Have any famous or well known scientists come to this site?

[MidgetDwarf]

my assumption that people who popularize physics, do not frequent these forums largely due that the population may learn that their favorite tv personality, book writer, etc really does not know physics that well. which would lead to loss of sales and markability.

 

[f95toli]

It is also worth keeping in mind that scientists that are frequently on TV (and therefore famous) are typically doing this as part of their job, it is not something they are necessarily doing in addition to a regular career in science. I suspect it is quite hard to run a regular research group if you have to spend in some cases several months per year shooting a TV show.

Producers of a TV show are not going to pick the "best" scientist in a field to present a show aimed at a general audience; they will primarily want someone who is a good communicator. This in turn means that the "skillset" needed to be successful can be quite different. Communicating science well is not easy, and doing so efficiently often means turning it into more or less a full time job.

Also, some of the more famous UK TV scientists have at various times been appointed to special chairs where their main job was specifically to ommunicate science to the public; these positions are often called "professor in public understanding" or similar.
See e.g.
https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/professorship-public-engagement/

Some of these are quite prestigious, e.g., the current Oxford Simonyi professor (first held by Dawkins) is now Marcus du Sautoy.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Temporarily locked.

 

[jedishrfu]

Garrett Lisi used to hang in here.

I once mailed him a comment about one of his E8 lectures. In it, he was at a loss for describing E8 in a simple manner for laypeople. I suggested the Eight Ball toy as an example and he responded saying he liked the analogy.

 

[berkeman]

Temporarily locked.

An off-topic cat fight has been deleted from the thread. Any further cat fights will result in temp bans for the kittens.

Thread is reopened. Have a nice day.

 

[dsaun777]

An off-topic cat fight has been deleted from the thread. Any further cat fights will result in temp bans for the kittens.

Thread is reopened. Have a nice day.

I missed the cat fight. Did it involve any famous scientists/physicists?

 

[dsaun777]

I've read that Kaku makes around $25,000 for a typical TV appearance.

He must be a millionaire.

 

[Ibix]

I missed the cat fight. Did it involve any famous scientists/physicists?

I was going to do cat puns on famous physicists, but the only one I can think of is Sir Isaac Mewton.

 

[dsaun777]

I was going to do cat puns on famous physicists, but the only one I can think of is Sir Isaac Mewton.

Schrodinger's cat fight.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

He must be a millionaire.

He is.

Note that Kaku co-authored the foundational paper on string field theory. So he's no slouch.

I see people like him, Sagan, and other people who bring the wonders of science to the public, as critical to the foundations of science. They not only bring attention to the subject, which helps to drive funding for research, they also help to inspire the next generation of scientists! You need people like this to engage the public and to fire the imaginations of young people.

If they screw up or overstep their boundaries from time to time, oh well. Star Trek was pure fantasy yet it inspired countless dreamers to become real scientists and engineers. Heck, the guy who designed the first deep-space ion propulsion system got the idea from Star Trek! So I say, let the dreamers dream. It is a part of the process of forging new frontiers.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Bruce Maccabee made some posts here. He has been a TV regular for decades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Maccabee

I'm sure there were mixed feelings as he is an optical physicist and a big name in UFO research. He got involved in some UFO discussions. We had a forum for such things back then.

 

[dsaun777]

If you are willing to consider infamous as well, I know Valery Fabrikant came around for a few posts about 10 years ago.

Isn't he in jail?

 

[jack action]

Isn't he in jail?

Yep! When I saw his handle, I was wandering where I knew that name from until it hit me. He started one or two threads, fetching comments for a paper he wrote. I don't even think anyone responded back.

I don't know if anyone really knew who he was, but I went to the University he is now known for, in the very department he was working, taught by his colleagues, just a few years after the sad event occurred. It is a name that leaves a mark.

 

[PhDeezNutz]

Canadian jails give you internet access?

 

[berkeman]

Canadian jails give you internet access?

And Fridays are movie nights.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I don't even think anyone responded back.

Who would dare?

 

[jack action]

Canadian jails give you internet access?

He had his own website.

But to answer your question:

Internet use in prisons allows inmates to communicate with the outside world. Much like the use of telephones in prisons, the use of the internet under supervision, for various purposes, is approved in 49 U.S. correctional systems and five Canadian provinces.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I thought Canada had only federal prisons and provincial jails. Am I wrong?

