Peter Steinberg

New Blog: Entropy Bound

I just thought I'd take advantage of the short grace period we seem to be getting here to post an easy link to my new blog, "Entropybound". Just click through via the black dot (Malevich's "Black Circle" [1913], actually...)

I've probably mumbled a bit about "entropy bounds" various times over the last year, as the concept has been kicking around my brain for a few years now.  I'm fully aware that I'm not professionally qualified to do so, not being a general relativist or a string theorist. Still, there have been enough analogies between RHIC physics and black hole physics made in the last year (in fact, 2005 seemed to be the year for those analogies!) that i'm optimistic that the concept won't remain completely out of my purview forever. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it: please have a look and leave me a note saying hi if you can.  But needless to say: all of us post-QD bloggers are definitely going to miss Kevin and Chelsea's involvement!

...?

This must be an administrative mistake, but why fight it?  I just finished watching one of my old favorite movies -- Yellow Submarine -- only to find only a million Einstein references over the course of the film, mainly by "John" and mainly having to do with the malleability of time (running forwards, backwards, looping, repeating...).  There was even a "headlands" head with "E=mc²" inside!  Can't believe I missed out on this during the entire year...which is really now over.

The End (and Happy New Year!)

Dear Quantum Diaries Community -

So: And, in the end, the blog you make is equal to the blog you take?

Don't know about that, but I guess I had to take advantage of my one last opportunity to say a few words.  Holiday season has been crazy, with several trips to chicago (missing a great opportunity to witness my friends' wedding in Mexico, but that's another story!), and now back in NYC for the New Year.  Although the RHIC run has been reinstated, I find myself with little direct responsibility, but I can't imagine I'll completely escape running a few shifts.  Then again, there's still a *lot* to do, with my PHENIX and ATLAS responsibilities kicking into high gear, and there is always a backlog of PHOBOS papers to deal with. 

So once again, thanks to all the readers and writers who participated in Quantum Diaries.  It's been a real honor to be here among such a smart, distinguished bunch.

But since old (new?) habits die hard, I figure I'll revive my old blog and teach it a few new tricks.  If you want to check it out, it'll be at https://entropybound.blogspot.com.  Then again, there are a few ideas kicking around for future projects but you can find out about them there!

All the best to everyone!

Peter
12/31/05

410 on TV

Here's a link to the realvideo of my 410th BNL Lecture.  I'm still too scared to watch it (damn that's a short haircut) but many big thanks to the BNL video and web guys for getting it online so fast (and even webcasting it as it happened!)

One World Year in Physics: Big Picture

I must admit that it's with a bittersweet taste in my mouth that I try and wrap up my year as Quantum Diarist #5.  In retrospect, I had absolutely no idea (or absolutely wrong ideas) about how this whole blogging business would go.  The main fear, of course, is humiliation, either of myself (which I can live with, and sometimes *do* live with), or possibly my friends, family, or colleagues (which I certainly could not).  So very quickly, I established some ground rules for myself, found them verified in a CNN article, no less, and then bumbled my merry way through the year, trying to highlight the neat things that came along in real life, blog life, or the wide world of the various media we consume all the time, like it or not. 

All in all, it was a wondrously satisfying experience.  Speaking personally, several major things jump to mind.  I had the chance to interact with a larger variety of people than I'd ever dreamed of in my normal day job.  From high-school students to experimental fillmmakers, I learned that a whole lot of people like, no love, physics and its surrounding disciplines, but there are so very few ways to learn about it, except in school (and who does that?).  Quantum Diaries as a whole really did provide a window into a wide cross section of physicists from a wide array of homelands and backgrounds, and I hope I was a nice clear window to look through.

I also had the chance to really learn how to write again.  While we learn (by sheer repetition) how to write papers and talks, we rarely get to work in the discursive style so natural to blogging.  And thus, we often forget how to communicate.  I can't thank all of the readers for questions whether on the blog, in private emails, and in person.  Learning how to listen and answer carefully (and quickly!) has been such a satisfying experience.

Finally, as a corollary to the previous paragraph, I learned how to think again.  Physics (and science in general) is really part of the world in which we live, and the language(s) we speak.  The scientific method is not just a tool for finding out mere facts about isolated phenomena in the world: it's a whole way of looking at everything around you, from science to culture to politics.  And its a way of looking that emphasizes facts and repeatability and accountability -- and so something which can benefit all of us in our daily lives, including our men in Washington who seem to value blind faith just a little too much for my comfort, and certainly the comfort and security of all of us groping through this very murky time in our history.

