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Well the massive winter storm dubbed Jonas lived up to the hype. Here it is nearly a week after the snow started and the digging-out process is still going on. Lanes appear and disappear at random, depending on just how each particular snow removal crew tackled its job. Temperatures rise above freezing during the day causing wide-spread melting and the wet patches freeze over night snarling the next days commute. Most children remained at home during the entire week. And yet many drivers still text will driving and continue to pull stupid stunts by swerving around the more cautious drivers. It is enough to make a body say ‘Snow my God!’

Nonetheless, neither rain, nor snow, nor tons and tons of snow can keep the Blog Wyrm staff down.

Are faith and reason really at odds with one another? The ancient philosophers didn’t think so, neither did the thinkers of the high middle ages, and neither did most of the modern intellectuals… that is until relatively recently. The current mode of modern thought suggests that science has done away with faith once-and-for-all. But is there really a logical basis for this claim or is it wishful thinking? This week Aristotle to Digital shows that wishing it don’t make it so and that the complementary connection between the two is alive and well in science.

Keep the internet free and clear is a rallying cry of net neutrality. But as this week’s Common Cents discusses, finding the correct economic balance between competing needs and desires is very difficult. Unintended consequences lurk in hidden corners and negative externalities abound when trying to find a one-size-fits-all solution.

Most students learn to think of vectors as either arrows with length or as vertically-stacked lists of numbers or symbols. Certainly understanding these instances is important but it is all too common to see a kind of functional fixation develop where every vector space is equated by analogy with these two examples. This week Under the Hood shows how simple 2-dimensional matrices can form a vector space with an ‘unusual’ inner product. Just the thing to cure the ‘when the only tool who have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail’ trap.

Vertigo has been hyping a new, ongoing series called Unfollow. With a Twitter, social-media theme, the story is about the experiment run by a wealthy, dying billionaire who picks 140 random characters to receive a slice of his fortune. About Comics takes a look at how it has developed so far.

Note: The early advertised column about Secret Wars will come a later date.

Enjoy!

Two weeks in a row and the theme is the ‘end is nigh’. Last week is was due to nothing more than the melancholy that the Blog Wyrm staff was feeling for the impending end of the football season. This week the theme is caused by a more serious event – the huge snow storm aiming at the east coast.

Living near the nation’s capitol is always an adventure in weirdness but when it snows that bar is raise to a whole new level. A mere 1 inch paralyzed the are on Wednesday night. So a storm ‘of epic proportions’ is sure to cause havoc in Washington D.C. metro region and who knows for how long. Ah well…, there is nothing to do but to wait it out and put one’s faith in the providence.

So since millions will be snow-bound this weekend, what better time is there to settle in and read some stimulating articles guaranteed to keep your brain warm even if your body is cold.

Common Cents revisits the whole China question. Several months ago, we warned that the ‘China Miracle’ is nothing but a facade. This month we are grimly gratified to see that we were correct as the facade is in full crumble mode. It would have been better had we been wrong, but no luck there. Maybe one day, all of us will take that old truism to heart that tells us that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

One of the most important intellectual tools available to us is the Socratic dialog. Chronicled by Plato, a these semi-dramatic short stories introduced logic and rational thinking to Western Civilization. Unfortunately, Socrates is no more, but Peter Kreeft has taken up the role of Plato and has imagined the dialog between Socrates and a host of historic figures as a rational way of exploring the ideas of the latter. This week Aristotle to Digital reviews Kreeft’s imagined meeting between that ancient Greek wiseman and Machiavelli, the author that controversial work on practical philosophy – The Prince.

The scattering cross section is more than a useful and ubiquitous physical concept, it is a many-headed hydra – being reinvented and tweaked in numerous places. As a result of the numerous and inter-related relations, finding the essential aspect of it is difficult. This week Under the Hood argues for a modification to the physical thinking surrounding the scattering cross section as a way of uniting everything under one umbrella concept.

Finally, About Comics has a few brief words to say about the new season of Agent Carter and the implications of a certain lapel pin as a clue to what the MCU has in mind.

Enjoy!

Sorry for the dramatic title but it occurs to us at Blog Wyrm that the end is, in fact, nigh. No not the end of the world but rather then end of the 2015 football season. A mere 7 games are left of what was once a grand chaos of 32 teams playing each weekend. Gone is the complicated interplay between schedule, style, coaching, and venue. Yep, only 7 games left. The richness just isn’t there. Sigh…

Speaking of football, did you know that there is a clear link between America’s favorite sport and logic. Not sure how that is possible? Take a look at Aristotle to Digital to see how down-and-distance and score gives us insight in statistical syllogisms.

