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

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

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?

>>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.

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

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

Any amusing situations you'd like to share?

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.

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..

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

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

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.

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

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

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

You know, I did too. Seemed irrelevant to the article.

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.

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