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"I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

nytimes.com

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Re: "I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

#3

Post by jsm386 »

The writer had fun with this paragraph. I know stories like these in the general press are ragged on often (rightfully), but seriously? Would a writer in the Politics or Business sections ever get something like the 2nd sentence past their editor?

The source of the bubbles is a mystery. One possibility is that they are fueled by a wave of star births and deaths at the center of the galaxy. Another option is a gigantic belch from the black hole known to reside, like Jabba the Hutt, at the center of the Milky Way. What it is apparently not is dark matter, the mysterious something that astronomers say makes up a quarter of the universe and holds galaxies together.

Re: "I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

#5

Post by eof »

parasctr wrote: post #4
eof wrote: post #2

bah. please don't link to things behind a wall

use this: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=136...

Thanks, I do know how to get access (I mean, I am sure I registered in the past anyway) but it's still trashy to click a link on a site like HN and be prompted with a login before you see the content.

Re: "I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

#7

Post by lukifer »

jsm386 wrote: post #3

The writer had fun with this paragraph. I know stories like these in the general press are ragged on often (rightfully), but seriously? Would a writer in the Politics or Business sections ever get something like the 2nd sentence past their editor? The source of the bubbles is a mystery. One possibility is that they are fueled by a wave of star births and deaths at the center of the galaxy. Another option is a giganti…

> A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

> ...known to reside, like Jabba the Hutt, at the center of the Milky Way.

A lesson to all the mainstream writers out there: don't drop references if you can't get them right. :P

Re: "I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

#8

Post by albemuth »

lukifer wrote: post #7
jsm386 wrote: post #3

The writer had fun with this paragraph. I know stories like these in the general press are ragged on often (rightfully), but seriously? Would a writer in the Politics or Business sections ever get something like the 2nd sentence past their editor? The source of the bubbles is a mystery. One possibility is that they are fueled by a wave of star births and deaths at the center of the galaxy. Another option is a giganti…

> A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... > ...known to reside, like Jabba the Hutt, at the center of the Milky Way. A lesson to all the mainstream writers out there: don't drop references if you can't get them right. :P

And I believe Luke says that Tatooine is nowhere near the center of its galaxy

Re: "I have failed to find dark matter, but I got a very pleasant consolation prize"

#9

Post by flipbrad »

eof wrote: post #2

bah. please don't link to things behind a wall

it's an interesting point, that. should news aggregators consciously avoid paywalled articles, and if so, why? Do they increase the ratio of noise to signal her, because few people can benefit from them (hence they are pure noise to most people here)? That's quite the irony, since their entire selling point is that paywalled content is higher signal, lower noise.

Perhaps it comes down to the aggregator's audience. Some will be more willing to pay to get past paywalls, for articles recommended to them by that aggregator, or have a higher tendency to already be paying customers. Hence P(article recommendation will be appreciated) will tend higher there, because P(article will be viewable) is higher.

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