Why is Richards even in this? Has he ever been accused of madness? Sure, if this were a poll for "superscientist smackdown" or "extreme scientist smackdown," maybe he'd have a chance. But for a character who has equal parts madness and science, you can't beat Walter.

Buyer Beware: the Stargate doesn't include a DHD, so it's bring-your-own-naquadah-generator if you want to use it.

Altlivia! Her name is Altlivia!

OK, question: How does a pion composed of an up quark and an up antiquark not self-annihilate? I mean, when an electron and a positron collide, they annihilate, so shouldn't the same happen when a quark and an antiquark of the same flavor combine? Or do they have to have the same color to annihilate?

For the record, it's properly referred to as "Comet Halley", rhyming with "Comet Sally;" if you're thinking "Halley's Comet" to rhyme with "Baily's Comet," you're wrong on two counts.

"and this new skin puts those abilities within robots' grasp."

@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: When you had LN2 ice cream, did you mix it with a wooden spoon? We used to do that, but then someone realized that the blender's whisk attachment fit perfectly into the power drill...that must have cut down our preparation time by 75%, and increased the awesomeness by at least 200%.

Never mind sticking your hand in, I've poured a teaspoon of LN2 onto my tongue. Probably not a great idea, but as long as you keep your mouth open (for the nitrogen gas to escape) and don't swallow, it's harmless fun.

@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Seconded. Seriously, I want to send him a copy of the D&D Player's Handbook so he can start varying the gods he invokes; at this point, "Blood for the Blood God!" would be an improvement.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a major battle over acetaminophen/paracetamol. Yes, they're the same thing.

@Nath: Incorrect (well, about your history of the name; this very comment is proof that you were correct that you'd be starting a Wikipedia-style argument). The element was initially named "alumium," which was then changed to "aluminum;" this subsequently got changed again to "aluminium" to match the other elements.…

If this theoretical model holds up to experimentation, will this be the first actual meaningful result derived from string theory?

@Captain_Tripps: Hey, I read the Grudge Match website back in the day; they did "combat between fictional spaceships/people/armies" both accurately and humorously. No reason to expect less of a panel which has apparently happened 15 times.

Seriously, assigning random human or AI pilots to the ships, then deciding who will win based on that? Are they trying to actually see which ship is better in a fight, or just whether they can get people to attend a panel at a convention?

I'm not following — how does this differ from "standard" quantum cryptography, where the signal can't be intercepted because Eve doesn't know which polarization Bob is using for a given photon, so she can't send Bob an exact copy of the photon she received?

I think the chart at the bottom-right of this page is probably a more accurate depiction of the temporal mechanics of Primer...

@8x10: I'm not sure what you're talking about....that's just what DNA looks like, when written down in molecular form. You'd find the same picture in any textbook.

@thekeith82: Is it bad that I knew you misspelled raxacoricofallapatorius without looking it up?

What effect will this have on aging, though? Telomere extension has been a target of anti-aging research for some time, so drugs which specifically inhibit telomere extension might well have the opposite effect (e.g., driving patients to an early grave). That's the problem with curing cancer and/or aging: the two…

Having seen the original many times, I caught the curtain change in the second video, but completely missed the player leaving...and I wasn't even trying to count passes. I guess I shouldn't try to be an eyewitness...