Comments on: I will rain iron and brimstone upon Texas… http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:53:31 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: A boy claims he was hit by a meteorite | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-191455 A boy claims he was hit by a meteorite | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:52:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-191455 [...] a common way to say it. That means it’s iron, which is common enough in meteorites… but also in misidentified terrestrial objects, as well. Still, it’s entirely realistic to think this may have been a real [...] [...] a common way to say it. That means it’s iron, which is common enough in meteorites… but also in misidentified terrestrial objects, as well. Still, it’s entirely realistic to think this may have been a real [...]

]]> By: Dr. Dennis McClain PhD http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159889 Dr. Dennis McClain PhD Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:45:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159889 Phil, you make the "common sense" error of assuming that two similar but unrelated events happening close together in time "implies that these things happen fairly often." They are independent -- ie. have no causal link -- and so one event occurring has nothing to do with when another occurs. People assume that "average" in this sense is meaningful. It is not, by itself. Equally important is consideration of variance, and its statistical partner, standard deviation. Two such events are as likely to occur simultaneously as they are to occur years apart unless one thing acts on them both making one event affect the outcome of the other. A common example is peoples' claim that lottery numbers occur too often with two consecutive numbers to be truly random (assuming 5 numbers chosen from 1 through 45, giving the "average" of 9 digits apart). Being independent selections, the lotto picks "1,2,3,4,5" and "1,9,18,27,35" are equally probable. Phil, you make the “common sense” error of assuming that two similar but unrelated events happening close together in time “implies that these things happen fairly often.” They are independent — ie. have no causal link — and so one event occurring has nothing to do with when another occurs. People assume that “average” in this sense is meaningful. It is not, by itself. Equally important is consideration of variance, and its statistical partner, standard deviation. Two such events are as likely to occur simultaneously as they are to occur years apart unless one thing acts on them both making one event affect the outcome of the other. A common example is peoples’ claim that lottery numbers occur too often with two consecutive numbers to be truly random (assuming 5 numbers chosen from 1 through 45, giving the “average” of 9 digits apart). Being independent selections, the lotto picks “1,2,3,4,5″ and “1,9,18,27,35″ are equally probable.

]]> By: News Briefs 03-03-2009 | Psychics Services|Psychics Members Site|Psychics City|Course http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159886 News Briefs 03-03-2009 | Psychics Services|Psychics Members Site|Psychics City|Course Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:38:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159886 [...] will rain fire and brimstone down on [...] [...] will rain fire and brimstone down on [...]

]]> By: blf http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159379 blf Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:53:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159379 The debris is bits that have broken off the aliens' Trebuchet. They're still trying to get it to <EM>work</EM>. It's when the 2 metre tall dead bunnies start crashing through the roof that you know its finally working. The debris is bits that have broken off the aliens’ Trebuchet. They’re still trying to get it to work. It’s when the 2 metre tall dead bunnies start crashing through the roof that you know its finally working.

]]> By: Retrogarde http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159373 Retrogarde Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:35:44 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159373 The meteorite in Eindhoven, the Netherlands was real. The meteorite in Eindhoven, the Netherlands was real.

]]> By: Dotan Cohen http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159371 Dotan Cohen Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:10:45 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159371 So in the first two months of 2007, we have: 1) Two nuclear submarines collide in the open ocean 2) Two satellites collide in orbit 3) Two meteors fall from the sky in visible, populated areas 4) A disabled plane lands safely on a river 5) A non-periodic comet that is visible to the naked eye 6) Two grinder tips hitting populated structures far from their points of origin. This is turning out to be some year! So in the first two months of 2007, we have:
1) Two nuclear submarines collide in the open ocean
2) Two satellites collide in orbit
3) Two meteors fall from the sky in visible, populated areas
4) A disabled plane lands safely on a river
5) A non-periodic comet that is visible to the naked eye
6) Two grinder tips hitting populated structures far from their points of origin.

This is turning out to be some year!

]]> By: Buzz Parsec http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-159248 Buzz Parsec Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:06:08 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/27/i-will-rain-iron-and-brimstone-upon-texas/#comment-159248 I for one welcome our grinder tooth alien overlords. I for one welcome our grinder tooth alien overlords.

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