.
He is so energetic that he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year-olds who need walkers.
Ten years ago, we decided to build an addition to our home so that my father could move in with us. He refused. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He routinely takes part in activities at the Ukrainian Church and the Ukrainian Center in the Fox Chase area of north of Philly. Pullman, on the other hand, has for all practical purposes zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are here for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death without our company. In Philly, he is an active part of his micro-community.
My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, making his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he gets older, he will be less able to take care of himself. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise have a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.
Our concerns were renewed a few days ago when my father fell (when alone in his apartment) as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to make sure that he did not fracture his hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends of ours from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and Camille - a physical therapist, checked my fathers injuries and felt that they were not serious, but ordered X-rays just in case. We went to a local hospital in an expedited process - care of our friends. He was indeed not badly injured
This whole process reminded us of my father's precarious situation and the decisions that would have to be made. Unfortunately, every option, other than the status quo, is unacceptable to my father. No senior living homes, no roommates, no moving to Pullman, etc. So for now, we are trying to find ways to make his life simpler in his present living arrangements.
In the meantime, we have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a migraine headache moments later. My symptoms put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.
This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news within a few minutes of each other.
First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait. Hope my graduate students understand my inaccessibility during this period of time.
Secondly, while reading through the email from NSF, my email dinged with a message that a third paper was accepted in our series of papers on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.
REVIEWER 1
The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...
REVIEWER 2
In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields.
On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.
I have to run!
He is highly independent, living on his own, cooking for himself, and competently driving a car. In fact, in the summer, he and his buddies (all younger than him) routinely drive to Cape May - a Victorian beach town - for a day of walking on the beach and eating out.
He is so energetic that he volunteers twice a week to work at the senior lunch, collecting the $1.50 cost of the meal, and making sure that the books are balanced. He even helps deliver food to the eighty-year-olds who need walkers.
Ten years ago, we decided to build an addition to our home so that my father could move in with us. He refused. I don't blame him. He has friends and activities to keep him busy. He routinely takes part in activities at the Ukrainian Church and the Ukrainian Center in the Fox Chase area of north of Philly. Pullman, on the other hand, has for all practical purposes zero Ukrainians for him to befriend. Though we are here for him, work is a large part of our days, so he would be bored to death without our company. In Philly, he is an active part of his micro-community.
My father is concerned that his driver's license will not be renewed, making his present lifestyle impossible. We are also concerned that as he gets older, he will be less able to take care of himself. Our agonizing decision comes down to a choice between him continuing to live alone with the chance that he may injure himself, but otherwise have a happy life; or, moving him to Pullman, and dooming him to certain misery. In my mind, both choices are far from ideal.
Our concerns were renewed a few days ago when my father fell (when alone in his apartment) as a result of a dizzy spell. He was bruised but otherwise seemed unharmed. However, it was painful for him to walk, and his nurse (who visits him occasionally at home for blood tests), recommended that he get an X-ray to make sure that he did not fracture his hip. Fortunately, we had made plans to have lunch with good friends of ours from Yardley. After lunch, John - an orthopedic surgeon, and Camille - a physical therapist, checked my fathers injuries and felt that they were not serious, but ordered X-rays just in case. We went to a local hospital in an expedited process - care of our friends. He was indeed not badly injured
This whole process reminded us of my father's precarious situation and the decisions that would have to be made. Unfortunately, every option, other than the status quo, is unacceptable to my father. No senior living homes, no roommates, no moving to Pullman, etc. So for now, we are trying to find ways to make his life simpler in his present living arrangements.
In the meantime, we have been driving extensively to get between my fathers place, and the various in-laws. As a result, I have been feeling depressed and anxious about not having time to work, not to mention my motion sickness. Yesterday afternoon, after arriving at my sister-in-law's vacation home in Delaware, I finally sat down at my computer to work, only to come down with a migraine headache moments later. My symptoms put me out of commission for the rest of the evening.
