chaos3612
Small and angry.PhD student. Mathematics. Slow person. Side blog, follow with @talrg.
213 posts
Latest Posts by chaos3612
Moving blog! @chaoticaldynamics
Hi everyone! I’m moving my blog to @chaoticaldynamics
Long story, but tumblr is a chaotic website. Follow me there if you are interested!
Moving blog! @chaoticaldynamics
Hi everyone! I’m moving my blog to @chaoticaldynamics
Long story, but tumblr is a chaotic website. Follow me there if you are interested!
Remember the Women Who Made #Apollo50th Possible
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the historic Moon landing, we remember some of the women whose hard work and ingenuity made it possible. The women featured here represent just a small fraction of the enormous contributions made by women during the Apollo era.
Margaret Hamilton, Computer Programmer
Margaret Hamilton led the team that developed the building blocks of software engineering — a term that she coined herself. Her systems approach to the Apollo software development and insistence on rigorous testing was critical to the success of Apollo. In fact, the Apollo guidance software was so robust that no software bugs were found on any crewed Apollo missions, and it was adapted for use in Skylab, the Space Shuttle and the first digital fly-by-wire systems in aircraft.
In this photo, Hamilton stands next to a stack of Apollo Guidance Computer source code. As she noted, “There was no second chance. We all knew that.”
Katherine Johnson, Aerospace Technologist
As a very young girl, Katherine Johnson loved to count things. She counted everything, from the number of steps she took to get to the road to the number of forks and plates she washed when doing the dishes.
As an adult, Johnson became a “human computer” for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which in 1958, became NASA. Her calculations were crucial to syncing Apollo’s Lunar Lander with the Moon-orbiting Command and Service Module. “I went to work every day for 33 years happy. Never did I get up and say I don’t want to go to work.“
Judy Sullivan, Biomedical Engineer
This fabulous flip belongs to biomedical engineer Judy Sullivan, who monitored the vital signs of the Apollo 11 astronauts throughout their spaceflight training via small sensors attached to their bodies. On July 16, 1969, she was the only woman in the suit lab as the team helped Neil Armstrong suit up for launch.
Sullivan appeared on the game show “To Tell the Truth,” in which a celebrity panel had to guess which of the female contestants was a biomedical engineer. Her choice to wear a short, ruffled skirt stumped everyone and won her a $500 prize. In this photo, Sullivan monitors a console during a training exercise for the first lunar landing mission.
Billie Robertson, Mathematician
Billie Robertson, pictured here in 1972 running a real-time go-no-go simulation for the Apollo 17 mission, originally intended to become a math teacher. Instead, she worked with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, which later became rolled into NASA. She created the manual for running computer models that were used to simulate launches for the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo Soyuz Test Project programs.
Robertson regularly visited local schools over the course of her career, empowering young women to pursue careers in STEM and aerospace.
Mary Jackson, Aeronautical Engineer
In 1958, Mary Jackson became NASA’s first African-American female engineer. Her engineering specialty was the extremely complex field of boundary layer effects on aerospace vehicles at supersonic speeds.
In the 1970s, Jackson helped the students at Hampton’s King Street Community center build their own wind tunnel and use it to conduct experiments. “We have to do something like this to get them interested in science,” she said for the local newspaper. “Sometimes they are not aware of the number of black scientists, and don’t even know of the career opportunities until it is too late.”
Ethel Heinecke Bauer, Aerospace Engineer
After watching the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, Ethel Heinecke Bauer changed her major to mathematics. Over her 32 years at NASA, she worked at two different centers in mathematics, aerospace engineering, development and more.
Bauer planned the lunar trajectories for the Apollo program including the ‘free return’ trajectory which allowed for a safe return in the event of a systems failure — a trajectory used on Apollo 13, as well as the first three Apollo flights to the Moon. In the above photo, Bauer works on trajectories with the help of an orbital model.
Follow Women@NASA for more stories like this one, and make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
What do we say when we are in a Summer School and we are living hard the impostor syndrome life?
We say: I'm gonna take these much-smarter-than-me people and asked them a fuckton of questions. And I won't stop asking until I have absorbed all their knowledge and they've forgotten their own name.
i absolutely love when brutalist buildings are surrounded by and covered in a bunch of greenery. the juxtaposition……
being a woman isn’t about the body you were born with or your feelings or your brain it’s about being haunted by this quote from margaret atwood for your entire life
‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ Best Lyric Quotes
So here I am, back again with a new ‘Best Lyric Quotes’ post, this time with the enchanting Florence + the Machine. I picked this album first, not only ‘cause it’s the last one out, but also because I think it is immensely gorgeous. So let’s get to it already!
