Over the weekend, I read the previous entry on this blog. It’s a post by my ex-PhD Student Emma, who having done a PhD in theoretical nuclear physics here at Surrey, is now working in climate change analysis at the London School of Economics. One shouldn’t really be surprised to find physicists in such places. Partly that’s because the division between disciplines is somewhat artificial. Everything, or at least all science, is connected by underlying principles, and common methods and ways of thinking. This is something to bear in mind when taking a modularised degree programme – you should definitely not assume that forgetting about the contents of one module once you’ve passed the exam is a good idea. Not, at least, if you want to have a holistic view of your subject. Emma working on climate change studies with a physics background is also not surprising since we physicists think we can turn our hand to anything. More often than not with justification.
Anyway, Emma mentioned that I was a “regular” contributor to this blog. I might argue that regular really means at fixed intervals, and that Halley’s comet visits Earth regularly, but I suppose she intended the common usage meaning often. I felt a little guilty, since I don’t post very often, at least not compared to my steadfast colleague Dr Sear. So, I resolved to post, and I thought I’d post about something I’ve learned recently. It’s nothing at all new – a method of finding the roots (zeros) of cubic equations that goes back to at least the 16th Century. I’ve known of its existence, but was prompted to learn it thanks to a Final Year Project student, who came to me with it recently.
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Usually I find it easy to resist reality TV, but not the Great British Menu. I just get sucked in and then have to know who will score highest on the courses, and then who wins on the Friday. I really don’t think this has anything to do with the science on show in the cooking, I just start rooting for the chefs as they try so hard to make their elaborate dishes.