This morning, I awoke feeling physically well, but mentally exhausted with thoughts of the piles of work that has accumulated. As I was working, I got two pieces of good news within a few minutes of each other.
First, I was notified that my NSF proposal on sum rules has been recommended for funding. However, there are several questions that I first need to address before approval. This will be my first priority, so my other work will need to wait. Hope my graduate students understand my inaccessibility during this period of time.
Secondly, while reading through the email from NSF, my email dinged with a message that a third paper was accepted in our series of papers on Nathan's work on photo mechanical liquid crystal elastomers. An excerpt of comments from each reviewer follows.
REVIEWER 1
The manuscript provides an in-depth model and related discussion on the deformation mechanism of azo containing liquid crystal elastomer upon a light trigger. The authors incorporated in the model heat effects as related to absorption and diffusion during and after exposure in the absorption band of the azo compound. To my opinion this was the first time that it was described so extensively rather than mentioning that heat effects might also play role next to the photo-isomerization reaction. For this reason it is my opinion that the paper should be published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America...
REVIEWER 2
In the manuscript “Modeling the mechanisms of the photomechanical response of a nematic liquid crystal elastomer”, authors have done the modeling to explain the plausible mechanisms involved in photomechanical response of nematic liquid crystal elastomer. In the previous report: N. J. Dawson et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28, 1916 (2011), authors have reported the experimental determination of mechanisms of photomechanical effects in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer in a particular device geometry. More interestingly, in the present report the models have been initially proposed and then used to compare with experimental results and to evaluate related material parameters. Undoubtedly, the theoretical modeling, comparison with experimental results and related explanations are up to the mark. Moreover, the report does not only demonstrate the fundamental mechanisms but also provide the platform for design of optical devices based on photomechanical effect and hence seems to be greatly useful for liquid crystal community as well as other related fields.
On the basis of the originality and novelty of the work presented in this report, I feel that it would be really of worth to keep this article in JOSA B. Therefore, I recommend it for the publication in JOSA B.
I have to run!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Correlation, causation, religious thinking and bad parenting
A couple of years ago, some friends and I had a discussion on the merits of accepting something as true based on subjective experience. As an example of what I mean by subjective experience, imagine saying a prayer and then observing a rainbow. There are those who have had such an experience and concluded that this was a sign from God. When such an experience leads to the conviction that the Christian God exists, I would call this a "truth" that is believed on the basis of a subjective experience. I am pretty certain that the rainbow formed independent of the prayer. But how can I know?
There are many examples of things that people accept based on subjective experience that can be shown false based on objective evidence derived through the scientific method. For instance, certain Christians were convinced that a weeping Mary painting was a miracle (subjective). An analysis of the tears found them to be made of olive oil (objective); and later, a hidden camera caught the perpetrators pouring olive oil on the painting (objective). This evidence of tampering did not dissuade the faithful from following their hearts and believing that the tears were still a miracle. Given the strength of the evidence, the tears were clearly not a miracle.
Similarly, many people believe that prayers are answered (subjective). An experiment was designed by true believers to test their conviction, which included members of prestigious institutions such as Harvard, and found that there was no connection between prayer and outcome as they had believed. Though objective evidence falsified the hypothesis, many members of the religious research team said their faith in God was strengthened by the results. I find this conclusion totally illogical and an example of how religious thinking leads to false belief.
I define religious thinking more broadly as the process in which conclusions are accepted as true based solely on subjective evidence; which, by the way, is not limited to faith and religion. This is in no way meant to be disrespectful to those who are religions. Rather, the term is apropos on the basis that such thinking is common amongst the religious. Indeed, many religions demand that people accept dogma on faith. To many members of the clergy, the thought of asking for objective proof is near blasphemy.
There are many examples of religious thinking that are found to lead to false conclusions when compared against objectively-derived evidence, and I will not provide an exhaustive list. Those who are interested in this topic can read the Skeptical Inquirer, an excellent publication filled with many interesting articles. My point is that subjective experience is shown over and over again to be a faulty method for determining the truth. If this is so, how can one justify the use of subjective experience as a source of true information?
