h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Everyone, bar none, says the film is far superior to the book.

Having not read the book, all I can say is you have to try the film. It's perfect entertainment.

Ok then seems like i have to watch it then!

so... have you watched it yet?

hehe, not yet but i promise as soon as i find it i will watch it

I preferred it to the book, but I saw the film first and have loved it since my childhood. I only read the book last year.

Sorry to break the thread but I'm into this book about adhesives - just can't put it down !

Still reading Demon-Haunted world, but down to the last chapter or so, will have it finished by tonight I estimate.

Also I've learnt something, last year when I was training as a teacher we had rudimentary science lessons which covered pedagogy of teaching the subject, but also some fundamentals of science.

This included magnetism. I was really interested in it at the time, as I had just begun reading Richard Feynman - but had to abandon that as the pressures of the PGCE grew - and so persued the lecturer to tell me more. I wanted to get to grips with the science before I could teach it. So I asked him what made magnetism work? (We'd been learning about the alignment of dipoles and Faradays' lines of force but that was about all.)

I wanted to know more.

Kindly he took some time out to go through it with me. he explained why only three elements in the periodic table are magnetic (Iron, Nickel and Cobalt) is because the atomic shells of the nucleus of those elements have the 'free' electrons to share which is what produces the magnetic attraction.

We talked a little about Faraday's tracing the lines of force with iron filings in molten wax or the modern version, iron filings suspended in glycerine. (Imagine an etch-a-sketch but without the opaque front - the filings align in in three dimensions suspensed in the fluid. Very Cool.

But I digress.

We eventually got down to that fact that an electric current generates a magnetic field, and movement in a magnetic filed generates an electric current, and hence, electromagnetic energy but concluded that why this was was just a mystery and one of the fundamental constants of the universe.

At no point did James Maxwell or his equations enter our discussion. And I wish it had.
And I have Carl Sagan to thank for re-introducing* me to this.

Maxwell wrote the equations that spell out the how (but not the why) of how electric and megnetic fields behave in a vacuum, and which gave rise to the radio and television and it was he who initiated the discovery of the relationship between electromagnetic energy and light (which we call the electromagnetic spectrum thanks to him) which has now settled in my brain as illuminating that big, dark space between Newton's optics, Faraday's magnetic lines of force, Einstein and Quantum theory.

Anyway, it took me one or two tries to read (and re-read) Sagan's replication of Maxwell's equations (and the key he provided.) helpfully he explains the quantitative importance of the values in the equation as well and the qualitative 'story' of what that means.

And I just wanted to say a few decade too late, thank you Carl Sagan for teaching me something.





*I say re-introduce, I've a feeling I heard of Maxwell before now, I just didn't remember or recall his importance.)

The Shack by Wm Paul Young

Finished DHW during the intermission at the theatre this evening, I'd brought along Steven Pinker's 'The Language Instinct' just in case that happened, so with barely a pause for breath between exchange the clothes peg I use as a bookmark and I'm now reading that instead.

The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi. Having skipped the 40-page introduction, I'm still not sure whether it's about the industrial revolution or the rise of modern capitalism.

Oh, you'll enjoy that.

I *was* re-reading 'Sophie's World' by Josteen Gardner as a prelude to a) dipping into Russell's 'A History of Western Philosophy' again and b) passing it on to my daughter of the same name. (What? You called your daughter *Josteen*?!!!) Only...I left it on the porch of a log cabin overnight at the weekend and it got all wet. While it dries out, I'm trying 'Watchmen', which I've not read before.

pedro:
>>still not sure whether it's about the industrial revolution or the rise of modern capitalism.

Aren't they the same thing? Didn't the one enable the other? Discuss.

I don't think so. Worth a discussion though, right enough.

F135418?thread=6549192

Finished Kluge by Gary Mracus.

He uses various examples of how bad the human brain is at thinking, and even comes up with some handy hints on how to make the best of this imperfect tool. He throws the odd dig at intelligent design, but without being vindictive or spiteful.

Well worth reading.

Just started Moonfleet by JM Falkner. Haven't read this since I were a lass, but mention of Jamaica Inn on the One Show the other day prompted me to pick this one up.

Totally brilliant

Finished Axis, by Robert Charles Wilson. Good one, I really enjoyed reading it!
Just starting with The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle. It's fine so far but I am a bit concerned with the maths (differential equations) references
I am also starting to think that may be I should finally read the Twilight! I am not a big vampire fan, but at least I'll know what everyone is talking about!

Since my daughter's finishing off her 'Leaders of WWII' school project - which referes to various h2g2 Entries (A3059255 ; A3054359 ; A12961055 ), I've been prompted to pull down a book that's been languishing on my shelf/pile/avalance for ages:

'Resisting Hitler: Mildred Harnack and the Red Orchestra' by Shareen Blair Brysac

http://www.amazon.com/Resisting-Hitler-Mildred-Harnack-Orchestra/dp/0195152409#reader

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. It's the ninth century and the Danes are invading. The title refers to Wessex as the last uninvaded English kingdom (Scotland, Wales and Cornwall are still free, but not English) and some guy called Alfred has succeeded to the throne.

I've recently been inundated with new books. I got a gift card with which I bought several others at a major bookseller on Saturday. And yesterday I went to a book swap at a local bar where a friend works (and finally gave away "Anna Karenina", after five aborted attempts ).

But anyhoo... got one on Saturday which I've been itching to read, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", which may well make Austen readable for me. So far it's entertaining!

Just started "Cause for alarm" by Erica Spindler - I've read a few of hers before and quite liked them - so fingers crossed for this one