I’m currently reading The Life Era by Eric Chaisson. In the first chapter he talks about the evolution of cosmic structures, including active galactic nuclei and quasars. While talking about how mysterious quasars are (and keep in mind this book was published in 1987) he offers up the following:
Does anyone have any idea what he’s talking about? Did this really happen?
There have been a few physicists who have committed suicide, and since most physicists have, at some time or another, heard a talk on quasars, it’s safe to say that most of the suicides came (some unspecified amount of time) after a talk on quasars. If anyone is trying to claim that a physicist offed himself immediately after such a talk, though, and that the talk was the proximate cause, then the burden of proof is on that person making the claim.
Actually, I’d be more impressed to find a case of a physicist who committed suicide before hearing a talk on quasars.
Actually, the physicist committed suicide before AND after hearing the talk on quasars, but it depends on who is observing the physicist.
Good one I Love Me. (Great user name, BTW. I forget which thread revealed its properties to me, but I’ve been impressed ever since.)