Paper: The Grand Unified Theory of Superman's Powers [pdf]

http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/superman.pdf

by petewarden • 17 years ago

20 19 17 years ago

qwantz.com

sophacles• 17 years ago

I can't think of a better paper to read at 4:20 on a Friday. Thank you.

catone• 17 years ago

Huh... I thought the characters on "Big Bang Theory" were fictional.

jlees• 17 years ago

Oh, no. I lived with two of them for several years. Though their joke papers were never quite this amusing.

bhseo• 17 years ago

Any amusing situations you'd like to share?

petesalty• 17 years ago

You'd need to be Superman to read the Scribd version.

roundsquare2• 17 years ago

I've never really understood the anti-scribd sentiment around HN. I've never had trouble opening/reading them. Is there something I'm missing?

gaius2• 17 years ago

What's with the He and His? Superman is not God!

JoeAltmaier2• 17 years ago

He can change matter and energy at will; he can manipulate subatomic energy; he has numerous strange names. Sounds familiar!

redcap• 17 years ago

I know that's what they're hinting at, I just find it strangely offputting despite not being Christian.

gaius2• 17 years ago

Yeah, but he's not prescient at all, and he's not immortal either, and he certainly did not create the universe!

Not only that but there are plenty of more powerful superheroes... Superman is a big fish in a small pond, Earth.

sofal• 17 years ago

I don't know how they expect to be taken seriously without a related work section.

mrfish• 17 years ago

Why did he tells us to "Shut Up" in the conclusion. I thought it was well done up until that point.

brandnewlow• 17 years ago

In the comics, I believe at least one writer has tried to explain this by hinting that Superman is an unknowing telekenetic. I.E. he can move things around with his mind, but for some reason has interpreted this power only in these frankly highly specific ways. When he flies, the theory went, he was moving his body around with his mind.

dunstad• 17 years ago

>>We could, for instance, determine whether Superman could accelerate if He were surrounded by a nearly perfect vacuum.

Hasn't Superman already been observed flying in outer space? One would think a better vacuum would be hard to come by.

obvioustroll• 17 years ago

What, again? I remember thinking of this ~35 years ago, when I was 9.

lionhearted• 17 years ago

Surprisingly quite good - gets one thinking about physics some and inconsistencies in semi-scientific fantasy stories.

Reminds me of an Eliezer Yudkowsky article talking about how fire and combustion couldn't "not work" in an alternate world that humans could survive in, because similar processes happen in our body. (Can't find that article right now unfortunately, it was quite good - it was referencing a fantasy story where fire didn't exist in a parallel world)

Anyway, paper is worth a read. People with an adept knowledge of physics will chuckle a little, but probably even better for people like me who haven't played with physics much - got me thinking about center of mass, density, inertia, etc. Interesting stuff. Recommended.

Eliezer• 17 years ago

http://lesswrong.com/lw/hq/universal_fire/

roundsquare2• 17 years ago

But, why is it that when he flies around planet in the opposite direction it spins, he's able to make time flows backwards on earth?

I wonder if we can use this theory with some general relativity to explain it..

Paper: The Grand Unified Theory of Superman's Powers [pdf]

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