It’s a rare thing when all sides of the political spectrum begin to agree on something – a clear indication that whatever is being discussed isn’t in contention. Such a rare occurrence is happening now in relation to the Affordable Care Act. Almost everyone seems to be reaching a consensus that the laws of economics can’t be ignored no matter how good the intentions were that led to that law. Common Cents surveys these converging viewpoints and the market forces at work.

This week, About Comics reviews the ongoing Image series, The Wicked and The Divine, which asks what price fame. The series has a particularly interesting spin on this classic question when it wonders what if you were famous because you were a god?

Under the Hood finishes its look at how vector calculus maps into the language of differential forms. When the final pros and cons are weighed, it isn’t clear that this approach is worth all the effort.

Enjoy!

I like living in a place with 4 seasons. The variety of temperatures and weather conditions, the choices in clothing and style, the distinct changes in length of day and cultural outlook – all these things add a flavor to life. Unfortunately, this winter is not cooperating. Or said better, it hasn’t discovered itself and its identity. Will it or won’t it get cold and stay there or get mild and stay there. There doesn’t seem to be much hope in that. Rather the weather has been much like a yo-yo, first up, then down, and then back up again. Pick a motif and go with it I say. Oh well, at least the weather has not seen fit to visit a disaster on my home.

And despite these minor annoyances, we at Blog Wyrm are back for new issues in a new year.

Its a common experience to find a business article in which a brick and mortar retailer is reported to be having problems because of online competition. The way many of these articles read, its only a matter of time for the last of these archaic institutions finally have the good sense to call it quits. Common Cents argues that such a day will never come because brick and mortar establishments have plenty of competitive advantages.

In what way do video game user interfaces give us insight into natural language and the interplay between how ideas are expressed and what those ideas mean? Well if you’ve played a PC-based game that has been ported to a game console, there is a treasure trove of exactly that kind of insight, provided you know how to look at it in the way that Aristotle to Digital does.

Under the Hood continues its look at how vector calculus maps into the language of differential forms. This week’s installment tackles that annoying piece of vector calculus – those pesky identities involving div, grad, and curl and more than one vector field.

Finally, About Comics takes a moment to celebrate the contributions of Jim Shooter to the comics industry. Perhaps no modern figure is as maligned or misunderstood as that man from Pittsburgh is and its about time he got some kudos for the good things he accomplished.

Enjoy!

I suppose we could be quoting Andy Williams and say that it is the most wonderful time of the year but it hardly seems true. Once again the stain of violence is in news. Nonetheless, it does seem appropriate to point out that we are in the Advent Season and are awaiting the arrival of Christmas. During this period of time, where we are waiting hopefully for the promised joy of trees and toys and presents and family gatherings, maybe we can remind ourselves that hope for a more peaceful world still exists as well. With compassion, cooperation, and prayer, we can build a far more enduring and beautiful world than violence can mar. It is this hopeful note that we at BlogWyrm mark our final issue of the year as begin our winter break next Friday. We will return on Jan 8th.

But as we are not done yet, let’s say a little about this week’s issue.

Can corporate greed actually be good for consumers? Forget what the pundits and philosophers say for or against, the empirical evidence shows that competing groups can be fueled by greed can keep prices low for the consumer. Common Cents explains how as it examines the nice low price of gasoline.

Can video games be at the edge of cutting-edge research in the fields of mathematics and computer science? Well, maybe not all games but certainly Minesweeper. Read Aristotle to Digital to find out how.

Under the Hood continues its look at how vector calculus maps into the language of differential forms. This week, the link between the two is fleshed out to get the divergence and curl.

Finally, About Comics looks at Neil Gaiman’s return to his best character in The Sandman: Overture.

Until return, we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. It was about this time last year that we launched Blog Wyrm as simple experiment. We thought we would try to bring well-written, thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects on a weekly basis. We expected it to be hard and, frankly, we were unsure how long we would be able to last. There were, of course, ups and downs. But in the 52 weeks that have passed, we’ve managed to publish 45 issues of content. That’s a record that we are proud of and we’re thankful for those who have kindly read our articles, for the technological and political freedoms that make self-publishing possible, and for the well-spring of ideas that we can draw on.

Taking center stage is this week’s offering in Common Cents. It shouldn’t be hard at this time of the year to talk economics – after all the success of the Pilgrims after a shaky start is due to free market forces and self-reliance. Unfortunately, the lesson of their near failure and ultimate success, which led to the first Thanksgiving, falls on far too many deaf ears.

