Books Essays Fun Facts Links Memes Quotations Guestbook

Fun Facts

Time to learn ya


The Conway effect

The Conway effect describes how the contributions of people from marginalized groups in the tech industry are often overlooked or erased. Named after Lynn Conway, who was not honored for her extensive work on microchips alongside her male coworkers.
See also the Mathilda effect, which describes how women's scientific contributions are often attributed to the nearest man working on the same topic.
"To be able to 'win at innovation', women must be expected to be able to win."
-- Lynn Conway, The Disappearance: Beyond Winning and Losing. October 2018, pg 69.

Jupiter's moons

Jupiter's Galilean moons have been instrumental in understanding our universe. Starting with their discovery by Galileo as the first big hint that maybe, just maybe, Earth is not the center of everything.
- Io helped prove that light had a speed due to its inconstistent eclipes. Calculations in the 17th century estimated the speed of light as around 220,000 km/s, which is really close (relatively) to our measurement of around 300,000 km/s. Also, it is covered in volcanoes and it hasn't lost its heat because it is being pushed and pulled by Jupiter and the other moons.
- Europa is made of ice and is extraordinarily smooth. Being made of ice isn't too weird, what's weird is the smoothness. It indicates that Europa is able to use a subsurface ocean to repair its surface.
- Ganamede is the largest moon in the solar system and is larger than Mercury. It generates its own magnetic field and has regular auroras.
- Kalisto formed very early in the solar system, and because it is so far away from the other moons and Jupiter it has stayed locked in its shape so that it's basically a record of everything that has ever impacted its surface.

"Women of the Wall"

"Women of the wall" refers to a group of Jewish Women who argue that they have the legal right to worship at the western wall in Jeruselam with a Torah -- a right traditionally reserved for men only.

Black Animals

There are birds and fish with naturally occuring black coloring that has a 0.05% reflection rate, on par with Vanta Black.

Lava?

When formed in nature, ice is a rock. So, since "molten" just means liquified by heat, water is lava, and we are all lava monsters.

Subways in Rome

It is really difficult to build subways in Rome because they keep discovering archeological marvels.