Life and Death

Terror and Tragedy in Mumbai

As we bury our loved ones and mourn the fallen heroes, we have to ask ourselves, what is the right response to terrorism? My ideas, as usual, are a bit off the beaten track. And on this emotional topic, I may get a bit of flak for them. But if we are to wipe out the scourge of terrorism, we have to defend ourselves, not only with fast guns and superior fire power, but also with knowledge. Why would anybody want to kill us so badly that they are willing to die trying?

Debates, SFN - Science Forums, Philosophy, Physics

The Big Bang Theory – Part II

This post is a continuation of my earlier musings on the Big Bang theory. This one looks at the foundational assumptions of quantum gravity. In management speak, it is a high level overview, which sounds like I understand it. In a physicist’s lingo, it is merely a layman description or a hand-waving argument. In other words, the management types out there may like it better than the smart ones. You be the judge!

The Wilmott Magazine, Physics, Quantitative Finance, Columns

Chaos and Uncertainty

This article appeared in the Wilmott Magazine in Jan 2009, and talks not quite about the chaos and uncertainty of the last few months in finance industry can be summarized in two words. It is more about the physics concepts bearing the same names, and how they can be applied to the turmoil in the financial and economic world.

Philosophy, Physics, Science

Why the Speed of Light?

Another post in the latest blitz of physics/philosophy articles, this one presents an idea that the significance of the speed of light a la Special Relativity is a consequence of our perception rather than an assumption.

French, Life and Death

A French Eulogy

This is going to be my last post of a personal kind, I promise. This French eulogy was an email I received from my friend Stephane, talking about my father who was quite fond of him. Some day I will translate it and append the English version as well. It is hard to translate it right now, but the difficulty is not quite linguistic.

Physics

The Big Bang Theory

People present the Big Bang theory in physics pretty much like Evolution in biology. But I feel that it is disingenuous to do that. To me, it looks as though the Big Bang theory is so full of patchwork, such a mathematical collage to cook up something that is consistent with GR that it is hard to imagine that it corresponds to anything real. Here is a short list of my trouble with the theory.

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