Allvar och gamman trives gärna samman. As for the elegant mathematics of quantum gravitation being physical... Gott lära av andras fel, eftersom man inte hinner begå alla själv.
You're unnecessarily impressed. My Swedish isn't even good enough to be called mediocre. Luckily pretty much everybody in Stockholm speaks English. In fact, many Swedes speak English so well I can't tell if they're native speakers or not. Besides this, I can't even talk about quantum gravity in German, I'll inevitably start talking English or have to ask somebody for a translation for every second word. I once gave a seminar in German at a German university after it turned out that everybody in the room spoke German. It was a big mistake. I don't think I've ever given such a bad seminar. Best,
I'm reading a biography of Milne (that's E.A. Milne, the astrophysicist, mathematician and cosmologist, not A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh, although, considering that Lewis Carroll of Alice fame was actually the Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, one could imagine an astrophysicist writing children's books) written by one of his daughters. He was English and hadn't left his native Yorkshire until he was grown. When he first met Einstein, they spoke in French (Milne had learned French at school and was in France in WWI; Einstein didn't learn much English until he moved to Princeton and until his death thought and wrote for himself in German). During a visit to Potsdam, Milne, now a professor at Oxford, learned enough German to be able to give scientific talks in German, though he mentioned in a letter that learning German was more difficult than constructing his theory of kinematic relativity. (Whether that means German is difficult or kinematic relativity is easy is left as an exercise for the reader.)
Actually, only the "ä" is an umlaut, not the "å", which is essentially the Swedish "o", the letter "o" being pronounced something like the English or German "u", the letter "u" being pronounced somewhere between the German or English "u" and German "ü" while the letter "y" in Swedish is a new sound, somewhere between the German "ü" and German or Swedish "i" (the latter which has no real equivalent in English, though it is something like a long English "e").
One one has mastered Swedish, quantum gravity is easy. :-)
Come to think of it, I'm not sure if there is an equivalent to "Umlaut" in Swedish. In German, the letter ä, ö and ü are often "changed" ("Umlaut" means something like "changed in sound") from a, o and u for various reasons, whereas in Swedish, ä and ö (ü is not needed; see above) are more or less additional letters. They are also after "z" in alphabetical lists, as is "å".
I am not the moderator of the blog. However, it is essential that "common citizens" speak out against racism. If I had complained about a Black person being sent to the back of the bus, would you tell me to shut up because I am not a policeman?
If you don't see what is racist in your comment, you are probably beyond hope, but I'll spell it out nonetheless: "The Germans". As it is written (I don't know if English is your native language but if not, then avoid sensitive topics), it implies "all Germans". You seem to be referring to English becoming dominant since Germany lost WWII. Sabine wasn't even born then. And those who were born then were not 100% in favour of the war.
I would agree that some Germans started WWII (though Hitler was Austrian, of course) but this in no way allows you to say that "the Germans" are to blame. Suppose a gay Jew robs a store. Should the newspaper print "Gays are robbers" or "Jews are criminals"?
(A bit of history: Although aggression on the part of the Nazis was the main cause of WWII, no serious historian would deny that a major factor which allowed the Nazis come to power was that the treaty of Versailles (after WWI) was much too hard on Germany, with literally the children's children's children made to pay reparations. Add to that the fact that Germany didn't start WWI, but indeed lost it.
in Einstein's days the literature in physics was to a large part in German, Einstein's own papers are in German and he probably spoke mostly German in his early professional life. Besides this historical difference, I haven't lived or worked in Germany for 10 years. I'm not sure that has something to do with dominance of the Anglo-Saxons. Even as a German myself I'll admit that English is easier to learn than German.
I’m referring to Germany as an entity, you idiot. Can’t you understand the context in which the words are written? I’m not referring to the German people; I have nothing against them.
Its Nation takes responsibility for its Historical actions as an entity not as individuals and Germany has already acknowledged its Historical responsibility for the devastation of continental Europe.