1. Ship to Wreck
“Did I drink too much? Am I losing touch? Did I build a ship to wreck?”
“Good God, under starless skies We are lost”
“Don’t touch the sleeping pills, they mess with my head”
“I can’t help but pull the earth around me to make my bed”
2. What Kind of Man
“You were on the other side, like always Wondering what to do with life”
“I’d already had a sip So I’d reasoned I was drunk enough to deal with it”
“Sometimes you’re half in and then you’re half out But you never close the door”
“You do such damage, how do you manage? To have me crawling back for more”
“I think I’m through it Then I’m back against the wall What kind of man loves like this?”
3. How Big How Blue How Beautiful
“Tell me you see it too We opened our eyes and it’s changing the view Oh, what are we gonna do? We opened the door now, it’s all coming through”
“So much time on the other side Waiting for you to wake up Maybe I’ll see you in another life If this one wasn’t enough“
4. Queen of Peace
“Oh, what is it worth When all that’s left is hurt?”
“Like the stars chase the sun Over the glowing hill, I will conquer Blood is running deep Some things never sleep”
“Suddenly I’m overcome Dissolving like the setting sun Like a boat into oblivion Cause you’re driving me away”
“Always does her best to please But is it any use? Somebody’s gotta lose”
“And my love is no good Against the fortress that it made of you”
“To give yourself over to another body That’s all you want really To be out of your own and consumed by another To swim inside the skin of your lover Not to have to breathe, not to have to think But you can’t live on love; salt water’s no drink”
5. Various Storms & Saints
“But you took your toll on me So I gave myself over willingly You got a hold on me”
“Don’t make the mountain your enemy Get out, get up there instead”
“You saw the stars out in front of you Too tempting not to touch But even though it shocked you Something’s electric in your blood”
“Outside the world seems a violent place But you had to have him, and so you did Some things you let go in order to live”
“You sing it out loud, ‘who made us this way?’ I know you’re bleeding, but you’ll be okay Hold on to your heart, you’ll keep it safe Hold on to your heart, don’t give it away”
“You don’t need no edge to cling from Your heart is there, it’s in your hands”
“I know it seems like forever I know it seems like an age But one day this will be over I swear it’s not so far away”
Hold on to your heart…
6. Delilah
“Cause I’m gonna be free and I’m gonna be fine”
“Too fast for freedom Sometimes it all falls down These chains never leave me I keep dragging them around”
“Strung up, strung out for your love Hanging, hung up, it’s so rough I’m wrung and ringing out Why can’t you let me know?”
7. Long & Lost
“Without your love, I’ll be So long and lost, are you missing me?”
“Is it too late to come on home? Can the city forgive? I hear its sad song”
“You wonder why it is that I came home I figured out where I belong”
8. Caught
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do To try and keep from calling you Well, can my dreams keep coming true? How can they? Cause when I sleep, I never dream of you”
“As if the dream of you, it sleeps too But it never slips away It just gains its strength and digs its hooks To drag me through the day”
“I can’t keep calm, I can’t keep still Pulled apart against my will”
“it’s hard to see it when you’re in it Cause I went blind for you”
9. Third Eye
“Look up Don’t make a shadow of yourself Always shutting out the light”
“You don’t have to be a ghost Here amongst the living You are flesh and blood And you deserve to be loved And you deserve what you are given“
“But your pain is a tribute The only thing you let hold you”
“I am the same, I’m the same I’m trying to change“
10. St. Jude
“Another battle never won And each side is a loser So who cares who fired the gun?”
“And I’m learning, so I’m leaving And even though I’m grieving I’m trying to find the meaning Let loss reveal it”
“Maybe I’ve always been more comfortable in chaos”
11. Mother
“Can you protect me from what I want? The love that I let in left me so lost”
“No use wishing on the water It grants you no relief”
“Make me a big tall tree So I can shed my leaves and let it blow through me”
“Make me a big grey cloud So I can rain on you things I can’t say out loud”
“Make me a bird of prey So I can rise above this, let it fall away”
“Make me a song so sweet Heaven trembles, fallen at our feet”
12. Hiding
“Tell me I will be released Not sure I can deal with this Up all night again this week Breaking things that I should keep”
“I know that you’re hiding I know there’s a part of you that I just cannot reach You don’t have to let me in Just know that I’m still here I’m ready for you whenever, whenever you need”
“it’s your pride That’s keeping us still so far apart But if you give a little, so will I”
“I’m still here…”
13. Make Up Your Mind
“Every time I try to bring it down You always turn my hand around”
“Let me live or let me love you”
“While you’ve been saving your neck I’ve been breaking mine for you”
“Is it best to sip it slowly Or drink it down in one?”
