Twin Primes: Case closed?

It seems the conjecture that there are an infinite number of twin primes (twin primes are two prime numbers separated by 2, like 3 and 5) has been proved. While the proof is not published yet, the reviewers feel that the authors got it right this time. They had thought they had it right a few years ago, but made a mistake. Now, it seems, the conjecture is proved.

This is quite fascinating if for no other reason that there you can make arbitrarily long sequences of numbers where none are prime. Yet, there are infinitely many prime pairs. Pretty cool, eh?

Los Alamos: Under new management

The contract to run Los Alamos is up for renewal. In the past the University of California ran the lab. Now, contractors are bidding to do the job.

This is a shame, really. Los Alamos, and the other national labs, should be a great source of pride and science for the United States. That any of them could become just another factory saps the life out of what are unique places for research.

I hope the labs maintain their high quality of research and people. They are one of the few places left in America for pure research. If they start to slide toward too much applied research, or (heavens!) factory-like work, it'll mark a definitive end of science in America. Let's hope that does not happen.

Women and Orgasms: What's the point?

The New York Times reports on a recent study that claims women have no evolutionary purpose for orgasms. That's right. For men, orgasms are find and dandy. They serve a purpose: it's nature's way to prompt men to have sex and thereby reproduce. In women, though, orgasms are not necessary to reproduction.

Women can have sex and whether they experience an orgasm or not, still become pregnant. Of course, one might think that orgasms for women are important. If men have orgasms to prompt them to have sex, why wouldn't women have orgasms to prompt them to have sex?

Stamps for Scientists

The United States Post Office now has stamps honoring four outstanding scientists: John von Neumann, Barbara McClintock, Josiah Willard Gibbs, and Richard Feynman.

It's a delight to see such a tribute to the people who have, from their work and imaginations, enriched the lives of all of us.

Read about von Neumann here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann

Read about McClintock here: http://www.nas.edu/history/members/mcclintock.html

Read about Gibbs here: http://www.aip.org/history/gap/Gibbs/Gibbs.html

Read about Feynman here: http://www.amasci.com/feynman.html and http://www.feynmanonline.com/

Let's end this posting with a quote from Feynman that I saw for the first time at the site I cited on him:

"Physics is like sex. Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it." - R. Feynman

Time traveler convention: MIT goes nuts

Here's what has to be the most nutty item I've seen in a long time. What makes it so nutty is not nuts are NOT putting it on. Rather, students at MIT have put on a convention (of sorts) to attract time travelers. The convention has already happened and was a flop. No time travelers bothered to show up. What a surprise.

I think the students have caught the media bug and will do (almost) anything to get noticed. I guess it's not too bad, the idea is kooky but what the hey? I'm sure they had a good time.