Anyway I don't have to excuse myself to a Nationalist moron like you who tries to find excuses for Hitler starting the WWII.
Stand down, fellas. An emigrant (first shot, 586 BC) population survived 1300 years of oppression. Only intellectual pursuits were tolerated. Wealth need be portable at a moment's notice. Ethnos wedded eminent male scholars to wealthy merchants' daughters. Measure measure, then cut off the bottom 90% of a one sigma IQ-elevated cohort.
Evolution is a hoot for survivors. Mostly agrarian US WWII plundered the German patent universe to become a planetary despot FOB: Technical Advisory Committee Report A1ML-1. Then, we inverted process. The unabled maximize self-esteem to be credible, selecting for the deluded. We pissed away hegemony. Go easy on self-righteousness.
Truth be said, it's more a combination of me traveling and being faced with several deadlines than patience that is origin of my tolerance. Best,
B.
10:19 AM, August 25, 2013
Yes, there's Swedish Umlauts in the header. Our local readers might be interested to hear that Nordita will take part in the bi-annual outreach event "Fysik i Kungsan", which is scheduled for Sept 7, 11am to 5pm, at Kungsträdgården, Stockholm. Here are some impressions from two years ago:
If you're in the area, it would be nice to see you there! I'll be the audio stream for a poster on the question "What is Quantum Gravity" so that's your opportunity to ask me everything you ever wanted to ask. I'll be there only part of the day though, because some months ago I signed up for a 10k run that happens to be the same Saturday.
posted by Sabine Hossenfelder at 5:37 AM on Aug 21, 2013
"Physics Outreach Event at Kungsträdgården, Sep 7"
16 Comments -
So you speak Swedish by now? I'm impressed...
7:11 AM, August 21, 2013
Hi Bee,
Looks like fun I wish I could be there.
Best,
Phil
7:26 AM, August 21, 2013
Allvar och gamman trives gärna samman. As for the elegant mathematics of quantum gravitation being physical... Gott lära av andras fel, eftersom man inte hinner begå alla själv.
Den beskedlige får ingenting.
11:09 AM, August 21, 2013
Giotis,
You're unnecessarily impressed. My Swedish isn't even good enough to be called mediocre. Luckily pretty much everybody in Stockholm speaks English. In fact, many Swedes speak English so well I can't tell if they're native speakers or not. Besides this, I can't even talk about quantum gravity in German, I'll inevitably start talking English or have to ask somebody for a translation for every second word. I once gave a seminar in German at a German university after it turned out that everybody in the room spoke German. It was a big mistake. I don't think I've ever given such a bad seminar. Best,
B.
5:30 AM, August 22, 2013
I'm reading a biography of Milne (that's E.A. Milne, the astrophysicist, mathematician and cosmologist, not A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh, although, considering that Lewis Carroll of Alice fame was actually the Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, one could imagine an astrophysicist writing children's books) written by one of his daughters. He was English and hadn't left his native Yorkshire until he was grown. When he first met Einstein, they spoke in French (Milne had learned French at school and was in France in WWI; Einstein didn't learn much English until he moved to Princeton and until his death thought and wrote for himself in German). During a visit to Potsdam, Milne, now a professor at Oxford, learned enough German to be able to give scientific talks in German, though he mentioned in a letter that learning German was more difficult than constructing his theory of kinematic relativity. (Whether that means German is difficult or kinematic relativity is easy is left as an exercise for the reader.)
12:21 PM, August 22, 2013
Actually, only the "ä" is an umlaut, not the "å", which is essentially the Swedish "o", the letter "o" being pronounced something like the English or German "u", the letter "u" being pronounced somewhere between the German or English "u" and German "ü" while the letter "y" in Swedish is a new sound, somewhere between the German "ü" and German or Swedish "i" (the latter which has no real equivalent in English, though it is something like a long English "e").