“Make up your mind Before I make it up for you”
14. Which Witch
“I’m miles away, he’s on my mind I’m getting tired of crawling all the way”
“Been in the dark since the day we met Fire, help me to forget”
“And it’s an old scar Trying to bleach it out”
15. Pure Feeling
“Staring out the window I could see into the soul of every passer by So many lives So many pairs of eyes”
“Our bodies moving in the dark It takes the pain from me And then I am in love With everyone I see I keep on moving in the spaces where you used to be”
16. Conductor
“If I write a song about you Does that make you mine?”
“The notes were flying up Higher and higher But they never reach the top”
“I am the orchestra The conductor too My heart is a concert hall And I filled it with you”
17. As Far As I Could Get
“Because I am unloved I went as far as I could get”
“I went as far as I could get And I’m not far enough yet”
“I went as far as I could get Cause if I am unloved, I have unloved too”
In hopes of inspiring younger generations, NASA created this series of gorgeous retro travel posters that encourage you to imagine a future where common space travel is a legitimate possibility. Source
the reason that social and sexual dynamics are screwed is that most people don’t like most people, but still want things from them.
i was thinking, for example, about the “respectful promiscuous” male archetype. the kind of guy that gets laid a lot and is very good at sex, and so acquires a reputation as being some kind of player, with the implication that being a player means being kind of a jerk. women like him, so of course he doesn’t care about them. except that in reality, the reason he gets laid a lot is that he really really–almost to the point of weirdness–likes women. people focus on the negging part of game, the idea of manipulating someone into seeking your approval. but half of the fun of being teased is the idea that someone is paying enough attention to you to tease you. when it’s well-intended, teasing is an attempt to build intimacy and rapport. it’s attractive because the attention part is complimentary while the “insulting” part reassures you that you are not being pedestalized. it suggests that you 1) like someone, 2) as they are. it’s a kind of pact to be okay with each other’s imperfections. teasing is just a shortcut, though. as long as someone believes that you like them for “authentic” reasons, attention is extremely attractive.
so people (not just women, this is a broader social principle) “like jerks” because jerkishness is a signal of authenticity, but they will absolutely accept authenticity in other forms. confidence is attractive because it assures people that you like them because you like them (or will like them because you like them, if they can convince you to like them), not because you want people to like you so you can feel good about yourself. imo, the focus on the idea that confident = high status = attractive obscures this more important reality, namely, that people really like being liked.
problems happen because unless you’re a rare charismatic bird that likes everyone, you probably can’t give credible signals that you authentically like all the people that you might want social or sexual validation from. this is why “be yourself” is seen as the best advice to win friends, lovers, and social influence. it’s an admonition to make your (liking-people) signals more credible. which is great advice, in some ways, but often feels like terrible advice because the more actually credible (rather than fake-credible) your signals become, the more the pool of people you can convince you like them shrinks.
Relationship status:
I've just googled "How to survive attending your Ex's wedding"
A list of math books
…to read in lieu of an actual math class. So far I have
- Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
- I am Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter
- Chaos by James Gleick
- Category Theory by Steve Awodey
The Old Astronomer
Reach me down my Tycho Brahé,—I would know him when we meet, When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet; He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how We are working to completion, working on from then till now. Pray, remember, that I leave you all my theory complete, Lacking only certain data, for your adding, as is meet; And remember, men will scorn it, ’tis original and true, And the obloquy of newness may fall bitterly on you. But, my pupil, as my pupil you have learnt the worth of scorn; You have laughed with me at pity, we have joyed to be forlorn; What, for us, are all distractions of men’s fellowship and smiles? What, for us, the goddess Pleasure, with her meretricious wiles? You may tell that German College that their honour comes too late. But they must not waste repentance on the grizzly savant’s fate; Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. What, my boy, you are not weeping? You should save your eyes for sight; You will need them, mine observer, yet for many another night. I leave none but you, my pupil, unto whom my plans are known. You “have none but me,” you murmur, and I “leave you quite alone”? Well then, kiss me,—since my mother left her blessing on my brow, There has been a something wanting in my nature until now; I can dimly comprehend it,—that I might have been more kind, Might have cherished you more wisely, as the one I leave behind. I “have never failed in kindness”? No, we lived too high for strife,— Calmest coldness was the error which has crept into our life; But your spirit is untainted, I can dedicate you still To the service of our science: you will further it? you will! There are certain calculations I should like to make with you, To be sure that your deductions will be logical and true; And remember, “Patience, Patience,” is the watchword of a sage, Not to-day nor yet to-morrow can complete a perfect age. I have sown, like Tycho Brahé, that a greater man may reap; But if none should do my reaping, ’twill disturb me in my sleep. So be careful and be faithful, though, like me, you leave no name; See, my boy, that nothing turn you to the mere pursuit of fame. I must say Good-bye, my pupil, for I cannot longer speak; Draw the curtain back for Venus, ere my vision grows too weak: It is strange the pearly planet should look red as fiery Mars,— God will mercifully guide me on my way amongst the stars.
