Alexis Zarkov
@lumennaturalis.bsky.social
Mathematician, physicist, philosopher, inveterate wiseass.
This must be a candidate for Worst Job Ever:
November 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM
This must be a candidate for Worst Job Ever:
Behind every great man stands a great woman.
October 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Behind every great man stands a great woman.
There seems to be more than one version of what it looked like. Not exactly a surprise, since no photographers from Life magazine were on hand for the occasion.
What Plutarch says is [Dryden's translation]:
What Plutarch says is [Dryden's translation]:
August 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
There seems to be more than one version of what it looked like. Not exactly a surprise, since no photographers from Life magazine were on hand for the occasion.
What Plutarch says is [Dryden's translation]:
What Plutarch says is [Dryden's translation]:
Giant pair of tongs, I think.
No, maybe more like a claw
No, maybe more like a claw
August 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Giant pair of tongs, I think.
No, maybe more like a claw
No, maybe more like a claw
Not unprecedented for an author to make such suggestions:
August 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Not unprecedented for an author to make such suggestions:
It's a powerful drug. Look what it did for these guys:
August 20, 2025 at 7:43 PM
It's a powerful drug. Look what it did for these guys:
As vampires shun mirrors, so does Trump avoid Van de Graaff generators:
July 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
As vampires shun mirrors, so does Trump avoid Van de Graaff generators:
Curious about the reports of heavy-handed manipulation of Grok responses, I tried this off the top of my head:
May 15, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Curious about the reports of heavy-handed manipulation of Grok responses, I tried this off the top of my head:
After Einstein the most famous theoretical physicist of the 20th century. Probably autistic, as biographer explains:
April 20, 2025 at 4:49 PM
After Einstein the most famous theoretical physicist of the 20th century. Probably autistic, as biographer explains:
There are always options.
April 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
There are always options.
Forbidden question:
March 17, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Forbidden question:
There's an entertaining video on YouTube about making your own guillotine, but the traditional penalty for treason was hanging.
Or, you know:
Or, you know:
February 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM
There's an entertaining video on YouTube about making your own guillotine, but the traditional penalty for treason was hanging.
Or, you know:
Or, you know:
Add some chains and a switchblade, and you're cast for an old favorite of Quentin Tarantino's:
February 6, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Add some chains and a switchblade, and you're cast for an old favorite of Quentin Tarantino's:
Losing a war is probably part of the plan. Because who profits from disaster?— Joan Didion on Robert Bork, 2001:
January 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Losing a war is probably part of the plan. Because who profits from disaster?— Joan Didion on Robert Bork, 2001:
Right behind you:
January 20, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Right behind you:
For some reason this comes to mind as the year closes:
December 31, 2024 at 8:25 PM
For some reason this comes to mind as the year closes:
Birthday boy with his present at IAS:
December 28, 2024 at 12:16 PM
Birthday boy with his present at IAS:
How else could Archimedes have pulled their ships out of the sea during the siege of Syracuse?
December 26, 2024 at 6:04 PM
How else could Archimedes have pulled their ships out of the sea during the siege of Syracuse?