One may argue that religious thinking is harmless. Often, such thinking is deadly.
Consider the hysteria over vaccinations and a purported link to autism. Many parents are convinced that their children got autism as a result of a vaccination because the onset of symptoms started soon after the inoculation. This correlation does not prove causation. The observation can be explained by the simple fact that the typical age of a child with the onset of autism symptoms happens to coincide with the recommended age for inoculations. Thus, it is no wonder that many children show symptoms of autism shortly after a vaccination.
Studies by a British Scientist that reported a connection between vaccinations and autism was later found to be fraudulent, not to mention inconsistent with the body of scientific evidence. Even with objective evidence to the contrary, many parents are convinced that inoculations are dangerous and have decided not to inoculate their children.
Because of decreased vaccination rates, childhood diseases such as Pertussis (Whooping Cough) are on the rise. In 2010, 10 infants died during an outbreak in California, where about 10,000 cases were reported (see the CDC website). As fewer children become inoculated, the number of cases and deaths will skyrocket. Yet 48 out of the 50 states in the U.S. allow parents to choose not to inoculate their children based on religious or philosophical grounds. The government is allowing religious thinking to trump scientifically established truth.
To protect the public health, it is crucial that nearly 100% of the population be inoculated. When religion affects the welfare of others, it should not be used as an excuse for an exemption.
Emotions complicate matters. It is difficult to watch dejected parents with autistic children carrying banners and protesting against the "evil" drug companies that make vaccinations that "hurt our children" (subjective). The scientific argument is seen as a corporate coverup, and legislation as a sign of government corruption (subjective). Even so, reason must triumph. The scientific method is specifically designed to remove subjective bias, especially when emotions cloud good judgment.
As I wrote in a previous post, this may brand me as an arrogant scientist. However, there are certain things that science knows with great certainty. In such cases, we must enact intelligent policy that protects the public. In short, strong objective evidence must always trump the subjective.
That is not to say that all subjective experiences should be dismissed.
When choosing a spouse, believing in God, or marveling at the greatness of one's own children, we should all be free to indulge our fancies. However, religious thinking must be resoundingly rejected when imposed on others, especially when it contradicts well-established objective knowledge.
There are many examples of things that people accept based on subjective experience that can be shown false based on objective evidence derived through the scientific method. For instance, certain Christians were convinced that a weeping Mary painting was a miracle (subjective). An analysis of the tears found them to be made of olive oil (objective); and later, a hidden camera caught the perpetrators pouring olive oil on the painting (objective). This evidence of tampering did not dissuade the faithful from following their hearts and believing that the tears were still a miracle. Given the strength of the evidence, the tears were clearly not a miracle.
Similarly, many people believe that prayers are answered (subjective). An experiment was designed by true believers to test their conviction, which included members of prestigious institutions such as Harvard, and found that there was no connection between prayer and outcome as they had believed. Though objective evidence falsified the hypothesis, many members of the religious research team said their faith in God was strengthened by the results. I find this conclusion totally illogical and an example of how religious thinking leads to false belief.
I define religious thinking more broadly as the process in which conclusions are accepted as true based solely on subjective evidence; which, by the way, is not limited to faith and religion. This is in no way meant to be disrespectful to those who are religions. Rather, the term is apropos on the basis that such thinking is common amongst the religious. Indeed, many religions demand that people accept dogma on faith. To many members of the clergy, the thought of asking for objective proof is near blasphemy.
There are many examples of religious thinking that are found to lead to false conclusions when compared against objectively-derived evidence, and I will not provide an exhaustive list. Those who are interested in this topic can read the Skeptical Inquirer, an excellent publication filled with many interesting articles. My point is that subjective experience is shown over and over again to be a faulty method for determining the truth. If this is so, how can one justify the use of subjective experience as a source of true information?
One may argue that religious thinking is harmless. Often, such thinking is deadly.
