Saying Goodbye
Months before I was done with my graduate degree, I was sending in guest posts to Scientific American. I was just beginning to find my voice as a science writer.
Stories by Kyle Hill
Nerds and Words: Week 2
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
Why You Should Envy, But Not Worship Sherlock Holmes
"You see but you do not observe!" Why would you envy a man who doesn't know the names of all the planets, is a "high functioning" sociopath, and has no friends?
Nerds and Words: Week 1
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
Smaug Breathes Fire Like A Bloated Bombardier Beetle With Flinted Teeth
What does a narcissistic flying reptile that loves the taste of crispy dwarves have in common with a beetle that shoots hot, caustic liquid from its butt?
Nerds and Words: Week 52
But Not Simpler has had a great first year (over 1,000,000 hits in eight months!), of course thanks to all my nerdy readers. I did a lot of experimenting here, from controversial pieces about water fluoridation to a piece on taste perception in full Seussian rhyming scheme to a piece proving that a Pacific Rim [...]..
Why Rudolph Should Have Never Joined Santas Reindeer
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows. Late one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say, "Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Rudolph declined, noting that when flying around in foggy conditions, a bright red [...]..
Nerds and Words: Week 51
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
When You Decide To Dispel The Santa Claus Myth, Make It A Teachable Moment
On a bitingly cold morning in 2011, I was sitting quietly in a repurposed Chicago bar listening to a physics teacher kill Santa Claus. Apparently, physics teachers and educators do this all the time...
Baby It’s Cold Outside, So Get Out There And Play With Thermodynamics
Fires are fine and hot coco is nice, but as long as you have hot water why don’t you make some fog with ice? All you need is boiling hot water, a frigid temperature outside, and an appreciation for thermodynamics...
Scuse Me While I Pour a Drink Towards the Sky
You fight with inertia all the time, and it usually wins. Sometimes it spills coffee into your lap while you take your car around a turn. Sometimes it throws you against a wall, for your own enjoyment, at a carnival...
The Sciences
Nerds and Words: Week 49
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
How Photon Torpedoes Will Mark An End To The Energy Crisis
Photon torpedoes come after utopia, at least in Star Trek. Imagining a universe centuries ahead of our own time and technology, the long-running sci-fi shows explored philosophy, morality, and the secluded intricacies of physics...
Nerds and Words: Week 48
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
The Sciences
Nerds and Words: Week 47
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
You Can’t Take a Bullet for Someone Hollywood-Style, Because Physics
No matter how many times you’ve seen the movies and the TV shows that have a protagonist leaping in the path of a bullet, physics forbids such sacrifice.
Save Yourself From The Zombie Apocalypse By Turning Your Home Into A Biolab
Do you use a gun, a sword, a series of elaborate traps involving wild animals, or something else to defeat the zombie horde at your door? Whatever your weapon of choice, I think the great zombie weapon debate misses a crucial point–to even think about battling zombies, you first have to prevent becoming one...
Green Eggs and Ham, Don’t Let it Waste: What Doctor Seuss Knew About the Science of Taste
It’s ok Sam-I-Am, I know why you didn’t want to try green eggs and ham. You didn’t want to try it on a train or up a tree, because what we taste is influenced by what we see.
Nerds and Words: Week 45
I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
Getting the God of Thunder’s Science Straight
With Thor: The Dark World out today, it’s time to delve back into superhero fandom to find, surprisingly, just how scientifically grounded the powers of the blonde-haired god are.
