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Paper: The Grand Unified Theory of Superman's Powers [pdf]
- lionhearted 17y agoSurprisingly quite good - gets one thinking about physics some and inconsistencies in semi-scientific fantasy stories. Reminds me of an Eliezer Yudkowsky article talking about how fire and combustion couldn't "not work" in an alternate world that humans could survive in, because similar processes happen in our body. (Can't find that article right now unfortunately, it was quite good - it was referencing a fantasy story where fire didn't exist in a parallel world) Anyway, paper is worth a read. People with an adept knowledge of physics will chuckle a little, but probably even better for people like me who haven't played with physics much - got me thinking about center of mass, density, inertia, etc. Interesting stuff. Recommended.
- Eliezer 17y agohttp://lesswrong.com/lw/hq/universal_fire/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/hq/universal_fire/
- roundsquare 17y agoBut, why is it that when he flies around planet in the opposite direction it spins, he's able to make time flows backwards on earth? I wonder if we can use this theory with some general relativity to explain it..
- sophacles 17y agoI can't think of a better paper to read at 4:20 on a Friday. Thank you.
- catone 17y agoHuh... I thought the characters on "Big Bang Theory" were fictional.
- petesalty 17y agoYou'd need to be Superman to read the Scribd version.
- roundsquare 17y agoI've never really understood the anti-scribd sentiment around HN. I've never had trouble opening/reading them. Is there something I'm missing?
- gaius 17y agoWhat's with the He and His? Superman is not God!
- JoeAltmaier 17y agoHe can change matter and energy at will; he can manipulate subatomic energy; he has numerous strange names. Sounds familiar!
- redcap 17y agoI know that's what they're hinting at, I just find it strangely offputting despite not being Christian.
- JoeAltmaier 17y agoYou know, I did too. Seemed irrelevant to the article.
- gaius 17y agoYeah, but he's not prescient at all, and he's not immortal either, and he certainly did not create the universe! Not only that but there are plenty of more powerful superheroes... Superman is a big fish in a small pond, Earth.
- sofal 17y agoI don't know how they expect to be taken seriously without a related work section.
- mrfish 17y agoWhy did he tells us to "Shut Up" in the conclusion. I thought it was well done up until that point.
- brandnewlow 17y agoIn the comics, I believe at least one writer has tried to explain this by hinting that Superman is an unknowing telekenetic. I.E. he can move things around with his mind, but for some reason has interpreted this power only in these frankly highly specific ways. When he flies, the theory went, he was moving his body around with his mind.
- dunstad 17y ago>>We could, for instance, determine whether Superman could accelerate if He were surrounded by a nearly perfect vacuum. Hasn't Superman already been observed flying in outer space? One would think a better vacuum would be hard to come by.
- obvioustroll 17y agoWhat, again? I remember thinking of this ~35 years ago, when I was 9.