human traffic

i read a great article today in the january issue of physics today - on the subtleties of safety designs in cars and how light trucks are a serious danger to others on the road. i always like it when physics people use reason and analytical thought to shed light on subjects that are fraught with murky thinking and ill-conceived myths. so i thought i'd link to it! it's a great read.

also i went to a talk on quantum dots today by ranamurti shankar - not the musician, the guy who wrote that book on quantum mechanics that everyone uses - on the application of a statistical method, random matrix theory, to the analysis of quantum dots. it was a cool talk and he's an engaging speaker - i asked a question at one point, but it was pretty nerve-racking to speak up in front of a room full of smart people about stuff they know very well. i don't know why i'm so self-conscious but it sucks.

anyway, i have to trawl the web now and look for some funny to inject into my talk next week. hope i find some!