So here's hoping for a great new year to all of you.  I'm hoping to keep the blogging going in some form or another, but probably at a much slower rate than in 2005.  That said, there was always interesting stuff to notice and report, so maybe I've spoken too soon.

The Return of RHIC

Almost as if someone knew that I needed a Hollywood ending, it turns out that the rumors are true: the 2006 RHIC run has been reinstated.  It won't be a fully year of physics, but it's way more than nothing, and one can already feel a huge weight lifting from the community at large (and I can feel this after 5 days away in Chicago...).  More later, but I wanted to spread more holiday cheer.

And speaking of Woody Allen, did I ever mention how I saw him in the flesh in a sushi place a few weeks ago on the upper west side?

2005: World Year in Review (QD #5)

As you all may know by now, Quantum Diaries is shutting its doors on December 31st.  We've been told that the archives will remain up indefinitely, but no more postings or comments will be accepted.  So in our last week, we're gearing up to review some of our highlights, and we've been asked to provide our "top 3" blog posts.  Here are mine:

1. I think my most linked-to posting has to be my "Public Service Announcement: Black holes @ RHIC".  Unbelievable timing to be ready with a blog just as probably the most confusing non-issue emerged in a variety of news sources.
2. My personal favorite was the piece on "Random Connections, Many Worlds" (narrowly edging-out "Heisenberg Strikes Out"), since it let me play around with so many subjects and media I hold so dear (tv, imdb, physics, rock music) and watch a somewhat poignant message emerge from the chaos.
3. Finally, I really enjoyed piecing together "Existential Nihilism at RHIC II" , not in the least because it gave me an excuse to post that amusing photo of Nietzsche!

In any case, you haven't heard the last of me, either this year or next.  Have a happy Christmannukwanzaa everyone!

BNL Lecture Posted (and, Murray & Me)

Phew - that was quite an experience.  Thanks to everyone who showed up, despite the cold and the late date so close to the holidays.  And thanks for all of the really nice comments I've received since last night!

Anyway, I've posted a few versions of my slides for those of you who missed it.

• The usual PDF version
• A zipped archive of my Keynote 2 presentation (for those up-to-date with all things Mac)
• PPT is on the way, but something is keeping Keynote from making the conversion.

There are a few extras thrown in for good measure, including a controversial "parallel lives" claim about me vs. Murray Gell-Mann.  At least one other person in the last 13 years (when I first noticed this) has recently confirmed the slightly uncanny resemblance between the young Murray and the putatively young Steinberg, both in terms of looks and CV.  Kind of a silly comparison to make, I realize, but I've been meaning to get this on the blog at some point, so what better time than the end of the World Year?

Shameless Plug: 410th BNL Lecture

In many ways, my whole year of physics has been leading up to tomorrow: the 410th BNL Lecture (click for the BNL Bulletin article).  It's a typical part of a tenure case to give a public lecture on your BNL research, and I'm no exception.  And I must admit: it has been a lot of work to get it together.  While I have a few public lectures on RHIC and a few seminars on my research, this had to be a carefully constructed hybrid of the two: clear and understandable on one hand, while substantive and informative on the other.  I'm fairly proud of the outcome, and wildly thankful to the 4 rounds of reviewers -- from showing a lawyer/friend on a couch to a formal presentation to 15 BNL scientists -- who helped me whip it into shape (as well as Apple's Keynote 2)! 

So if you're around BNL tomorrow (Wednesday at 4pm), stop by Berkner Hall and check it out...please?  I'm worried everyone will be gone for vacation!   Can I legally offer free drinks (there'll be a reception)?

Zeitgeist (Google Style)

Just when I thought I was already wasting too much time, a glance at Slashdot tells me that Google's 2005 Zeitgeist review is up.  And how amazing it is at showing the sheer power of having the attention of millions of people and what they are thinking about at any given time.  While they don't have any topics of particular relevance to physics, I found this one about natural disasters quite interesting.  From even just the tsunami trend, you can see that 1) people as a whole have exponentially falling attention spans, and 2) the US still dominates Google usage -- otherwise you wouldn't get these dramatic "dips" in the search frequency.  And it's equally amazing to me that the peak interest in the hurricane approached that for the tsunami, again probably showing US dominance in using Google, and perhaps the internet in general. 

Anyway, lots of neat stuff in these pages.  Anyone know how to get access to similar graphs for any particular search term?