Science Singles: Back once again

Yep, it's back .



Let's see what sciencey pop songs I've missed while I was stuck in a hole writing up.


Kaiser Chiefs - "Love's Not A Competition (but I'm winning)"




Science?: If one takes the rather unromantic and reductionist view that the concept of romantic love is nothing but the complex manifestation of basic mating urges combined with a strong pair bonding instinct, then love is indeed a competition. Many animals compete to win a mate, or to win valuable access to favourable mating grounds. From stag beetles to elephant seals, they're all at it. Zoologists consider the successful males those that have their share of successful copulations with fecund females, resulting in the birth of progeny. Is Ricky Kaiser Chiefs winning? Wikipedia no mention of Ricky Wilson having successfully copulated with a fecund females resulting the birth of progeny. Therefore, this hard boiled Darwinian blog considers him not a winner, but a loser.

What's it like?: When I first heard this I was convinced it was a cover of some 80s tune by Duran Duran or some such (apparently it's not). That should act as all the review you need.

Pendulum - "Granite"

Science?: Pendulums are part of a bit of science known as "Physics". This type of science, considered by many to be a dark art practised by black hearted necromancers, is so obtuse and arcane that no mortal can understand its ways without first going mad. The diagram below showing the key components of a pendulum clearly demonstrates this, as each elements sounds as if it belongs in a piece of gritty social realism theatre about life in a 1960s prison rather than a weight swinging about on a piece of string.

What's it like?: Granite is a common type of igneous rock, and this tune most certainly does (rock that is, not igneous. This tune igneouses would make no sense). It manages to achieve sounding great, whilst simultaneously sounding like a late 1990s dance remix of a slightly gothic metal song. Quite how this is done without sounding shite is a mystery only bettered by that of physics. Also there are X-Files-esque aliens in the video, which earns extra geek points and make me slightly scared. Well done.

Not science but....

I know this isn't science, but xkcd is ace.

An excuse to pompous

This may just be the delirium setting in, but I'm really enjoying writing the discussion of my thesis. I get to write such wonderfully pompous wank as: "I would therefore suggest that initially the cartilage and the ossified process are a highly integrated, but separate pair of developmental units. As development proceeds though to the post natal period, this integration becomes so great that they effectively function as one unit. "

[in a Stephen Fry in Blackadder stylee] baaaaahhh!

I think my typo in the last post was a Freudian slip though. I doomed.