Originally posted in August 2007.

There was a New Scientist feature last week on Boltzmann Brains. Now I hadn’t heard of these before, and so I thought it may be worth a blog post. A Blotzmann Brain is an intelligent, self-aware entity which arises as the result of a random fluctuation in…

Over on the Cosmic Variance blog, there is a post covering the question of whether the Universe is a big computer, or as CV puts it, maybe its more like a computation. A very interesting read and the Quirks and Quarks show, which they mention, is also a podcast worth tuning into.…

A religious debate may be brewing in the comment thread on my 10 Things post. All views welcome…

What is it that making my blood boil? No, its not the holy wrath of God seeking revenge on my pro gay-rights, pro-choice, left-wing morals; its the Right Reverend Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle. Or should say I the Right Reverend Stupid Head? I could do worse but so far…

“Why is my subject of research worthy of study?” This is a question I am going to try and answer in the next week. The science of star formation is something which involves money, time and great effort. Is that expenditure by the taxpayer, the telescope operators and even the scientists and themselves worthwhile?

A recent Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is shown above. The point was to illustrate that star trails really are evidence of our rotation as a planet.

Are photographs of star trails really evidence of the Earth’s rotation about its axis? Yes they are, and science journalist Trudy E.…

I’ve just had another ‘Philiosophy of Science’ meeting where we were talking about social responsibility. The topic of the Manhattan Project came up and the Hiroshima and Nagisaki bombs as well as the Challenger Distaster and Columbia. We ended up discussing how many people die every year globally and how…

Yesterday was the weekly Philosophy of Science Meeting which is held in the Chart Room* next to my office here at the University. We were discussing the idea of a tribe of isolated people who might have a complete understanding of the way the world works. In their view, the…