Consider the hysteria over vaccinations and a purported link to autism. Many parents are convinced that their children got autism as a result of a vaccination because the onset of symptoms started soon after the inoculation. This correlation does not prove causation. The observation can be explained by the simple fact that the typical age of a child with the onset of autism symptoms happens to coincide with the recommended age for inoculations. Thus, it is no wonder that many children show symptoms of autism shortly after a vaccination.
Studies by a British Scientist that reported a connection between vaccinations and autism was later found to be fraudulent, not to mention inconsistent with the body of scientific evidence. Even with objective evidence to the contrary, many parents are convinced that inoculations are dangerous and have decided not to inoculate their children.
Because of decreased vaccination rates, childhood diseases such as Pertussis (Whooping Cough) are on the rise. In 2010, 10 infants died during an outbreak in California, where about 10,000 cases were reported (see the CDC website). As fewer children become inoculated, the number of cases and deaths will skyrocket. Yet 48 out of the 50 states in the U.S. allow parents to choose not to inoculate their children based on religious or philosophical grounds. The government is allowing religious thinking to trump scientifically established truth.
To protect the public health, it is crucial that nearly 100% of the population be inoculated. When religion affects the welfare of others, it should not be used as an excuse for an exemption.
Emotions complicate matters. It is difficult to watch dejected parents with autistic children carrying banners and protesting against the "evil" drug companies that make vaccinations that "hurt our children" (subjective). The scientific argument is seen as a corporate coverup, and legislation as a sign of government corruption (subjective). Even so, reason must triumph. The scientific method is specifically designed to remove subjective bias, especially when emotions cloud good judgment.
As I wrote in a previous post, this may brand me as an arrogant scientist. However, there are certain things that science knows with great certainty. In such cases, we must enact intelligent policy that protects the public. In short, strong objective evidence must always trump the subjective.
That is not to say that all subjective experiences should be dismissed.
When choosing a spouse, believing in God, or marveling at the greatness of one's own children, we should all be free to indulge our fancies. However, religious thinking must be resoundingly rejected when imposed on others, especially when it contradicts well-established objective knowledge.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Writing, writing, writing...
This has been a great summer. The weather has been gorgeous and we are home in lovely Pullman. My original summer travel plans, which I was finalizing in early spring, had me flying out to Belgium to collaborate with my former grad student Xavi; and, colleague Koen Clays. Belgium would then be the staging point for my other trips, which included giving a Keynote address in Pretoria, South Africa, a stop in Poland to give a plenary lecture followed by a trip to Italy to present an invited talk in beautiful Cetraro at the NOMA meeting. Before heading back to the U.S., I would have stopped in Dublin to attend ICONO, an international meeting that has its roots in Pullman back in 1991 when I was an upstart faculty member.
However, the ICONO meeting was postponed until September. Since ICONO and NOMA were my two priorities, I decided to cancel all of my other commitments, reducing my travels to 17 days from 45. We took a 6 day break between my colloquium in Rome and the NOMA meeting in the south to drive around Italy with friends. This was an excellent idea, turning a hectic work trip partially into fun.
As a result of these abridged travel plans, I have been in Pullman for a larger fraction of the summer than usual. The weather has been heavenly, and working in my study with a cool breeze through the open windows is rejuvenating.
I had also planned to be writing several proposals now, but these good intentions were also placed on hold. Instead, I am working on almost a dozen papers that I hope will be submitted by the end of the summer. Proposal writing will continue in the fall.
Typically, summer salary comes from my grants. This summer, I decided not to pay myself for two of the three summer months. Part of the motivation was to have enough funds to pay all of my students since one of my grants is running out and a second grant was cancelled in the first year (out of 5) because of budget problems at the air force. As a result, I am working four to eight hours a day rather than the usual sunrise to midnight pace. This has given me time to decompress from a very busy life. Now I can take some time off to water the plants, catch an episode of a mindless comedy, or read the paper without guilt.
