The Nerdiest Shirts

When you view nature from afar, the scientific description of evolution may seem no more plausible than the religious idea that we were created by a supernatural being as we are today. When you look into the actual details, however, the evidence supporting evolution is overwhelming. Phenomenon after phenomenon supports the ideas of common ancestry and change over time. Biologists, immersed in the details of real organisms, overwhelmingly support evolution.

Charles Darwin pointed out many vestigial parts of the human body in The Descent of Man. Vestigial does not mean that the parts have no conceivable use, but rather that they are vestiges or remnants of a more functional past organ.

The coccyx was one of Darwin’s original examples. (more…)

May 25th was designated Nerd Pride Day / Geek Pride Day in 2006 in Spain. Since then, it has spread through blogs to the rest of the world. This year there will be physical gatherings, special programs on The Science Channel, and general internet euphoria. We suggest wearing something very nerdy. Every day.

To us, nerdiness means appreciation and understanding of science, mathematics, and technology. We nerds appreciate the beauty of art and nature, but also the elegance of powerful ideas. We think the world becomes more wondrous and more interesting as we understand more of it.

Sometimes nerdiness is expressed professionally, but you don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy science, as shown by the strong popularity of the Discovery Channel, NOVA, and other programs aimed at the interested public. We’re big fans of some areas of science we didn’t study in school.

There is a negative connotation to nerdiness in society, which associates weaknesses to every strength. (more…)

At the intersection of set theory, number theory, and combinatorics is the Calkin-Wilf tree, a beautiful and relatively recent mathematical construction.

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One of the most intriguing aspects of mathematics is the connectivity between its branches. A great example is the topological proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra.

The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra states that any nonconstant polynomial has a root in the complex plane. In fact, a degree n polynomial has n roots, if you count roots with multiplicity, but it suffices to show that there is at least one root. The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra was proved by Gauss in his doctoral dissertation.

To prove this using topology, we need the idea of the winding number of an oriented curve in the plane about the origin. (more…)

One of the fundamental scientific achievements of the 20th century was the development of quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of small objects such as subatomic particles. Small objects don’t behave like billiard balls. We are still trying to understand all of the implications.

Reconciling the quantum mechanical behavior of subatomic particles with the ordinary behavior of macroscopic systems is still difficult, and this is the point of the thought experiment known as Schrodinger’s cat.

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