Fun with Mathmatical Modeling

Have you seen this paper on modeling a zombie infection outbreak? It's awesome.

"In summary, a zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilisation, unless it is dealt with quickly. While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble."

Sure, having a published paper on Zombie attacks is like the coolest thing ever when you're a grad student, but I bet it raises a few eyebrows when these guys go up for tenure.

via Freakonomics via The Park Bench

Galileo vs. Newton

File this under "funny because it's true" or maybe "sad because it's true"?

"The point of the comparison is to contrast two competing modes of scientific communication, as embodied by our two heroes."

Why is making science accessible such a crime in academia? Why are those who deign to speak to mere mortals looked down upon by so many of their colleagues?

On a lighter note, my favorite part of this blog post is that the majority of the comments revolve around whether or not Newton died a virgin. Seriously.

Thanks for the link Emily!