Among my more interdisciplinary endeavors at Drake consists of an editorship of the Department of Physics and Astronomy semesterly newsletter. I’ve decided to post these on my blog, as they showcase not only some of my best physics writing, but also my best graphics and design work. Continue reading The State of Physics at Drake
Black women face a very specific and unique set of stereotypes that strain the degree of their engagement in many societal and public spheres. One such rarely-investigated sphere is the STEM fields, where black women are exceptionally underrepresented. In response to an academic Documentary Video Challenge, my colleagues and I at Drake University sought to … Continue reading Roots to STEM: The Underrepresentation of Black Women in the Sciences
You don’t need to know physics to follow its laws. And that’s ok, since physics isn’t exactly applicable to the life of the average Iowan most of the time. Continue reading The Quantum Kilogram: A Podcast
The code of ethics for physicists and philosophers Ethics are components of a system by which one may distinguish between two or more equally desirable and undesirable options. At least, that’s how ethics are differentiated from morals, the latter being the system by which one distinguishes between good and bad. Unlike morals, ethics do not … Continue reading A dangerous series of if-then statements
“Do you know the Land O’Lakes butter box?” This is an odd question for Daniel Alexander. He’s a professor of mathematics at Drake University, and he’s trying to explain the complex mathematical phenomenon known as fractals. Given the context, butter cartons feel more than a bit off topic. It’s not obvious how they have anything … Continue reading Butter boxes to galaxies—the beauty of mathematics
Imagine yourself in Flatland. You are a two-dimensional being confined to a surface of unknown concavity. Your interactions with other bodies in Flatland are limited to one-dimension; you see them as lines of varying length, growing bigger as they approach you, shrinking smaller as they move away. You’re an existential stick figure, one whose identity … Continue reading A non-euclidean parable
The organizational system of thought is analogous to that of a quantum mechanical system. Allow me to explain. To do so, we must endeavor to apprehend the philosophical consequences of quantum weirdness. Consider a particle, of some sort. So far, so good. Just like a human, this particle maintains certain traits that describe its … Continue reading Food for quantum thought
“So, what exactly are you researching this summer?” In a nutshell, neutrinos. Although, to be clear, I am not researching specifically all of the neutrinos in a nutshell. There are far too many. A spherical nutshell roughly the size of that of a walnut, ¾ inches (1.9 cm) in diameter or thereabouts, would find itself … Continue reading Neutrinos: the prankish faeries of physics
It is certainly fanciful to entertain the idea of nonlocal causality. Telekinesis, telepathy, action at a distance—it’s the matter of science-fiction, really. As one obsessed with the concept of communication—how it is fourfold, according to modern understanding: comprised of source, receptor, message and medium—the possibility of trifold communication is exhilarating. Truth disseminated instantaneously and through … Continue reading Action at a distance: science fiction or fact?
Is there any difference, truly, between physics and philosophy? Of course not, you knave. There’s an entire course about it. I am enrolled in this course. And what is the point of an interdisciplinary investigation that yields only support for further differentiation of said disciplines? I am a rebel, though. To spite the inevitability of … Continue reading An introduction to the philosophers in all physicists
Hereby the Maverick 