The blogosphere is ablaze with news that they seem to have detected neutrinos traveling faster than light.  If true, it would be the biggest science news of the century, overturning one of the most fundamental concepts in physics.  There is obviously much skepticism amongst scientists.  For a typically insightful explanation, check out Bad Astronomer Phil Plait‘s post:  Faster-than-light travel discovered? Slow down, folks

The Twitter fun began when a discussion between two physicist/mathematician-types, Blake Stacey (@blakestacey) and S.C. Kavassalis (@sc_k) led Blake to tweet:

@sc_k Maybe we need to counterbalance the HEP blogohedron with a Twitter meme? e.g., #mundaneneutrinoexplanations

Then he spun out a few funny examples of more mundane explanations for the unusual neutrino measurement:

• #CERN physicists did arithmetic on old Pentium computers
• #CERN physicists let undergrads near the experiment
• Calculations done by visiting Americans who still don’t get the metric system.

…  all with the #mundaneneutrinoexplanations hashtag appended.

I think I was the first one to follow his lead with:

• Forgot to carry the one
• Confused neutrino with one sent later
• Study published by Wakefield et al

Then @drskyskull and @physicsdavid and others joined in (even astophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Bad Astronomer) and, before you know it, the Twitterverse was alive with funny explanations, some of which may be as likely as superluminal neutrinos.  I ended up spitting out about 25 of them, which I present here, as they were tweeted, in reverse chronological order (so start from the bottom).  Enjoy!

I went down to Los Angeles to meet Rob on the set of the show.  Well, actually, it was a location shoot for, I believe, the 7th episode of the first season (yeah, I said, “first”!).

In Rob’s book, an experiment at the Large Hadron Collider causes everyone in the world to experience a bit of their own future.  In the television series, we do not yet know what causes the flashforward but since Sawyer is a fan of science as well as science fiction, we took the opportunity to talk about a story that has captivated the press for the past couple years – that the LHC will create micro-black holes that will swallow up the Earth.

See the video – and many more – at Time.com.

And, oh look!  Here comes the full version now…

Where does science meet comedy?
Somewhere in Brian Malow’s universe.

From museums to comedy clubs, Earth’s Premier Science Comedian brings the funny to the hilarious 5th installment of Science is Speaking!

by Delia the Artist

What came first for you, comedy or science?

Ah, the chicken or the egg, eh?…  Well, in terms of it being a passion and a potential career choice, science came way before comedy.  And I joke that I used to be an astronomer who got stuck on the day shift, but I never became a scientist.

Science was my first love:  dream girl, high school sweetheart, prom date.  But then I had a long torrid affair with comedy.  We ran off and eloped.  And it may have appeared to the casual observer that I had completely forgotten about science but, if you looked closely you could see the truth…  the heavy bias toward science geeky topics, habitual use of the language of science for analogies and metaphors – a tendency to invoke Newton’s equation for universal gravitation, for instance – or to use “molybdenum” as a punch line.

These were the signs that I would someday come running back to science, if she would have me.  But I didn’t want to give up comedy, my mistress.  Would I have to?  Perhaps not…

Comedy is both a science and an art.  And, for that matter, science is both a science and an art!

I’m not sure I can even tell them apart anymore.  We apply the same kind of critical thinking in both pursuits – but we also hope for and rely on those flashes of inspiration that come from somewhere beneath the level of conscious thought…  like Kekule’s day-dream that helped him solve the riddle of the structure of the benzene molecule.

You know, Einstein once said, “The only real valuable thing is intuition” and the classic, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

I know:  Easy for you to say, Einstein!

But seriously…  it has its surreal side, but my comedy has often emerged from the application of rational thinking to the reality of the human condition.  Thus, the name of my first science comedy CD:  “Rational Comedy for an Irrational Planet.”   I like to think I solve small problems that we didn’t know we had.

You were inspired by science fiction authors whom you say “made it easy to understand and enjoy science” – is this your goal as well?

