Brian May, Rock Legend, Soon-To-Be Astrophysicist 169
xPsi writes "Brian May, the guitarist for the legendary rock band Queen (age 60), has finally decided to submit his Ph.D. thesis in astrophysics. The title is 'Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud.' From the article: 'May was studying astrophysics at Imperial College when he formed Queen with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor in 1970. He dropped his doctorate research into interstellar dust as the band met with increasing success.' And, hey, if this whole Rock-n-Roll thing doesn't pan out, at least he'll have something to fall back on."
At last! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:At last! (Score:5, Funny)
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"Now that I have the prize, I can finally meet some chicks" -- James Watson, 1962
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So he had an opportunity with all three Corrs sisters!
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Studies (Score:5, Insightful)
It is never too late for scholarly accomplishment and is encouraging to see folks go back to finish work begun many years prior or even to begin studies later than would be traditionally done. I'd like to think that if I can achieve a certain financial independence that I'd complete a second Ph.D. later in life in a field completely unrelated to the one I am working in now. Perhaps something cool like history...
On top of that, perhaps Dr. May's degree will help focus a little positive attention on science given that many in politics these days seem to have made us scientists out to be the boogey man/woman.
Re:Studies (Score:5, Funny)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corna#Rock_and_Heavy
Buckaroo Banzai (Score:5, Interesting)
It sounds like he is a real life Buckaroo Banzai, like in the 1984 movie "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension." Buckaroo Banazi was a rock star, particle physicist, neurosurgeon, and race car driver. So, it really is possible to do all that! That was the movie where Earth was invaded by aliens flew around in space ships which looked like giant sea shells.
Buckaroo Banzai [wikipedia.org]
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Wayne Parker (of Glass Tiger) is also an Astronomer. He owns a company called SkyShed which recently released a new Personal Observatory Dome called (you guessed it...) a POD. They are getting great reviews are are remarkably affordable (we're talking under $1500!). I am seriously thinking about getting one.
And no, I have no relationship with the company (I'm not sure I even know any of Glass Tiger's songs...), but any amateur Astronomers out there looking for a home obs
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Hm, about 15 quid then? Decent...
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See, when your mom told you that heavy metal was a bad influence, she was wrong. I'd like to see any of today's pop princesses do somehting similar.
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RED LECTROIDS!!! (Score:2)
Look out for Rawhide.
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Peter Weller [imdb.com]
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Right. Because the conservative right wing would be extremely compassionate toward the endeavors of the ">members [slashdot.org] of a band like Queen due to their rock star status.
Oh, wait....
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Fixed link [wikipedia.org] to Freddie Mercury's Wikipedia article.
Re:Studies (Score:5, Funny)
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Over the 35 years, shouldn't his Ph.D. thesis have gone from ground-breaking research to undergraduate-report type stuff? Are they still going to approve his thesis? Or was his work 35 years ahead of its time?
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Re:Studies (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, that is one of the most ignorant things I've heard today... Am I misunderstanding the sentiment or just what is it that you are trying to say?
I've never seen why people feel they need a "second" PhD.
It is not about the piece of paper that says PhD. Rather, it is the level of accomplishment that the doctorate represents.
So in fact what you really want to do is read for a BA (or BSc) in a new area - just do it at a good university (which unfortunately rules out most).
Actually, well run doctorate programs provide not just the place for students to learn at, but other individuals/colleagues/mentors in that field of study who can challenge you and help direct your studies far beyond what is available to most undergraduate departments. The academic rigor of doctoral programs far surpasses the more casual familiarity with material and the expectations are much higher as well which is what many folks who love learning are after, particularly if the field of their interest is far away from their area of formal training.
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If the field is very different, you can always do a DipGrad or equivalent (something to bring you up to speed). Really, at the point of holding a PhD, you should be capable of taking a year or two of preparation at most, and
Re:Studies (Score:5, Insightful)
Look out, Stephen Hawking! I got my god particle hanging right here.
Re:Studies (Score:5, Funny)
You can't be American, as no yank should get anything in English until they can spell centre correctly
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I for one find myself spelling things the British way occasionally, 'catalogue' and 'colour' being the two biggest examples.
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Everything else, however, should be re-written directly
(Excepting, of course, anything before Webster:
Milton, Marlowe, Pepys, and the Bard,
We should treat rather like legacy code -
Leave uncommented, unstandardized, ne'er updated;
Enlightenment should come only to the dedicated).
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No. Ph.D.'s are about how to do research. Many fields share research methodology, some don't. So, if you have an English Ph.D., then a Physics Ph.D. may teach you something, but a French Ph.D. might not be.
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How is that different from becoming a lawyer, a politician, a priest, a race car driver, computer programmer, or a hamburger flipper? Everybody specializes, and everybody has specific sources of funding and income.
Now, why don't you tell us what makes your life a
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And the problem with that would be... what? Academics have to do a shitload of work to get very limited research grants, and they use that money to pay for students and education. What the hell is supposed to be wrong with that? Academic employment is paid so poorly and so much work that fewer and fewer people are willing to do it at all.
