Hockenbrizzle

But even if the graphs are mislabeled, the numbers don't agree with the statement. The 2010 data for prevalence of obese men shows an increase from 27% to 29%... without error bars given. In what world does that translate to "over 4 times more likely to be classified as morbidly obese"?

Hi folks,

I am a bit confused about a citation given in this opinion piece and ask for your help. In paragraph 5, the author mentions the effect of manual labor and cites an article published in the International Journal of Surgery Oncology. In this article they state that:

"Adults working in unskilled manual profession are over 4 times more likely to be classified as morbidly obese compared with those in professional employments",

and they show a graph to support this. However, the graph seems to show the opposite. I looks like males who perform manual labor have a lower prevalence of obesity than those of non-manual labor. Am I reading this wrong?

I would guess it's more like environmental temperature leads to behavioral changes that then affect the average energy expenditure.

In addition to the other comment suggesting yoga for back pain, I might recommend you see a physiotherapist. You want not only stretching but also strengthening and it's difficult to figure this stuff out yourself. In my case, I found out I had no idea how to correctly activate my transversus abdominis, which is a muscle that should be active during all waking hours to support the spine.

For a textbook where the author does a brilliant job of introducing a complex topic:

Spacetime and Geometry an Introduction to General Relativity by Sean Carroll.

Also the textbooks by David Griffiths and Gill Strang mentioned in other comments.

I didn't learn electronics with this book, but I really wish I did. I used it to give tutorials for an undergraduate electronics course for physics students and it was immensely useful and well organized.

You could also check out Sean Carroll's Spacetime and Geometry. It's my favorite textbook.

Supplement with the second half of Wald's book for exploring some concepts

Sugar is common for curing meats like bacon. I don't know if it plays a role in pulling out the water like salt does, but I know some use it to offset the strong saltiness. I think it also provides for some bacteria which help preserve the meat.

I guess an important point to make is how easy it is to consume a sugary drink. I can very easily sit down and drink a tall glass of orange juice but not so easily could I sit down and eat the six oranges that would be used to make that oj.

I believe he was often very silent about political or ethical matters of the "The Gadget". In contrast to other physicists at the time, like Oppenheimer and Szilard.

Hey great work. Electron beam technology has quite an interesting history and has been used for many applications.

I work at an atomic physics research institute and am currently building an electron beam ion trap. We use a compressed electron beam to ionize atoms into a highly charged state and then use these ions to observe things like electronic structure of the atom and quantum electrodynamic effects. We have an electron gun that can be biased up to 60 kV and we have a 7 Tesla superconducting coil combined with some einzel lenses to guide and compress the electron beam into the trapping area where we ionize the atoms.

I've never thought to bring my work home with me but this would be a really really cool project to undertake. Thanks for sharing.

Can anybody comment on how well food is regulated in Canada? Since moving from the US to the EU I've definitely noticed a difference in food quality. I'll soon be moving to Quebec so I would be interested to hear if Canada is more like the US or EU in this respect.

Good point, although I didn't mean to lionize the father.

I don't think it matters if the father was left, right or center. Whatever the basis, he made a decision that will ultimately benefit society (which is the main goal, right?). Whatever the political stance, we are a society. Meaning the basic idea, which is that everyone contributes so that the whole benefits, should be of utmost importance.

If I could recommend an interesting film to watch, go see Michael Moore's Where to Invade Next. You don't have to watch the whole thing, but try to find the part where they talk about the Norwegian prison system. And then look for the part where a father who lost his son during a massacre of about 60 children explains his thoughts. It's absolutely heartbreaking to watch. He explains that he doesn't want the criminal to suffer and rot in prison. Instead, he want's the rehabilitation center to help the man so that he can ultimately become a benefit to society. I can't even begin to understand how difficult it would be to say that after such a loss, but I think he was correct in doing so.

My belief is that the society failed to correctly educate the man who eventually became a criminal. I don't think people are born with such desires.