I was referring specifically to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke – and to their non-fiction – their science writing.  They were early influences on me.  I learned more science from Asimov and Clarke than from most of my teachers.  And they are still the best explainers, by the way – along with Carl Sagan.  They can’t be beat for teaching you complex ideas without losing you – and, in fact, engaging and entertaining you.  Their love and passion for science is well-communicated!  I implore you to find their old, out-of-print books!  Get thee to a used bookstore!  (or an internet connection).

Anyway, I never set out with such a noble goal as that.  I just wanted to entertain, make people laugh – hopefully, with my own brand of comedy (insert Registered Trademark symbol:  ® ).

But I guess there’s always been a little teacher in the 4-chambered classroom of my heart.  I can’t help it.  A comedy colleague of mine once said that my jokes had more information in them than most comics’ jokes.  I think I can take that as a compliment.

And, whatever my initial intentions…  now, yes, it has become a goal of mine to clearly and colorfully explain some science concepts – and certainly to show another side of science – that science can be fun as well as mind-blowing.  That having this knowledge, this familiarity, this understanding of nature can enrich your life in unexpected ways.  Funny ways.

Actually, now I think my science comedy does function rather like science fiction:  it may teach you a few new concepts along the way but mostly it aims to entertain you using bits of science as its raw material.

Isaac Asimov once said “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…’   What discoveries have you made while finding the funny in science?

Well, I discovered many years ago that you shouldn’t say, “You can make me go to my room but you can’t make me go to sleep!” if either of your parents is an anesthesiologist.

And I discovered that science can, indeed, get massive mainstream media coverage as long as there is at least the suggestion that it may destroy the planet (cf. Large Hadron Collider).

Avogadro’s Number is well-known, of course, but I believe I was the first to discover his address.

I discovered that if, instead of asking strangers, “Where are you from?” you make a habit of asking them, “WHEN are you from?” it will improve your chances of tripping up a time-traveling tourist.

I discovered that some people talk to their plants, which is okay.  But you shouldn’t ask them a lot of questions.

And I discovered that whenever my mom loses weight, my dad gains weight.  And vice versa.  It’s like the Conservation of Mass, within our family.  My theory:  You never actually lose weight – you just give it to somebody else.  Fat can be neither created nor destroyed.  It’s one of the basic laws of the universe.  If you’re gonna live here, you gotta know the laws.

Any advice for upcoming comedians out there?

Don’t try to mix science and comedy!  Go find your own ecological niche!  Run along!

:: Beats chest, roars, shakes rattle, spreads wings threateningly, generally attempts to appear larger and more intimidating ::

(Objects in State of Fear May Appear Larger Than Actual Size)

Honestly, the best advice I have is to learn how to be yourself.  Centuries-old wisdom:  to thine own self be true.  Watch a lot of comedy.  Study those who do it well – and realize you can also learn a lot from those who do it poorly!  And don’t limit yourself to comedians!  Absorb a broader swath of life than that.  But, in the end, don’t let yourself be over-influenced by your influences.  Try to be different from everything else you’ve seen.  Tap into what is unique about you.  Find your own voice.  Tell your own stories.  In two words:  Be yourself.

You’ve entertained the likes of Microsoft, Apple and the National Association of Science Writers – what’s your next move?

I love what I’m doing and it gets more interesting every year.  I want to perform at more museums and for more science organizations, events, and festivals.  I recently performed in England for the first time and I’m anxious to return and to do other international events.

I’m doing video pieces for Time Magazine’s website (www.time.com), and working on some other television and multimedia projects.  I should blog more:  www.sciencecomedian.com/blog .

Long-term….  I’d like to be the first comedian with an extended run at an orbital space hotel.  Or just a one-nighter on the International Space Station.  I’d love to be the in-house comic for the first lunar or Martian colony.  I’d even consider a one-way ticket.  I should probably start with Virgin Galactic…  does anyone know Richard Branson’s email address?

