September 19-25 is Science Literacy Week and we are celebrating it at the Leddy Library.
As we explained yesterday, one noble reason to become science literate is to understand the jokes of the web comic, XKCD by Randall Munroe. Randall describes himself as, "I'm just this guy, you know? I'm a CNU graduate with a degree in physics. Before starting xkcd, I worked on robots at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. As of June 2007 I live in Massachusetts. In my spare time I climb things, open strange doors, and go to goth clubs dressed as a frat guy so I can stand around and look terribly uncomfortable. At frat parties I do the same thing, but the other way around." Munroe is also the author of What if? : serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions and Thing explainer : complicated stuff in simple words , both of which can be found on the shelves of the Leddy Library.
Every day this week, I'm going to offer some XKCD comics dedicated to Physics, Earth Science, Biology-Biochemistry-Chemistry, Computer Science and - today - Mathematics!
Don't worry if you don't get the jokes - each cartoon is linked to it's respective XKCD Explain entry!
PROOFS
MARGIN
Alt-text : PROTIP: You can get around the Shannon-Hartley limit by setting your font size to 0.
URN PROBLEMS
Alt-text: Can this PLEASE be drawing with replacement?
PI VS. TAU
PURITY
Alt-text: On the other hand, physicists like to say physics is to math as sex is to masturbation.
FORMAL LOGIC
TEN THOUSAND
Tomorrow: The Computer Science edition of XKCD!
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