Whedonesque : Comments on 11259 : Slaying with Science.

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August 31 2006

Slaying with Science. Author of The Physics of the Buffyverse throws down the gauntlet in defense of vampires...or at least in protest of the methods the vampire debunkers use for, um, debunking. Either way, it's funny.

Also, the book is available for preorder at Amazon.

Allyson | Printed matter | 21:44 CET | 9 comments total | tags:

On a related note, John August (screenwriter for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, and some other stuff) recently published a blog post entitled "Vampires are the imaginary numbers of modern literature." Worth a peek.

Scotto | August 31, 22:18 CET

Great link, Scotto! I think I enjoyed it a little more than the also great link for this thread (good find, Allyson) because, let's face it, the essay by Mr. August was shorter than (and yet equally funny to) the Cocktail Party Physics piece, so it wins! ;-)

billz | August 31, 23:02 CET

Cool. I'm always interested in a new Buffy studies book, and the physics angle is appealing to me. Too bad it comes out after Christmas, it sounds like a perfect gift for me.

alpha5099 | August 31, 23:28 CET

I love how this link connects the two websites I most frequently visit. The referenced article of Efthimiou et al. on (amongst other things) the impossibility of the existence of vampires is not very good, though. Funnily enough Efthimiou posted on the same day an article about whether "pseudoscience is the solution to science literacy".

And regarding the other link, I think imaginary numbers are just as real as real numbers, but he makes a nice analogy (I might turn it around when I have to teach what complex numbers are in a month: "complex numbers are the vampires of the numbers", I can imagine it already).

Celebithil | August 31, 23:55 CET

One Buffyverse related physics question I would love to see examined, is exactly how Warren managed to shoot Tara from where they were positioned. I remember being quite confused with it on the first few viewings of Seeing Red, then when rewatching it recently I sort of re-evaluated my mental map of the Summer's house, and still decided it didn't entirely make sense.

Razor | September 01, 00:46 CET

One Buffyverse related physics question I would love to see examined, is exactly how Warren managed to shoot Tara from where they were positioned.

I believe the Warren Commission looked into that *flees*.

Simon | September 01, 01:14 CET

But I thought Spike commissioned Warren!

Was there a big pile of dust on the grassy knoll? Inquiring minds want to know!

... Er...

Interesting article, I might get the book. :D

Craig Oxbrow | September 01, 02:20 CET

Yeah, that bit in the article this one critiqued about how ghosts couldn't walk through walls, they'd fall through the floor made me remember that ball lightning tends to go through walls and not the ground.

Ocular | September 01, 02:52 CET

Er...aren't vampires supposed to be supernatural? So they aren't restricted by the laws of physics. But what about the laws of metaphysics? ;)

tichtich | September 01, 14:25 CET

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