I’ve taken to running half marathons while reading theoretical physics
textbooks and listening to industrial or black metal. It’s the best way
I’ve found so far to murderdeadkill social anxiety and panic attacks,
not to mention it feels hella badass. One of my dearest friends is the
only member of the only anarchist industrial project, so far as I
know. One of the songs on their album (which, of course, can be
downloaded for free), “Aspect of Illa”, starts with a quote from the
movie Ninja Assassin:
“Oy, here’s a question for ya.
Which one o’ these words don’t belong:
Laptop, space shuttle, nanotechnology, ninja.”
Which is totally a trick question, because of course all four word go
together perfectly fine.
Here’s a scan of the textbook I’m reading, because it wasn’t already up
online. Er, well, it apparently was, but the site got a takedown notice.
I hope they get a kick out of trying to stick their takedown notice in
the mailbox of a burned down house.
Springer Tracts in Modern Physics 210: Cosmology (click for .pdfs)
Front Cover
00 - Preface, ToC, and Notations
01 - Chapter 1 - Basics
02 - Chapter 2 - Relativity
03 - Chapter 3 - Expansion
04 - Chapter 4 - Cosmometry
05 - Chapter 5 - Matter and Radiation
06 - Chapter 6 - Standard Synthesis
07 - Chapter 7 - Inflation
08 - Chapter 8 - Structure Formation in the Opaque Universe
09 - Chapter 9 - Structure Formation in the Transparent Universe
10 - Chapter 10 - Higher Dimensions
11 - Chapter 11 - Topological Quasi-Particles
12 - Chapter 12 - Quantum Cosmology
13 - Chapter 13 - Machian Aspects
14 - Chapter 14 - Anthropic Aspects
15 - Index
Back Cover
Because of this book, I now 80% believe in macroevolution and primordial
nucleosynthesis (gasp, I know. Don’t freak out, I was agnostic on the
matter until I could gather more information.) And chemistry makes
complete sense now. I’ve asked every chemist I’ve ever met to explain
their subject at the particle level, and all have failed miserably,
blank stares abound. I was so sure that elements should be able to
mutate into other elements, they’re all made of the same sub-atomic
particles after all. Turns out, not only was my thinking correct, but
there are 3D diagrams detailing precisely how this transmogrification
occurs. (Chapter 6, Fig. 6.10).
Also, I take issue with the use of the Einstein-deSitter universal model
for calculating the reentry time from the inflationary period in
cosmological evolution. (Chapter 8, Eqs. 8.9 - 8.13) According to the
book, this makes the calculations “only four orders of magnitude greater
than they should be”. Apparently, this is some sort of improvement.
Well, I take issue. Instead of defining inflationary perturbations
according to the curvature parameter of the Einstein-deSitter universe,
which is supposed to be used to describe cold matter only, shouldn’t we
be using the Friedmann-Lemaître model?
Because I probably just lost everyone, I’m going to blather on about
something more trivial: Darkspace. Is a black metal group exploring
concepts in theoretical physics. Also good listening while
reading/running. One of their songs, 3.11 (all their songs and albums
are numbered, not titled), has a quote from John Carpenter’s film
Prince of Darkness, which might take the cake for second corniest
geek movie ever, right beneath Hackers. The quote comes from a portion
of the film where the main characters have been possessed by a neon
green sentient goop, which is Satan himself, and are theorizing satanic
metaphysical interpretations of particle physics:
“Suppose what your faith has said
is essentially correct.
Suppose there is a universal mind
controlling everything,
a god willing the behaviour
of every subatomic particle.
Well, every particle has an anti-particle,
its mirror image, its negative side.
Maybe this universal mind resides
in the mirror image instead of in our universe
as we wanted to believe.
Maybe he’s anti-god,
bringing darkness instead of light.”
Wrong. Wrong on so many levels that I’m positively delighted. And, now
that I have ensured that the other physicists won’t take me seriously,
and the other anarchists won’t follow a word I’m saying, I’m going running.