I'd hate to get sentenced to a stint in Yellowknife. "Good news! Summer is on a weekend this year!"

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Appearances can be deceiving, Mr Bean has a master's degree in electrical engineering.
View attachment 320025

I thought all EEs look like that?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I see people like him, Sagan, and other people who bring the wonders of science to the public, as critical to the foundations of science. They not only bring attention to the subject, which helps to drive funding for research, they also help to inspire the next generation of scientists! You need people like this to engage the public and to fire the imaginations of young people.

In fact, now that I think about it, there is a quote that comes to mind.

PF started in the spring of 2001. I was taking Physics II in high school my senior year. The semester was ending and I found myself getting a “D” in the class. I badly needed at least a “C” to minimize the impact on my overall GPA. Through the year I gained mass interest in the Internet, web designing, and community building. My interest in physics was also sparked by popular physics books by Michio Kaku, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking’s and Paul Davies. So I thought of proposing the idea of creating a useful physics community on the web as an extra credit project to my physics teacher.

- Greg
Reference: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/about-physics-forums/

So the popularizers of physics helped inspire Greg to start Physics Forums.

 

[dsaun777]

my assumption that people who popularize physics, do not frequent these forums largely due that the population may learn that their favorite tv personality, book writer, etc really does not know physics that well. which would lead to loss of sales and markability.

I used to think Kaku was just a popsci guy when I was younger until I bought his book on quantum field theory: a modern introduction. It's amazing he wrote that by himself.

 

[jedishrfu]

Thanks @Greg Bernhardt !

And how did it help your grade?

Does your physics teacher visit the site still? I imagine he had to once when you started.

Lastly, your story is somewhat like Eric Weisstein who built MathWorld and got a PhD.

https://mathworld.wolfram.com/about/author.html

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

And how did it help your grade?

He gave me a C-, which is exactly what I needed.

We've had a number of "famous" scientists pass by through the years. Such a life is quite busy, so it's hard to stick. @Urs Schreiber wrote a number of Insights and was a popular moderator for years during the physics listserv days.

 

[berkeman]

He gave me a C-, which is exactly what I needed.

WTH? I need his cellphone number so I can have a talk with him!

(Oh, probably too late...)

 

[dsaun777]

He gave me a C-, which is exactly what I needed.

We've had a number of "famous" scientists pass by through the years. Such a life is quite busy, so it's hard to stick. @Urs Schreiber wrote a number of Insights and was a popular moderator for years during the physics listserv days.

Sorry I am not familiar with your background but I really appreciate the website. Did you end up becoming a physicist?

 

[berkeman]

Sorry I am not familiar with your background but I really appreciate the website. Did you end up becoming a physicist?

No, he became a maestro in website design.

 

[Mondayman]

I thought Canada had only federal prisons and provincial jails. Am I wrong?

I'd hate to get sentenced to a stint in Yellowknife. "Good news! Summer is on a weekend this year!"

There are provincial/territorial corrections and federal corrections. No private prisons. Where you go depends on if your sentence is two years or greater.

 

[Vanadium 50]

So shouldn't Fabrikant be in federal prison? So it shouldn't matter if the province allows inmates access to the internet or not.

 

[Mondayman]

He is currently in Archembault Institute which is a federal prison. Supposedly prisoners there live the good life. Fabrikant has apparently been able to conduct research while incarcerated. The Canadian legal system is disgusting.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I suspect one's opinion of any country's legal system depends on which side of it you are.

As an example, "Unhand that man!" means something very different in some penal systems than others.

 

[jack action]

He is currently in Archembault Institute which is a federal prison. Supposedly prisoners there live the good life. Fabrikant has apparently been able to conduct research while incarcerated. The Canadian legal system is disgusting.

When you can give first-class treatment to people everybody hates, imagine how well the rest of the population is well treated.

I live in Canada and I can reassure you that I'm not thinking of hurting others because criminals have it "easy".

On the contrary, I'm reassured that if I stray away from the righteous path, people will do whatever possible to help me rather than simply wreak vengeance on me. History clearly showed us that this accomplishes nothing positive.