Scientists in the Media

I keep my eyes and ears open for science discussions in the general media. This kind of outreach by professional scientists is very important in conveying concepts and theories to the lay person. Here are a couple of excerpts that I found interesting:

“I think it’s probably one of the most abused concepts in physics among the public. You should be wary whenever you hear something like, ‘Quantum mechanics connects you with the universe’ … or ‘quantum mechanics unifies you with everything else.’ You can begin to be skeptical that the speaker is somehow trying to use quantum mechanics to argue fundamentally that you can change the world by thinking about it.”

Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University, on “quantum quackery,” MSNBC.COM, September 20, 2010.

“This is something people have difficulty wrapping their minds around, because it doesn’t show up in any obvious ways in our everyday lives. It’s a very subtle effect, until you’re flying close to a black hole or moving close to the speed of light.”

Sean Carroll, Caltech, on time dilation, NPR, September 23, 2010.

[NOTE: Scientists in the Media will be a recurring feature here on the SLB.]