Obsidian Wings

an interesting person

by russell

Stumbled across this interview with Barbara Liskov in the news feed.  Liskov is an important presence in the history of computing for her contributions in areas like type theory, but mostly for her very pragmatic insights into how to structure a code base so that working with it doesn't lead to insanity and an early death from alcoholism.  (slight joke, but only slight).  She has bubbled up into the general consciousness of the software development community due to one of her papers being dragooned into support for one of the latest of software development's maniacal fad diets. But, I digress.

I thought the ObWi community might enjoy this because (a) she's a very intelligent person, and it's always a pleasure to listen to intelligent people think out loud, and (b) she touches on topics that are generally of interest here: software development, the realities facing gifted women trying to make their way in technical (or any) fields, and the emergence of the internet and its effects on society.

Hope you find it interesting!

Enjoy 

Sodom and Sarcasm

by Doctor Science

I don't seem to have talked about it here before, but last year (5779) I leveled up significantly in my Jewish practice by reading the Torah portion (Parsha) every week, and discussing it on Twitter under the #ParshaChat hashtag (usually on Wednesday evenings, though it was on Thursday last week).

Last week's parsha was Vayeira (Genesis 18:1 - 22:24) , which includes the destruction of Sodom. In thinking about Vayeira last year, I realized that there's an interpretation in which everyone's behavior makes a lot more sense and is more relatable than in the interpretations that have been standard for, um, well, thousands of years. Despite the incredible weight of tradition that's against me, I kind of think I'm right:

The men of Sodom are asking for ID, and Lot replies with a sarcastic pun. Nothing in this is actually about sex, it's about immigration, about how you treat outsiders.

Note: the following includes discussions of rape, abuse, and homophobia. Take care of yourself.

Sodom and Gomorrah (1920) by Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first African-American artist to achieve international fame. (image source)

Nothing really matters, anyone can see, Nothing really matters...

by Ugh

BREAKING:* In June 2019 President Trump pointed a loaded gun at a National Security staffer and attempted to pull the trigger, only to be thwarted by his substandard hand-size.  This according to a White House transcript released today in response to a whistle-blower complaint that, quote, "the President tried to murder someone."  The White House transcript reveals "POTUS then raised the weapon mere feet from XXXXXXX's head and attempted to fire (POTUS was heard grunting and seen sweating profusely), only POTUS' index finger was not long enough to provide the necessary leverage.  YYYYYY staff then calmly disarmed POTUS who was heard shouting 'I'll kill you you son of a b-----!'"

Responding to these revelations, GOP Congressman Jim Jordan stated "What's the problem here?  Did someone get murdered?  No. Even harmed?  Not at all.  And who is this staffer anyway?  He was likely a national security threat POTUS was trying to personally neutralize.  Also, I heard the whistle-blower once talked to a Democrat, so there's obvious bias.  And it's not like there is any evidence the President was shouting 'I'll kill you you son of a bitch' or something similar, is there?  This is all a scheme by Hunter Biden, and what about Hillary?"

.......

We're all gonna die.

*Not really

Starlight and Gravity

by JanieM

Surely it's time for something completely different.

I went to an event tonight featuring the authors of the recently published book Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe. The book was written by S. James Gates, professor of physics and math at Brown (among various other simultaneous careers) and Maine novelist Cathie Pelletier. They worked on this book together for IIRC five years, and only met each other in person about a month ago.

It’s a long story, and I didn’t take notes, but the gist is something like this: Cathie Pelletier ran across some old typed interviews of people, or people who were related to people, who were involved in the quest to test Einstein’s theory of gravity by tracking starlight during a total eclipse of the sun. Then she saw this commercial, and emailed Jim Gates out of the blue with her idea for a book about the whole thing. And thus this amazing collaboration was born.

I haven’t read the book yet but will pick it up next time I'm at B&N. I'm looking forward to dipping back into some physics for non-physicists – I haven’t done that for a long time.

Cathie’s novels are great too – sweet and funny and down to earth, a nice (and hopeful) antidote to real life as we're currently experiencing it. Most of them are set in the fictional town of Mattagash, Maine, modeled on the town of Allagash, waaaayyyyy up north, where Cathie grew up and is now living again after many decades and adventures elsewhere.

For the record, the eclipse where Dyson and Eddison finally proved that gravity deflected light was in 1919, 100 years ago this past May.

Open thread.