This is a special back-to-back edition of Ask Peter answering all eight questions posed simultaneously by Katie. The previous four were answered in this post.

On Little Me

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Just like now, I haven’t been too sure of what I wanted to do. So I suppose it depends on when you ask me. When I was in single-digit ages, I wanted to be the standard “fireman” or “police man”. I once wanted to be an “Interpol police officer” just because they had the largest possible jurisdiction — the entire world.

Later on, I wanted to be a “theoretical astrophysicist” because the title sounded awesome, smart, and awesome. I also liked scifi, and these astrophysicists worked on thinking about science fiction becoming science fact. They often write about things similar to what I write about on this blog from time-to-time.

Nowadays it would be great if I could do this for a living, but I’m also perusing political science, computer science, and business.

On Neckties

What is the point of neck ties?

Neckties have a long and complicated history. They started in the 1630s — like most fashion at the time, it had a military origin. Croatian mercenaries were enlisted in a regiment supporting Louis XIII of France and they had their traditional Croat military uniform which involved a knotted scarf worn around the neck. The sartorial word “cravat” derives from the French “cravate,” a corrupt French pronunciation of “Croat” — in Croatian, “Hr̀vāt”.

As to their point? They’re fashion. Through history they developed along with the scarf, and the industrial revolution created a need for neckwear that was easy to put on, comfortable and would last an entire workday. Thus the modern necktie, which was meant to “look nice”, was created.

On Snowflakes

Is every snowflake really unique?

Depending on what you mean by “unique”, the answer varies. Current theory holds that everything is unique at the molecular level. Differences in atomic structure means that all snowflakes are “unique” on the molecular level. But does that mean that there aren’t any two snowflakes that look the same under a microscope? Or that there aren’t any two snowflakes that look identical to the human eye?

Pao Wang, UW-Madison’s snowflake expert, gently delivered the news:

Not really. I think the saying is more or less a picturesque way of saying that there are so many varieties of snowflakes, thousands of different kinds.

Unfortunately, two identical snowflakes actually have been discovered, disproving the “all snowflakes look unique” theory by counterexample.

On Bobby Jindal

What ever happened to Bobby Jindal?

Piyush “Bobby” Jindal is still alive and well — he’s still serving his term as Governor of Louisiana. He’s been mentioned as a potential candidate for presidential elections, most recently suggested to take on Obama in 2012.

However, on December 10, 2008, Jindal said that he would not run, instead focusing on his reelection in 2011 for governor, which would make transitioning to a national campaign difficult. He later said he still could change his mind.

The Republicans also chose Jindal to be “the Republican Response”, a rebuttal to President Obama’s first Congressional address. This increased speculation that Jindal was aiming for a national campaign, but because he did so poorly, it’s unlikely that he will become our president in this decade.

However, with more experience, hopefully he’ll sound more inspiring than this:

…although I doubt I’ll ever agree with his political opinions. Volcano monitoring is for sissies? Maybe if you didn’t live by a volcano…

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