tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post116515346318537167..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Book Cover PhysicsSabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1168117810491147742007-01-06T16:10:00.000-05:002007-01-06T16:10:00.000-05:00"How do you know? Seriously, are there any statist..."How do you know? Seriously, are there any statistics about it? I actually doubt it."<BR/><BR/>Yes, but not many. In 1998 Penguin released the results of a study and found word-of-mouth and a few other things, including cost, had more impact on a book's sales.<BR/><BR/>I also have a copy of a study done that involved children creating covers for books in a children's library, and there was Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165372395712173642006-12-05T21:33:00.000-05:002006-12-05T21:33:00.000-05:00As an occasional visitor:Stefan - I enjoy your pos...As an occasional visitor:<BR/><BR/>Stefan - I enjoy your post very much. Learn much and welcome more. I will visit more often as a result.<BR/><BR/>Bee - A book is a business; the jacket design is far more important than is rationally justified. That's why publishers insist on control of the jacket design. You will be enlightened if and when you write your own book and need to deal with the 'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165360531958787822006-12-05T18:15:00.000-05:002006-12-05T18:15:00.000-05:00The public library, less than a mile from my house...The public library, less than a mile from my house, has "What is the World Made Of? Atoms Leptons Quarks and Other Tantalizing Particles" by Gerald Feinberg. So I borrowed the book.<BR/><BR/>The cover is indeed of a bubble chamber, but now the CERN one, and not stylized.<BR/><BR/><I>Jacket illustration: Photograph of a bubble chamber in which an invisible neutrino strikes a nucleus, producing a Arunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03451666670728177970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165345570512478332006-12-05T14:06:00.000-05:002006-12-05T14:06:00.000-05:00Speaking of frontispieces, I'll contend when one e...Speaking of frontispieces, I'll contend when one examines in detail the frontispiece of Kepler's "Rudolfine Tables", one will realize that Kepler had an extraordinary gift - the gift to integrate the two great titans of culture: art and science.<BR/><BR/>Although Kepler has been tight-casted as a medieval throwback of sorts, one certainly can't deny that he's an embodiment of a perfect Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165344688749906982006-12-05T13:51:00.000-05:002006-12-05T13:51:00.000-05:00Leucipo, I'm with you on this one!Even though the ...Leucipo, I'm with you on this one!<BR/><BR/>Even though the content of A. Zee's "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell" falls outside my comfort range for consumption, its jacket is an excellent example of a type that I prefer. As a general rule, I favor - more or less - tradition book jackets: jackets that display anthropogenic works of art, while confining scientific art, such as particle Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165291026152963422006-12-04T22:57:00.000-05:002006-12-04T22:57:00.000-05:00I've searched through my personal physics library,...I've searched through my personal physics library, and found very little in cover design that could be considered interesting. Hordes of QFT books with Feynman Diagrams for covers, but not much original.CapitalistImperialistPighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17523405806602731435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165290663617671992006-12-04T22:51:00.000-05:002006-12-04T22:51:00.000-05:00The first time I came across this said image of "b...The first time I came across this said image of "bubble chamber", was when "Marcello Glasier ?" was using it to describe interactions from CERN, WRT matter/anti-matter anhilations. Marcello?..was a guest on S W Hawking's :Universe Documentary.<BR/><BR/>The image is also on the cover of Open University coursework for Astronomy S102.<BR/><BR/>The image is very striking, and I recall Marcello Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165278691663574362006-12-04T19:31:00.000-05:002006-12-04T19:31:00.000-05:00FYI :http://www.amazon.com/Front-Cover-Great-Jacke...FYI :<BR/><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Front-Cover-Great-Jacket-Design/dp/1840004215<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Front-Cover-Great-Jacket-Design/dp/1840004215" REL="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Front-Cover-Great-Jacket-Design/dp/1840004215</A>Arunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03451666670728177970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165272213784379422006-12-04T17:43:00.000-05:002006-12-04T17:43:00.000-05:00Dear Bee,I completely agree, there are many import...Dear Bee,<BR/><BR/><BR/>I completely agree, there are many important factors why people buy or buy not a certain book, as you say: <I>having heard either of the book or the author before, prominent display in the store, the title and genre being of interest.