Group intelligence

Last night I half-watched the programme on TVOne about swarms. (I say half-watched because I was mostly listening to it while doing the washing up). It is certainly fascinating how large groups of fairly simply behaving creatures can have a ‘group intelligence.’ This kind of organization of small units into a larger entity is well […]

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Patience in experimenting

I’ve spend most of today in our new teaching lab, grappling with a piece of experimental equipment. Over the break between our A and B semesters (i.e. now) we’re moving our 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate physics lab out of one room and into another. It’s a small part of a large plan to use […]

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The essence of physics

Exams are looming, and I’ve had a constant stream of students coming to me this week asking me questions. One question I’ve had has been asked by two students independently, relating to an example calculation done in a text book. The question goes like this: "I’ve been going through this example, and I get the […]

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What equation do I need?

With A-semester exams looming, the students here at Waikato are becoming a little more focused on their work. That inevitably means that I get more of them coming to me after a lecture, or knocking on the door of my office. And that is good. One of the most common questions I get, usually in […]

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Lots of flashing LEDs

A sure-fire way to increase the value of any piece of electronic equipment is to add some superfluous flashing red, yellow and green LEDs to it. (Light Emitting Diode.) They serve no use, but their presence is somehow comforting (especially in sci-fi films) and gives the impression that the equipment is busy doing something useful. There […]

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