Newmark's Door

I note once again that some of modern cosmology is . . . weird.

See also "Why simplicity works":

In my latest book, I propose a radical, if speculative, solution for why the Universe might in fact be as simple as it’s possible to be. Its starting point is the remarkable theory of cosmological natural selection (CNS) proposed by the physicist Lee Smolin. CNS proposes that, just like living creatures, universes have evolved through a cosmological process, analogous to natural selection.

And also very much related: "Was Our Universe Created in a Laboratory?"

Much easier said than done, of course. But if you'd like to try, here's some potentially useful discussion.

The thought that has crossed my mind a couple of times while watching science fiction the aliens-make-contact movies.

Fine summary of the this-probably-isn't-a-crisis case by Peter Wallison and Benjamin Zycher.

See also Veronique de Rugy, "Climate Change: Compared to What?" and John Cochrane, "Climate Policy Should Pay More Attention to Climate Economics".

Solve one and fame, and probably at least a few bucks, are yours.

Review of Carlo Rovelli's Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution.

Readers of this blog know the drill by now: give the points and bet on Big Al.

If you believe that Einstein’s theory is incomplete, then it behooves you to carry out new and ever more precise experiments and observations that may point to additional anomalies and reveal the path forward. This is extremely hard because Einstein’s theory has already been tested to incredible precision over the past half-century using laboratory experiments, measurements of planetary and spacecraft orbits in the Solar System, and observations of pulsars in double-star orbits. Therefore, finding new ways to test the theory is very hard, and coming up with extensions of the theory that predict new observable effects but are not ruled out by previous observations is even harder.

Very favorable review of Steven Koonin's recent book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters.

What makes Koonin’s book so refreshing is the calculated aim to inform, not persuade—an approach he fears is increasingly left out of serious scientific work on climate. Having effectively demonstrated how riven the existing science is with error, doubt, and even outright deception, the book strikes a distinctly optimistic chord in its latter half.

Universal translators, photon torpedoes, tractor beams, and more.

I wish him luck. He'll need it.