Most of my time these days is spent writing papers. Surprisingly, not having so many responsibilities to balance, I have found the process enjoyable. It's akin to organizing a photo album. As one mounts each photo, memories of people and events flow through the mind, leaving the reminiscer in a hypnotic state. Similarly, as I write each sentence of a manuscript, I recall the moments when ideas were conceived and grew. The memory of stimulating discussions with colleagues and students rekindles the flow of endorphins, allowing me to relive in my mind the birth and eventually the development of new theories or the discovery of new phenomena.
After my mornings with new manuscripts, I have a relaxed lunch, then meet with my students in the lab, interpreting new puzzles and germinating new ideas. This summer, life is as I had imagined for an academic. However, I know that the hectic life will return in less then 2 months, so there is some urgency to my rest. In the meantime, I am withdrawing into my blissful state.
Ciao!
However, the ICONO meeting was postponed until September. Since ICONO and NOMA were my two priorities, I decided to cancel all of my other commitments, reducing my travels to 17 days from 45. We took a 6 day break between my colloquium in Rome and the NOMA meeting in the south to drive around Italy with friends. This was an excellent idea, turning a hectic work trip partially into fun.
As a result of these abridged travel plans, I have been in Pullman for a larger fraction of the summer than usual. The weather has been heavenly, and working in my study with a cool breeze through the open windows is rejuvenating.
I had also planned to be writing several proposals now, but these good intentions were also placed on hold. Instead, I am working on almost a dozen papers that I hope will be submitted by the end of the summer. Proposal writing will continue in the fall.
Typically, summer salary comes from my grants. This summer, I decided not to pay myself for two of the three summer months. Part of the motivation was to have enough funds to pay all of my students since one of my grants is running out and a second grant was cancelled in the first year (out of 5) because of budget problems at the air force. As a result, I am working four to eight hours a day rather than the usual sunrise to midnight pace. This has given me time to decompress from a very busy life. Now I can take some time off to water the plants, catch an episode of a mindless comedy, or read the paper without guilt.
Most of my time these days is spent writing papers. Surprisingly, not having so many responsibilities to balance, I have found the process enjoyable. It's akin to organizing a photo album. As one mounts each photo, memories of people and events flow through the mind, leaving the reminiscer in a hypnotic state. Similarly, as I write each sentence of a manuscript, I recall the moments when ideas were conceived and grew. The memory of stimulating discussions with colleagues and students rekindles the flow of endorphins, allowing me to relive in my mind the birth and eventually the development of new theories or the discovery of new phenomena.
After my mornings with new manuscripts, I have a relaxed lunch, then meet with my students in the lab, interpreting new puzzles and germinating new ideas. This summer, life is as I had imagined for an academic. However, I know that the hectic life will return in less then 2 months, so there is some urgency to my rest. In the meantime, I am withdrawing into my blissful state.
Ciao!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
So much to learn...
Our trip to Italy combined some work and fun. After giving my colloquium in Rome, we drove north, stopping in Orvieto, Luca, Florence, Pisa and San Gimignano to see the sights. Then, we drove south to Cetraro (the site of my conference), stopping in Caserta for the night to break up the long drive. In Cetraro, I spent the week at the NOMA conference, where I gave a talk and interacted with many colleagues. Our trip ended with a drive up to Rome to catch our plane back to the US, with a stop in Pompeii to visit the amazing ancient city.
Upon getting back, the work that had piled up during my absence hit me like a wrecking ball. While sitting at my desk writing and responding to zillions of emails, I noticed a delightful message from World Scientific press stating, "We are pleased to introduce a new title that may interest you." Usually, I reflexively delete such emails, but this time I glanced at the title, "Fractional Calculus." Immediately, my mind raced back to my high school days when I was learning calculus concurrently with learning to drive a car.
I had noticed that the second derivative was represented as the square of the derivative operator; so, when taking a differential geometry class at a local university (driving there with my new license), I asked the professor if there was any meaning to a fractional derivative - that is, the derivative operator to a fractional power. He pondered the question for a moment and answered "yes." He then described how one would approach the problem. I was intrigued, but the issue had never come up again, until today.