</I> <BR/><BR/>But in these cases (besides prominent display, other forms of agressive marketing), you know already what you are looking for.stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165270617403408862006-12-04T17:16:00.000-05:002006-12-04T17:16:00.000-05:00Hi Chinmaya Sheth,indeed, the Fayngold book has an...Hi Chinmaya Sheth,<BR/><BR/>indeed, the <A HREF="http://www.wiley-vch.de/publish/en/books/bySubjectPH00/ISBN3-527-40344-2" REL="nofollow">Fayngold book</A> has an attractive cover... It's funny, but it seems that it is advertised at amazon.com with the <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/dp/3527403442/" REL="nofollow">wrong cover</A>, which look less interesting. So this could be used to check whetherstefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165268702683476322006-12-04T16:45:00.000-05:002006-12-04T16:45:00.000-05:00Hi Dimitri,How did you stumble on that picture of ...Hi Dimitri,<BR/><BR/><I>How did you stumble on that picture of the bubble chamber on the lawn at CERN?</I><BR/><BR/>That was by chance, when browsing the CERN photo database for "BEBC", the big European Bubble Chamber. I came across this photo and remembered this odd-looking big thing on the lawn near the cafeteria, and just then understood that this was a bubble chamber. The photo was taken on stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165255986297055902006-12-04T13:13:00.000-05:002006-12-04T13:13:00.000-05:00I have discovered one of Lee Smolin’s objection to...<A HREF="http://asymptotia.com/2006/11/10/more-scenes-from-the-storm-in-a-teacup-vi/#comment-7059" REL="nofollow">I have discovered one of Lee Smolin’s objection to a string theorist? They are only craftsman, and not seers. :) But truly, should we judge a book by it’s cover?:)</A><BR/><BR/>I was thinking of your post Stefan when I wrote the above.<BR/><BR/>I still think a good book cover should PlatoHagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00849253658526056393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165251339901230132006-12-04T11:55:00.000-05:002006-12-04T11:55:00.000-05:00There is a publisher of textbooks, Wiley-VCH, whos...There is a publisher of textbooks, Wiley-VCH, whose covers and typestting I really like; their older books may not be so good. See for example, "Special Relativity and Motions Faster Than Light" by Moses Fayngold, 2002.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165241998718938012006-12-04T09:19:00.000-05:002006-12-04T09:19:00.000-05:00Dear Stefan,Yes, I think so - and I guess most pub...Dear Stefan,<BR/><BR/><I>Yes, I think so - and I guess most publishers would agree. Cover design is an essential part of book marketing.</I><BR/><BR/>I have no doubts it is, I'm just wondering whether it pays off. I'm not saying the cover is unimportant. Maybe it makes people pick up a book, but this I think isn't a so important factor. More important reasons for having a look at the book: havingSabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165213252145328572006-12-04T01:20:00.000-05:002006-12-04T01:20:00.000-05:00"Bubble chambers, like emulsion film techniques or..."Bubble chambers, like emulsion film techniques or similar methods to record tracks of particles, have one big disadvantage: events are fixed on film, and to do a physics analysis, thousands of photos have to be checked "by hand". This is a very tedious job, which often was done by women "scanners"."<BR/><BR/>Tell me about it... as a first year master student I had to do an elementary particle Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165213006221319212006-12-04T01:16:00.000-05:002006-12-04T01:16:00.000-05:00Nice post!How did you stumble on that picture of t...Nice post!<BR/><BR/>How did you stumble on that picture of the bubble chamber on the lawn at CERN? It's actually the group photo of one of the biyearly trip my university (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) organises to promote publice understanding of science. There's one lying around with myself on it as 16 or 17 year old depending on what day it was (I actually turned 17 in CERN that year) :-)<BR/><Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165193933678616042006-12-03T19:58:00.000-05:002006-12-03T19:58:00.000-05:00oops....Link connection should read,"reflections o...oops....<BR/><BR/>Link connection should read,"<A HREF="http://eskesthai.blogspot.com/2006/07/star-lite-public-outreach.html" REL="nofollow">reflections of the source.