[gumpzilla]

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I'd hate to have you assess my knowledge of anything then. How are you so well-educated? (I'm not being sarcastic, genuinely interested.)

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I'm a Ph.D student in physics, so you've caught me in my field. When I say my knowledge of astronomy is really bad, I mean it's really bad for a physicist. Lots of stuff I'm ignorant about up there that I really shouldn't be. Cosmology is one of the most popularized branches of physics, and it's hyped up a lot, but a lot of people I know (myself included) have a certain amount of disdain for it. Mostly this is because I think the dark matter problem sounds silly, and I don't have a good idea how much of what is known or speculated about astronomical/cosmological problems is grounded in really solid science. This is not the greatest attitude to have, so I really should learn something about it at some point.

The business about circularly polarized light is much more down to earth (ha, ha) and is something that I have at least had some exposure to, which is why I can spout off about that.