With a little thought about the basics, the idea of a fractional derivative is quite simple. For example, consider the derivative operator to the 1/2 power. When operating twice, it should give the familiar first derivative. Using this fact allows one to develop the mathematics of fractional calculus. Similarly, a negative power can be expressed as an integral. Even complex powers are possible.
This got me very excited. I was tempted to drop everything to study the topic in great detail. Beginning with the Wikipedia page on fractional calculus, I skimmed over the introductory material that described how the gamma function is an important part of fractional calculus as factorials are to integer calculus. This makes sense given that the gamma function reduces to factorials for the integers; and in the rest of the interval connects the points between the factorial.
I read further, and found that one can formulate fractional calculus using the Laplace transform. Ironically, I had gotten intrigued by the Laplace transform when teaching statistical mechanics last semester. At that time, I had received the Dover book catalog, a treasure trove of inexpensive math and physics books. As I skimmed through the catalogue, I saw a book titled, "The Laplace Transform." I could not resist buying it. I also bought a companion book that teaches mathematically deficient people like me how to do mathematical proofs. Sadly, while those two books sat on my desk for months, I only had enough time to read a few pages.
This fact stifled my temptation to buy the book on fractional calculus. But, I was reminded of all the beautiful and wondrous topics that remain to be learned. Though I do not have the time to chew over all the profound topics that have been produced by the human mind, I take pleasure in the privilege of mastering a microscopic fraction of it all, and having the opportunity to contribute an infinitesimal fraction.
Upon getting back, the work that had piled up during my absence hit me like a wrecking ball. While sitting at my desk writing and responding to zillions of emails, I noticed a delightful message from World Scientific press stating, "We are pleased to introduce a new title that may interest you." Usually, I reflexively delete such emails, but this time I glanced at the title, "Fractional Calculus." Immediately, my mind raced back to my high school days when I was learning calculus concurrently with learning to drive a car.
I had noticed that the second derivative was represented as the square of the derivative operator; so, when taking a differential geometry class at a local university (driving there with my new license), I asked the professor if there was any meaning to a fractional derivative - that is, the derivative operator to a fractional power. He pondered the question for a moment and answered "yes." He then described how one would approach the problem. I was intrigued, but the issue had never come up again, until today.
With a little thought about the basics, the idea of a fractional derivative is quite simple. For example, consider the derivative operator to the 1/2 power. When operating twice, it should give the familiar first derivative. Using this fact allows one to develop the mathematics of fractional calculus. Similarly, a negative power can be expressed as an integral. Even complex powers are possible.
This got me very excited. I was tempted to drop everything to study the topic in great detail. Beginning with the Wikipedia page on fractional calculus, I skimmed over the introductory material that described how the gamma function is an important part of fractional calculus as factorials are to integer calculus. This makes sense given that the gamma function reduces to factorials for the integers; and in the rest of the interval connects the points between the factorial.
I read further, and found that one can formulate fractional calculus using the Laplace transform. Ironically, I had gotten intrigued by the Laplace transform when teaching statistical mechanics last semester. At that time, I had received the Dover book catalog, a treasure trove of inexpensive math and physics books. As I skimmed through the catalogue, I saw a book titled, "The Laplace Transform." I could not resist buying it. I also bought a companion book that teaches mathematically deficient people like me how to do mathematical proofs. Sadly, while those two books sat on my desk for months, I only had enough time to read a few pages.
This fact stifled my temptation to buy the book on fractional calculus. But, I was reminded of all the beautiful and wondrous topics that remain to be learned. Though I do not have the time to chew over all the profound topics that have been produced by the human mind, I take pleasure in the privilege of mastering a microscopic fraction of it all, and having the opportunity to contribute an infinitesimal fraction.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
In awe of majesty
The other day, we drove into the small Italian town of Orvieto, which is nestled in the hills of northern Italy. We parked our car near an old school, paid the parking machine, and walked up the hill to the central square. When we made the turn around the bend, the magnificent Orvieto Cathedral appeared in front of us. It was absolutely stunning.