Now, who do you extract funding from? Gullible teenagers? Despe
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Loving it, by the way.
M.D. /Ph.D. (Score:2, Insightful)
I take it you don't do much clinical medical research? The M.D./Ph.D. combo is not uncommon there. The M.D.'s usually have done a residency/passed the specialist boards, too.
Re:Studies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Studies (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe it was like that in times past, but not today. Even in the UK a PhD does include learning about specific things. Not only would my group never hire someone without a PhD specifically in physics (possibly physical chemistry), they wouldn't hire someone without experience specifically in laser cooling (which you won't get in any undergrad program). A person with a bachelor's degree in physics and a PhD in social work would be completely useless to us.
A PhD in a hard discipline (Engineering, a science, etc.) is a PhD. (I'm not sure about the PhD's in other fields. They may be more laxed, but they really should not be).
If your group would not accept somebody whose PhD was not in Physics, that is a failure of your group. Requiring that the person have taken the classes required for a PhD in physics is one thing. But somebody who has a PhD in let's say Mathematics, who has taken those courses at graduate or post-grad level, and has the required laser coo
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So yes, I agree technically that it's not what one's PhD is in that'
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If they have a PhD in something other than physics, and they have the appropriate experience, then yes, they would get hired by my group. My point is that, today, that required experience comes with the physics PhD. The PhD is not something where you just improve your research techniques. There are important things that you learn during your PhD that do not get taught in undergrad and don't get taught in the grad studies of other fields.
So yes, I agree technically that it's not what one's PhD is in that's important, it's what one knows. But the fact is, no one without a PhD in physics (or physical chemistry) would have the experience that our group would require, especially when compared to other job candidates who did do their PhD in physics. My group not hiring someone without a physics PhD is not a failing on the part of my group, it's just a practical realization of that fact.
To that end, taking your comments as about the availability of the specialized knowledge as true (and i have no reason to doubt it), then the failure is certainly not on your group but on the education system. It should be possible to obtain said knowledge through routes other than Physics PhD study. However, if in reality that is required, than having a physics PhD being a de facto requirement is entirely reasonable. I see no fault in your group for that. The first part of your reply definitely makes it c
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Dude, lasers are hot. You've been had — they sent you on a snipe hunt!
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not quite (Score:3, Insightful)
So in fact what you really want to do is read for a BA (or BSc) in a new area - just do it at a good university (which unfortunately rules out most).
No, to get started in a new field you want to take MA or MSc courses in a new area; the BA/BSc is supposed to prepare you for graduate study in general. Or just read the books and watch the lectures on-line.
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I've never seen the conspicuous consumption stereotype applied to higher learning. And, yes, I got naturalized Nov 2005.
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Damn, that's a requirement for a second PhD?!
Oh wait...
He recently released a book as well. (Score:5, Insightful)
http://www.banguniverse.com/ [banguniverse.com]
How cool is it that after all of the concerts, the world tours, the money, that he completes a life project like this?
How many people that attain the level that Queen rose to, would just spend their time spending the money?
I think it's awesome that he's going to finish up.
Re:He recently released a book as well. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:He recently released a book as well. (Score:4, Insightful)
Or worse, re-form Queen with some twit replacing Freddie ...
Re:He recently released a book as well. (Score:4, Interesting)
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Yeah, and how many rock stars who achieved the success of Queen still have enough money left to go to college?
Seriously, though, I think science could really benefit from someone like him. As I young guitarist I took a lot of inspiration from an article he wrote. I remember the bottom line was that the #1 rule is to disregard all the rules, and come at it fresh every time. That was pretty much the min
Brian May's current work (Score:5, Interesting)
Patrick Moore is extremely old and sooner or later will permanently stop presenting the show. Brian May is appearing on the show more and more frequently as time goes by. Someone is needed who (a) knows astronomy and physics thoroughly enough to maintain standards, and who (b) can hold the attention of an audience. I spy a candidate...
Best Quote from TFA (Score:3, Funny)
Because nothing says "academic" like singing "Fat Bottomed Girls" at the next Faculty Meeting...
He can still think! (Score:2)
Re:He can still think! (Score:5, Funny)
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Solomon
Re:He can still think! (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyway, the most common - and probably most destructive - drug used by musicians is...alcohol!
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This is quite wrong. Prolonged use of opiates has an increasing risk of permanently seriously depressing the natural production of endorphin such that it will not recover even in the absence of the drug. This has serious consequences, and is one of th
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Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May [wikipedia.org] quote -
"...May dislikes smoking, even to the point where he specifically prohibits smoking indoors at his more recent concerts."
As well as
"His avoidance of alcohol can be traced to an early concert where Queen played with the band Aerosmith, and May had a conversation with fellow guitarist Joe Perry backstage. Perry brought out a bottle of whisky, which the two drank between
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I think when Freddie had AIDS, and knew he was going to die, he started throwing CRAZY parties....
Like... the kind of parties where midgets walk around with trays strapped to their heads, which have lines of cocaine on them...
Oh dear... (Score:4, Funny)
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On nine track tape? Your old data is going to become a nasty head cleaning job. Have lots of isopropyl alcohol handy.