One of those long-standing ‘chicken and the egg’ questions is how much does language influence thought and how much does thought influence language. Aristotle to Digital takes a look at this question from a new angle: how much does auto-completion effect how we search and what can that say about the aforementioned age-old question?

About Comics salutes the architects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe who seem to have turned a serious business shortcoming into a new opportunity for growth. What does all that mean? Hint: my Inhuman can beat up you Mutant..

Finally, Under the Hood begins a several part exploration of the similarities between classical vector analysis, a la Gibbs and Heaviside, and how it matches up with the newer language of differential forms.

Enjoy!

Well is has been a rough week on the international stage. The aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris has left an attack in Mali and other incidents of violence in its wake. Much of Western Europe is on high alert as well as New York and Washington. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Blog Wyrm staff goes out to the families and friends who lost loved ones.

What does it mean to say a computing problem is hard? How about NP-Hard? This week Aristotle to Digital discusses these points as they relate to a very simple problem called the subset sum problem.

As a society we value literacy. We find it hard to see how someone can succeed and have a fulfilling life if that someone can’t read. Unfortunately, we don’t place the same priority on mathematical or economic literacy. Common Cents presents a case where the numbers simply don’t add up for a young woman seeking to make the world a better place.

About Comics asks the question as to what happened to the fine art of exposition in comics. Are thought bubbles, clues to the story, and continuity so bad? Many modern comics seem to think so.

Finally, Under the Hood examines the formalism of the First-Order Gauss Markov process and how it can be applied to physical systems with unmodelled forces.

Enjoy!

As a nation, we’ve now passed the Election – 1-year mark. I was already sick of the incessant chattering and poor logic by our ‘media pundits’, who hear what they want to hear and report on things not said. I suppose it is only going to get worse but sigh… one can hope. I don’t mind vigorous debate and sharply delineated lines but when it is based on distortion and the need to be noticed, I draw the line. Can’t we have a civil discussion where we are all fair even if we are not friends?

Well there is nothing unfair in our columns this week.

About Comics looks at Grant Morrison’s new title Nameless. Part horror epic, part Jungian archetypal story, part semiotics in visual representation, it is a grand idea that falls short.

Imagine that you’ve bought a product online and when it arrives it isn’t at all what the seller said it would be. Suppose that when you tried to return it they ignored you. You would be angry and willing to share your nightmare with the rest of the world. For some people in the same position who find out that their purchase involved a term-of-service restriction to their online free speech that’s when the nightmare begins. Common Cents talks about the need for a free flow of information in an economy and how proposed legislation would help protect our right to yelp.

Trying to make a logical decision is hard. It is harder still when qualitative aspects are involved and more than one person is charged with deciding. Aristotle to Digital examines the Analytic Hierarchy Process way of coming up with a logically supported rationale.

Finally, Under the Hood peaks a bit more at the benefits of dividing a matrix up into column and row arrays. Come see how coordinate transformations, physical units, orthogonal matrices, and eigenvalue all link together.

Enjoy!

Well today in the nation’s capitol the temperatures topped out in the mid- to upper 70s. The temperature is currently higher than in Pasadena, California. It was a nice days for a walk and so that’s just what I did. Walked and thought and enjoyed the fall foliage under a warm summer sky. Go figure.

Some of the thoughts that have been brewing over the last week made it to this week’s issue.

What is the difference between equality and fairness? In the economic circles these two terms tend to get conflated but they are quite different. Common Cents looks at some of these differences and how they weave a great deal of behavioral economics together.

Building on the theme from last week, Aristotle to Digital looks at a subtle shade of difference between how a thing is done – technique, and what is picked to be done – judgment.

About Comics reviews a newly-found addition to the Wild, Weird, West genre – the Sixth Gun.

Finally, Under the Hood looks at how dividing a matrix up into column and row arrays gives some general relations for matrices and their inverses.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween. To celebrate the nation’s second largest holiday, Blog Wyrm brings you a special issue this week. It is short and sweet, just like Halloween candy – the Blog Wyrm staff is off to have some fun.

There is a well-known debate over how much language effects thought and thought effects language. This week Aristotle to Digital ponders the possibility how we wurf the web reflects how we think and vice versa.

About Comics relates a personal perspective on the rise of comics culture as reflected by the new companion event – Halloween ComicFest.

Can trade create wealth? Common Cents believes so and uses Halloween candy to make the argument.

Finally, Under the Hood presents the final form of the equations used by the controls engineer.

Enjoy!