One one has mastered Swedish, quantum gravity is easy. :-)
Come to think of it, I'm not sure if there is an equivalent to "Umlaut" in Swedish. In German, the letter ä, ö and ü are often "changed" ("Umlaut" means something like "changed in sound") from a, o and u for various reasons, whereas in Swedish, ä and ö (ü is not needed; see above) are more or less additional letters. They are also after "z" in alphabetical lists, as is "å".
12:29 PM, August 22, 2013
“I can't even talk about quantum gravity in German”
Einstein would be able to talk about General Relativity in German. Why can’t you?
Maybe because meanwhile the Anglo-Saxon civilization has dominated the world.
And who are to blame for this other than the German themselves.
4:26 AM, August 23, 2013
Take your racist comments elsewhere.
6:28 AM, August 23, 2013
What racist comments are you talking about? Are you a complete idiot?
And who appoint you moderator on this blog? Go back to your hole.
6:50 AM, August 23, 2013
I am not the moderator of the blog. However, it is essential that "common citizens" speak out against racism. If I had complained about a Black person being sent to the back of the bus, would you tell me to shut up because I am not a policeman?
If you don't see what is racist in your comment, you are probably beyond hope, but I'll spell it out nonetheless: "The Germans". As it is written (I don't know if English is your native language but if not, then avoid sensitive topics), it implies "all Germans". You seem to be referring to English becoming dominant since Germany lost WWII. Sabine wasn't even born then. And those who were born then were not 100% in favour of the war.
I would agree that some Germans started WWII (though Hitler was Austrian, of course) but this in no way allows you to say that "the Germans" are to blame. Suppose a gay Jew robs a store. Should the newspaper print "Gays are robbers" or "Jews are criminals"?
(A bit of history: Although aggression on the part of the Nazis was the main cause of WWII, no serious historian would deny that a major factor which allowed the Nazis come to power was that the treaty of Versailles (after WWI) was much too hard on Germany, with literally the children's children's children made to pay reparations. Add to that the fact that Germany didn't start WWI, but indeed lost it.
7:32 AM, August 23, 2013
Guys, please.
Giotis,
in Einstein's days the literature in physics was to a large part in German, Einstein's own papers are in German and he probably spoke mostly German in his early professional life. Besides this historical difference, I haven't lived or worked in Germany for 10 years. I'm not sure that has something to do with dominance of the Anglo-Saxons. Even as a German myself I'll admit that English is easier to learn than German.
Best,
B.
8:08 AM, August 23, 2013
I’m referring to Germany as an entity, you idiot. Can’t you understand the context in which the words are written? I’m not referring to the German people; I have nothing against them.
Its Nation takes responsibility for its Historical actions as an entity not as individuals and Germany has already acknowledged its Historical responsibility for the devastation of continental Europe.
Anyway I don't have to excuse myself to a Nationalist moron like you who tries to find excuses for Hitler starting the WWII.
9:01 AM, August 23, 2013
Jesus Christ. A post on a physics outreach event converges to Hitler. Sabine, your patience amazes me.
2:00 PM, August 23, 2013
Stand down, fellas. An emigrant (first shot, 586 BC) population survived 1300 years of oppression. Only intellectual pursuits were tolerated. Wealth need be portable at a moment's notice. Ethnos wedded eminent male scholars to wealthy merchants' daughters. Measure measure, then cut off the bottom 90% of a one sigma IQ-elevated cohort.
Evolution is a hoot for survivors. Mostly agrarian US WWII plundered the German patent universe to become a planetary despot FOB: Technical Advisory Committee Report A1ML-1. Then, we inverted process. The unabled maximize self-esteem to be credible, selecting for the deluded. We pissed away hegemony. Go easy on self-righteousness.
2:33 PM, August 23, 2013
Is
http://arxiv.org/abs/1308.4686
an early April Fool's joke?
12:06 AM, August 24, 2013
Christine,
Truth be said, it's more a combination of me traveling and being faced with several deadlines than patience that is origin of my tolerance. Best,
B.
10:19 AM, August 25, 2013