Unequally Yoked
I keep being pleased by the things I read at Nautilus. Most recently, they had a feature on how light bends and how dogs chase balls through sand and water (and what these two questions have in common). It’s a very lay-friendly explanation, but hard to excerpt, so please click through.
Fermat’s Principle of Least Time turns up in that Nautilus piece, which I first ran across in Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” where xenobiologists are trying to communicate with aliens. I quite like the story, and, again, it’s hard to excerpt from.
I sipped my tea. “Though I did want to ask you about Fermat’s Principle. Something about it feels odd to me, but I can’t put my finger on it. It just doesn’t sound like a law of physics.”
A twinkle appeared in Gary’s eyes. “I’ll bet I know what you’re talking about.” He snipped a potsticker in half with his chopsticks. “You’re used to thinking of refraction in terms of cause and effect: reaching the water’s surface is the cause, and the change in direction is the effect. But Fermat’s Principle sounds weird because it describes light’s behavior in goal-oriented terms. It sounds like a commandment to a light beam: ‘Thou shalt minimize or maximize the time taken to reach thy destination.’”
I considered it. “Go on.”
“It’s an old question in the philosophy of physics. People have been talking about it since Fermat first formulated it in the 1600s; Planck wrote volumes about it. The thing is, while the common formulation of physical laws is causal, a variational principle like Fermat’s is purposive, almost teleological.”
That philosophy-of-physics discussion turns out to unlock something very plot-relevant in Chiang’s story. But if you like your unlockings a little more concrete, maybe you’ll like this interview with a master lockpicker in VQR.
What are the [lockpicking] competitors like?
It’s just a bunch of randos, which was the best part. I figured there would be a type, that I would encounter a group of very serious and incredibly hard-core, competitive people. And they are hard-core, competitive people. Well, let me just tell you about the number-two lockpicker in the world, Arthur Bühl. He’s this six-seven German private investigator. He has this amazing mullet that goes all the way down to his thighs.
Of course he does.
And he wears these incredible, seventies-looking suits, and he chain smokes, and he drinks constantly. My first time there, I never saw him go to sleep. At four in the morning, I’d be wandering off to bed and he’d be holding court somewhere, picking locks. As best I can tell, he went three days without ever having slept. He’s just this incredible force of nature. Watching him pick is like witnessing a tiny act of violence. He’s just massive.
I learned a very little about lockpicking in college, but, among my geekier moments, I still love the first frat party I went to. It was at MIT, during the preview weekend, the frat gave soldering lessons, and there was no drinking allowed since soldering irons are dangerous.
Earlier that day, that frat had advertised itself by lighting pickles on fire, or, technically, passing current through pickles til they glowed (and, eventually, caught fire). I was pleased to see someone had done them one better and put together an electric pickle chandelier.
http://vimeo.com/86517446There was probably soldering, but no pickles involved in the preparations for the first Cybathlon, an Olympic for bionic athletes. In the Paralympics, disables atheletes aren’t allowed to be augmented beyond the powers of a human without mechanical assistance. That means there winds up being controversy over exactly how long prosthetic legs can be (longer legs = longer stride). Those limits are off at the Cybathon, and the events are a little different, too. Here’s my favorite:
The exoskeleton competitors, for example, must walk over a slope, up steps, around pillars, over a see-saw, across a narrow beam, then pick up a bag and carry it, go around tight corners, and then sprint to the finish line.
And speaking of exoskeletons… there’s an awesome randomizer up to challenge artists to draw better female fighters. Instead of generic chainmail bikinis, the Let’s Draw Lady Knights randomizer will specify your subject’s weapon, build, personality, culture, and animal.
Here’s what someone drew for Fists, Top Heavy, Nervous, Indian, Shark/Piscine:
io9 has a gallery of other images.
I hope people bring some of these to life at cosplay events and for Halloween. In the meantime, SneakyZebra has released a new cosplay video to enjoy (from London Super Comic Con). These just make my day whenever they’re released.
And all this reminds me I should start drawing up timelines from my own Halloween costume.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
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