</A>PlatoHagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00849253658526056393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165193535001008202006-12-03T19:52:00.000-05:002006-12-03T19:52:00.000-05:00Stefan,http://www.aip.org/png/images/rhic-end.jpgI...Stefan,<BR/><BR/>http://www.aip.org/png/images/rhic-end.jpg<BR/><BR/>It is true that a book cover can be of advantage when it comes to selection, and is part of the marketing I am sure.<BR/><BR/>I enjoyed your article too because of the "<A HREF- HREF="" REL="nofollow" HTTP://ESKESTHAI.BLOGSPOT.COM/2006/07/STAR-LITE-PUBLIC-OUTREACH.HTML>reflection of the source</A>" to which these book covers arePlatoHagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00849253658526056393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165190589907478342006-12-03T19:03:00.000-05:002006-12-03T19:03:00.000-05:00Stefan, the double beta experiment had a big Helmh...Stefan, the double beta experiment had a big Helmholtz coil. You determine the energy of the electrons by the geometry of their tracks in the magnetic field. The TPC finds the geometry of the tracks. The trigger module watched the outputs of the wires and captured data when something looked interesting. I designed the trigger controller to be software controllable so that they could trigger CarlBrannenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180079098492232258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165189912217777782006-12-03T18:51:00.000-05:002006-12-03T18:51:00.000-05:00Dear Bee,Do you really think this (Books which wan...Dear Bee,<BR/><BR/><I>Do you really think this (Books which want to be sold need attractive covers.) is an important point?</I><BR/><BR/>Yes, I think so - and I guess most publishers would agree. Cover design is an essential part of book marketing. <BR/><BR/>I mean, the cover may be not so important if the author is famous and the book is sold anyway, or if the topic of the book has already been stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165189137730358122006-12-03T18:38:00.000-05:002006-12-03T18:38:00.000-05:00Hi Carl,Back in 1982 I designed a CAMAC trigger co...Hi Carl,<BR/><BR/><I>Back in 1982 I designed a CAMAC trigger controller for a time projection chamber at UC Irvine. It was a search for double beta decay.</I><BR/><BR/>I have a stupid question: why is a TPC used as a detector in a double beta decay experiment? I mean, naively, I would have thought that the most important thing in such an experiment is to trigger on coinciding emission of two stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165188920400096332006-12-03T18:35:00.001-05:002006-12-03T18:35:00.001-05:00Hi Arun,unfortunately, there is no date given for ...Hi Arun,<BR/><BR/>unfortunately, there is no date given for the photo in the CERN database, which is a pity. But since the BEBC started taking photos in 1973, it may be perfectly well possible that this illustration was used already in 1978.<BR/><BR/>Best, stefanstefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165188909641639442006-12-03T18:35:00.000-05:002006-12-03T18:35:00.000-05:00Dear Stefan,You write: Books which want to be sold...Dear Stefan,<BR/><BR/>You write: <I>Books which want to be sold need attractive covers</I>. Do you really think this is an important point? I hardly chose books by their cover, you don't see it when you read the book anyway. The most important thing I'd say is the text on the back flap. After this, much more important than the cover I find the typesetting and just the quality of the print (and Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165188689169283962006-12-03T18:31:00.000-05:002006-12-03T18:31:00.000-05:00Dear Lubos,thank you for your careful reading of t...Dear Lubos,<BR/><BR/>thank you for your careful reading of the post and your thoughtful and constructive comments :-)<BR/><BR/>Just let me add the following to Bee's comments:<BR/><BR/>First, I'm well aware of the cover art of the French edition of the "Elegant Universe", which you have mentioned repeatedly. It's also from CERN, <A HREF="http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/39452" REL="nofollow">stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1165187901071309562006-12-03T18:18:00.000-05:002006-12-03T18:18:00.000-05:00Dear Arun,Thanks, yes, this was also mentioned on ...Dear Arun,<BR/><BR/>Thanks, yes, this was also mentioned on the site at Peter's blog, <A HREF="http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=245#comment-4704" REL="nofollow">one of the last comments</A>.<BR/><BR/>Dear Lubos,<BR/><BR/><I>The problem is that you have written that the blog of the critic of science describes "the origin of the picture".</I><BR/><BR/>We have written that the origin Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com