The photos on the internet do not capture its beauty nor the awe that one feels standing in front of this huge structure, decorated throughout with centimeter-sized tiles laid carefully by teams of craftsmen. It must have taken thousands of man-years to complete.
The next day, we toured the walled town of Lucca, at one time home to a hundred churches and cathedrals. As we we walked from block to block, we saw many of them - magnificent pieces of art as well as impressive feats of engineering. We soaked in similar sights in Florence and Pisa.
In stark contrast, in the Museo Galileo in Florence, I found myself standing in front of a glass showcase with two modest telescopes that appeared to be made of lacquered cardboard. These Galilean creations, inferior both in quality and size to the small finder scopes that are attached to my telescopes, revolutionized our understanding of the solar system through careful observations of Jupiter's moons. In one great insight, Galileo moved the center of the solar system from the earth to the sun, 93 million miles away. I was in awe of his intellect. The beauty of a thousand exquisite cathedrals pale in comparison to the intellectual model of the solar system that he constructed.
In addition to discovering spots on the sun and craters on the moon, which shattered the Church's teaching of the perfection of the heavens, Galileo set the foundations for Newtonian mechanics and the theory of gravity, which describe the motions of the moons of Jupiter, the planets around the sun, the sun around our galaxy, and the motions of galaxies within larger clusters. More important than his discoveries, Galileo opened our eyes and minds to a new way of thinking - leading to an ever-deeper understanding of our universe that continues to our times.
While the priests pontificated on the virtues of ritual and the absolute truths held by the church, Galileo was uncovering the real truth, overturning centuries of dogma. It wasn't until 1822 that the Church lifted its ban on Galileo's writings, more than 200 years after he first turned his telescope to the heavens. In 1992, the Church apologized for its treatment of Galileo. This one man discovered the true beauty of the universe, which will continue to display its splendors well after the cathedrals have crumbled.
The photos on the internet do not capture its beauty nor the awe that one feels standing in front of this huge structure, decorated throughout with centimeter-sized tiles laid carefully by teams of craftsmen. It must have taken thousands of man-years to complete.
The next day, we toured the walled town of Lucca, at one time home to a hundred churches and cathedrals. As we we walked from block to block, we saw many of them - magnificent pieces of art as well as impressive feats of engineering. We soaked in similar sights in Florence and Pisa.
In stark contrast, in the Museo Galileo in Florence, I found myself standing in front of a glass showcase with two modest telescopes that appeared to be made of lacquered cardboard. These Galilean creations, inferior both in quality and size to the small finder scopes that are attached to my telescopes, revolutionized our understanding of the solar system through careful observations of Jupiter's moons. In one great insight, Galileo moved the center of the solar system from the earth to the sun, 93 million miles away. I was in awe of his intellect. The beauty of a thousand exquisite cathedrals pale in comparison to the intellectual model of the solar system that he constructed.
In addition to discovering spots on the sun and craters on the moon, which shattered the Church's teaching of the perfection of the heavens, Galileo set the foundations for Newtonian mechanics and the theory of gravity, which describe the motions of the moons of Jupiter, the planets around the sun, the sun around our galaxy, and the motions of galaxies within larger clusters. More important than his discoveries, Galileo opened our eyes and minds to a new way of thinking - leading to an ever-deeper understanding of our universe that continues to our times.
While the priests pontificated on the virtues of ritual and the absolute truths held by the church, Galileo was uncovering the real truth, overturning centuries of dogma. It wasn't until 1822 that the Church lifted its ban on Galileo's writings, more than 200 years after he first turned his telescope to the heavens. In 1992, the Church apologized for its treatment of Galileo. This one man discovered the true beauty of the universe, which will continue to display its splendors well after the cathedrals have crumbled.
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