Archive for September, 2009
-
"Hold that plane!" We urged arriving at the departure gate. Our return home escapade was already episodic (see Air Adventures II) but finally we'd caught a plane just before departure. With more passengers streaming behind us from the airline "limo" ride for this flight we tried to help them by holding the airplane for them. It was a futile gesture as the next crisis was already starting.
(more...) -
Why do words appear backwards in a mirror?
A very interesting question. I think you also noticed that the words and letters in a mirror's reflection while backwards are not upside down. Looks like very strange behavior, so why does this happen?
Very profound questions you're asking and the answer illustrates a very advanced concept variously called mirror-symmetry, inversion symmetry or P-symmetry (the P stands for the word parity). Understanding symmetries turns out to be one of the key or fundamental ingredients needed to understand the Universe we live in.
(more...) -
Well, perhaps not quite living in the country but we started out not living in the city either and it was pleasant. We had woods on two sides of our house filled with ponds and small wood creatures that our children could investigate. There were places, like "dead man's hill" where the children could stretch their imaginations and dare each other to bike or sled to the bottom as fast as possible. Once endowed with confidence they even built a ramp at the bottom for emulating daredevils. Those were the days but they're now it's all gone. Evaporated for ever, I guess.
(more...)