*****

Find out more about Brian Malow and get on his mailing list:  sciencecomedian@gmail.com

See videos and subscribe to Brian’s YouTube Channel:  www.youtube.com/sciencecomedian

@sciencecomedian on Twitter

There was the Wiki, as previously discussed, for first virtual encounters.  Then SciFoo weekend arrived.

On Friday afternoon, my taller half and I checked into the Wild Palms Hotel in Sunnyvale.  Sadly, jealously, Tara would not be joining me at the unconference.  As I frolicked at the vast Google empire, she’d be getting to know every square inch of our little hotel room.  Whereas I’d be interacting with 200 scientists and science and science fiction writers, she’d be interfacing with a stack of science and science fiction books.  I’d have Neal Stephenson; she’d have The Diamond Age.  I’d have Ann Druyan; she’d have Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.

Shuttles would begin ferrying campers to the Googleplex around 5:15pm.  Tara and I went down to the hotel lobby a little early to join the gathering crowd.  We rounded a corner and bumped right into Esther and George Dyson, sitting exactly as captured here in their natural habitat by Betsy Devine.  They were very sweet and wished us first-timers a great experience.

Minutes later, Prabhat Agarwal introduced himself.  Prabhat is a former condensed-matter physicist who now works for the Future and Emerging Technologies Unit at the European Commission.  His job is to identify and support new areas of information-related science, and he told us about his personal interest in how we recognize something as new.  I’m still convinced that we rely mostly on the new-concept smell.

Jim Hardy has a pic from a few minutes later of Tara and me talking to Brian Cox and his wife Gia Milinovich.  Tara and Gia are in opposition, and I’m nearly totally eclipsed by Brian.  John Gilbey’s left eye makes a special uncredited appearance.  [Jim sends along this link to a bigger version]

This was the first of several conversations I’d have with Brian and Gia.  Brian is a particle physicist who works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva.  Gia calls herself a science groupie and broadcaster.  She’s worked on some pretty cool stuff like the CERN podcast and Walking with Robots and the new X-Files movie.

They are not only a couple but also a couple of the people I’d see the most throughout the weekend.  We ended up in a lot of the same sessions, although I was sorry to miss Brian’s LHC session.

We talked a bit about the LHC and laughed about the well-publicized fear that it would create micro-black holes that would destroy the Earth.  Although there is a chance that MBH’s will be created, it would require that the universe contain a few extra unseen dimensions, an aspect that is wished for by string theorists and others but still unproven (at least by us terrans in our local 4-dimensional spacetime realm).  Also, if created, the black holes would be so small and likely disappear so quickly (due to Hawking Radiation) that they may be undetectable by the LHC’s sensors.  A far cry from devouring the planet.

For an excellent fictional treatment of a similar catastrophe on Mars, check out Larry Niven’s Hugo Award-winning short story, The Hole Man.  Much fun!

A few minutes before we started boarding the shuttles, Steve Goldfinger introduced himself to me and Tara.  He lives up in the Marin area, as I recall, and we live in SF.  Steve is co-founder of Global Footprint Network.  We sat together on the ride to the Googleplex, discussing sustainability (his field) and science comedy (mine).

Steve also mentioned having been impressed with some science fiction by Kim Stanley Robinson – although we laughed when he accidentally called him “Kim Stanley Andersen,” which I suggested was a mash-up with Hans Christian Andersen.

I don’t know which Robinson work he was talking about but sustainability was a major theme (which it often is for Robinson) and it was not the Mars Trilogy (perhaps the Three Californias Trilogy or his most recent novels Forty Signs of Rain and Fifty Degrees Below).

As we arrived at Google, Steve and I exchanged business cards.  I had a great time chatting with him, but after we left the shuttle, I only ever saw him in passing perhaps once more.

Tara reads Niven & Pournelle's The Mote in God's Eye. On the nightstand: Asimov's The God's Themselves, Sagan & Druyan's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight. Tara is a voracious reader.