Perimeter Institute

Here is Waterloo is something I never expected, and that, in some ways, seems terribly out of place. It's called the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Rob pointed out the building on the first night I arrived, and summed it up as a place where they bring people to let them sit around and think for a while. He's pretty much right. The Perimeter Institute is similar to Washington think tank, but devoted entirely to theoretical physics.

For a physics and astrophysics student, stumbling upon this, in a small city in Ontario, is like striking gold. I wandered in yesterday, talked the guy working at the desk, and asked if I could sit in on some of their seminars while I'm in town. He says that generally the lectures are just for those who are working at the Institute, but that seeing as I have a physics background, that I would be welcome to attend. I neglected to mention that I've only had two years of cursory instruction in the field, but in any case, it should provide something to nurture my nerdy side next week. It looks like I'm in well over my head, too.

Maybe I'll get to stop by CERN and have a look when we're in Geneva next month. I could make this my velodrome racing and theoretical physics world tour. Awesome.