- Sarah Williams, 1868
Joi Ito:
“What I realized was that a lot of the engineers who work in AI felt that you could reduce the whole world to a function.
That life, human life, was just optimizing. And that the world could be simulated in a computer.
This is almost religious because I think that there are people who have the kind of thinking where they look at their life as a game.
Where they say: “Okay. I’m optimizing for money, and how many minutes do I have to do this.”
I tweeted out the other day: “Those people who think that we live in a computer simulation are the kinds of people who are most likely to be simulations.”
A lot of people approach life like an engineering problem. For them, I could imagine that they could see their whole life being in a computer.
But if you go into the humanities or the East Coast, there are a lot of people who don’t think like a computer.
They live life through experience and only things that happen actually matter. (…)
A lot of the papers that you see by the engineers say: “We’ll just define fairness as accuracy,” or something like that.
And this is what I call reductionist, because fairness is really complex, and it’s always contextual.
My concern is the stuff that we have, which is efficiency, productivity — that’s the stuff that makes us obese, creates climate change, income inequality.
The problems that we have today are caused by the tools that we created.
But I think there’s a lot of people who believe that more efficiency and productivity will fix everything.
I think right now there’s a lot of power in the hands of the reductionists.
And I would put economists and neoclassic economics in this, which is just reducing everything to just measuring GDP. (…)
If you go to places like MIT, the engineers have all the power, all the money, and everything looks like an engineering problem.
And we’ve made liberal arts sort of this sideshow.
I think that we need the historians, social scientists, anthropologists, qualitative people involved in asking the questions: why are we here, what are we doing?”
Source: Recode Decode — MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito on the problem with tech people who want to solve problems
OMG! They are incredible!
Japanese tea bag maker Ocean-Teabag has been making waves by creating little parcels of aroma in the shape of marine animals. Luckily for us, their wide range of tea bags are available at online Japanese novelty retailer Village Vanguard, maker of such fine products as Space Tea and cat-shaped kitchen utensils.
Ocean-Teabag’s earliest designs included beautiful dolphin tea bags filled with blue mallow tea leaves. Steeping them turns your otherwise normal pot of water into a tranquil ocean. Proving to be a hit among tea lovers, Ocean-Teabag expanded their repertoire to many other sea creatures including the sea turtle (butterfly pea jasmine tea)…
the distinctive ocean sunfish (Japanese hojicha — roasted green tea)…
the graceful manta ray (tropical mango tea)…
and even a blood-thirsty shark (blended herb tea).
The newest addition to their robust series of marine creatures is a tea bag shaped like an innocuous sea cucumber. This little parcel is filled with jasmine tea, as well as a smidgen of sea cucumber powder to lend some authenticity. Ocean-Teabag warns that some people who have a sensitive tongue may find it tasting a little fishy.
The company also crafted a deep sea series that will satisfy even the most adventurous of tea drinkers out there. A few such examples are the anglerfish (earl grey tea)…
the creepy giant isopod (Eastern Beauty oolong tea)…
the horseshoe crab (white apricot tea)…
…and lastly the king of them all, the enormous giant oarfish. ( Delicious Assam tea of epic proportions! ) Just like its namesake, it measures a whopping 19 centimeters (7.5 inches). Drinking tea becomes an art when half of your tea bag hangs out of your cup.
While the notion of turning your cup of tea into fish-inhabiting waters is not new, these tea bags will hopefully conjure up images of gentle ocean waves in your mind.
WHERE TO FIND THE TEA