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OLD (Score:1)
Cool (Score:2)
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Nothing really matters, Anyone can see ... (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the stellar wind blows
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Nothing really matters to me
Any way the stellar wind blows
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I wasn't implying that he hadn't done anything of note, just nothing that I could think to make a joke out of
That having been said, all his musical work nowadays seems to be related to mining the Queen legacy. That might sound a bit more mean-spirited than I meant it to be, but
He also built his own guitar ... from a fireplace (Score:5, Interesting)
For example: "The tremolo system is made from an old hardened-steel knife-edge shaped into a V and two motorbike valve springs to counter the string tension."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Special [wikipedia.org]
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"The overall amount May spent on his guitar was £17.50."
Just shows you don't need an expensive instrument to become a legend.
Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla (Score:4, Informative)
Equivalent to about GBP250 US$500 in today's economy, according to this calculator [measuringworth.com].
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I hope that the seven of you who get that joke enjoyed it.
I got it, and enjoyed it. (Score:2)
I like to think that more than seven people might get it though.
Re:He also built his own guitar ... from a firepla (Score:3, Interesting)
I found this st
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"Even today, according to May, there are two wormholes in the guitar."
Maybe this explains his interest in astrophysics...
Reminds me of Richard Feynman... (Score:5, Informative)
Oh, and if you're ever interested in a superb read about a real life nerd superstar, check out "Surely, You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" [amazon.com]
Ryan Fenton
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But then again, it would be hard for somebody like Richard Feynmann to write an autobiography without sounding just a bit arrogant.
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But, as you said, unlike 99 percent of autobiographers, RP was actually a genius. But he definitely hyped himself up. Did you know that in his entire career, he only wrote 37 research papers? Lots of the stuff
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Strip bars are far too vanilla. You do know the kind of parties Queen liked to throw, right? Sex midgets carrying trays of cocaine around on their heads, that kind of thing?
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"Expletive" has come to mean something entirely different than when I was a kid. When I was in grammar school, if a word was an expletive, it meant that it didn't add any information (e.g. "I was driving down the "flippin'" road") to the sentence, although in certain instances, it could be needed to make the sentence grammatical.
Because profanity is often an expletive (e.g. "Slashdot is for fucking morons"), it has come to mean pr
I have a New Role Model . . . (Score:4, Funny)
and at graduation... (Score:2, Funny)
this is great. Queen was an amazing group. to think that Brian May had that in him as well? Very nice.
Rockers and science Ph.D.'s not uncommon (Score:2, Informative)
Many kudos to May, as his musical talent has been a gift to the world. Similarly, he will give outstanding contributions to the scientific community in the future.
39 and Time Dilation (Score:5, Interesting)
http://woodside.blogs.com/cosmologycuriosity/2006/ 05/queens_39_and_r.html [blogs.com]
http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/04/26/relatively-pl easant/ [cosmicvariance.com]
Not interstellar... probably (Score:5, Interesting)
It's interesting to note that very little has been done on the zodiacal light since he started his PhD work in the early 70s. However, the next generation of cosmic microwave background satellites like Planck [esa.int] will need improved knowledge of foreground dust so that its contaminating emission can be removed. This has added new interest and impetus to the kind of studies that Brian May is resurrecting.
Not the only one... (Score:3, Informative)
we will, we will Doc you (Score:2, Funny)
What other entertainers have technical background? (Score:2)
Anybody know of others?
Re:What other entertainers have technical backgrou (Score:2)
There's Hope For Me Yet.... (Score:2)
I started my astronomy PhD in 1995 at Armagh Observatory, but I also wasted a lot of time hacking on multimedia software for linux building mp3 dj'ing and streaming software.... so I found myself with some job offers in California at internet music companies including Napster, myplay.com and right now imeem.com [imeem.com] (which has evolved into youtube for music and video).
I still hope that one day I might find the ti
His thesis (Score:4, Funny)
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Sour Grapes (Score:2)
Submissions
Another One Writes The Dust Friday July 13, @02:52PM Rejected
Given the subject of his thesis, my title was better.
That aside, I'm proud to share space with Dr. May on the first page of the Annals of Improbable Research's Luxurious Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (http://www.improb.com/projects/hair/hair-club001
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Well, it'd be more meaningful if one read TFA and found out his thesis was on observations of the zodiacal dust. But from now on the groaners stay in the article, not in the headline.
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And now there are two... (Score:2)
That makes two men of music and higher learning that I deeply admire...
"Tom Lehrer" and now "Brian May"... excellent!
Now if we can get "Ry Cooder" to take up Particle Physics, my life will be complete!
- Oh, John Bigbootey where are you now?!!!
Bill Gates got his degree 30 years late (Score:2)
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Sorry, what you're saying is a bit misleading. While the opus that leads ultimately to a Ph.D. is formally called a dissertation, it is colloquially (and almost universally, in the program that I was in) referred to as a thesis, by people who are actually in the thick of doing it: "Christ, I'm *never* going to finish this *$&#! thesis."
Websters defines thesis (definition 4) as: "a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view; especially : one writ