August 29, 2009: Illuminated Site of the Week: They're Feeling No Pain

Can science create zombies? Well, not as far as YOU know. Can it explain zombies? Oh, absolutely, in all kinds of mutually contradictory ways. Can it describe the behavior of zombies in rigorous mathematical fashion? Well, that's the kind of question that could keep us all going for hours.

Except that the University of Ottawa beat us to it.

When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection (the extra L in the title is the result of Canada in general) is 18 pages of equation-filled goodness, which, to quote the abstract, concludes by showing that "only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario: the collapse of society as zombies overtake us all." For extra credit, visit the site of one of the authors, Robert Smith?. (Yes, his name does include the punctuation. Click the link and read for yourself.)

-- Suggested by Pascal Godbout