I still live

Uuugh, this past year has been a whirlwind. Things are finally slowing down. I won’t go so far as to say that’s the only thing keeping me from posting, but it was a thing. I’ve settled into my new job (research assistant) to a degree. However, I’m not really good enough yet at what I do to not get really frustrated and need something else to do. And that’s about when I forced myself to make this post. So, hello again internet, hope to talk to you more soon.

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What is a Giant Quantum Robot, anyhow?

Odds are, you’re scratching your head at the title to my blog.  It’s paradoxical, or rather made to look that way.   It’s an artistic trick; a reflection of the paradox held within.

This paradox held within is, of course, in reference to the content this blog will someday hold.  My professional interests lie within physics.  I hold a Bachelor of Science in Physics (and also one in Math).  However, my hobbies are, almost entirely, about science fiction and the physically impossible/implausible.  Many see a problem in this, though there are some who are not.

After all, as a budding physicist, I should know better than anyone else how impossible what I watch is.  At least, this is what some people, scientists and non-scientists alike, tell me.

But that’s not the point.  I can recognize the difference between fantasy and reality; I know the definition of the word ‘fiction’.  In the context of video games, giant robot shows, superhero shows, and other works of fiction, physics is placed in a secondary role to the story, and dramatic embellishment is applied liberally.  And that’s fine.

But it’s fun to imagine.  It’s a great diversion from your everyday life to look at something physically impossible and imagine what the implications would be in a world where such things existed.

But I digress.  The point of the name is that this here blog is a composition of my work/lifegoals and my hobbies.  Being that those are physics (which Quantum Mechanics is a sub-field of), and sci-fi (which Giant Robots are arguably a sub-field of), the name felt appropriate.  I intend to talk about both subjects at length, both separately and in a connected sense.

I hope you enjoy it, whether you like sci-fi, science, both, or neither!

On Philosophy and Kamen Riders

So, when I was in my final year of undergrad, I had to take Philosophical Ethics, for it was a university requirement.  Our teacher made us read philosophy by Aristotle and then Nietzsche, and would have us write essays to show our understanding.  In order to minimize plagiarism, he told us to write about a TV show of our choosing, making the essays unique.  When it came to Nietzsche I was a little stuck for some time, and eventually asked the teacher if it was okay to do it based on an anime or tokusatsu.  He was somewhat down with anime, so once I explained tokusatsu he said it was okay.

The result is what you will see after the jump; the best non-thesis essay of my college career, rivaled only by my paper on Hawking Radiation for laymen:  How Kamen Rider Kabuto, the series, demonstrates themes discussed by Friedrich Niezstche.

((Note:  Contains mild spoilers for Kamen Rider Kabuto.  You’d best avoid this if you intend to see the series already))