Symphony of Science
jewel February 27th, 2010
There’s a new Symphony of Science video out, so here it is. If you haven’t seen any of the Symphony of Science video’s, they are gorgeous celebrations of science. You should really check them out:
Archive for the 'science' Category
Happy Birthday Carl Sagan
jewel November 9th, 2009
Today is Carl Sagan’s 75th birthday. I wish he were still around so that I could tell him just how important his life was to me and many others like me. You see, it was reading his books that got me interested in science and skepticism and critical thinking. His books that made me see the real wonder of the universe. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for Dr. Sagan.
I never got to meet him, never got to thank him for everything he did for his fellow humans. Everything he did for me.
If you’ve never read any of his books, I recommend them all, but particularly The Demon Haunted World. If you’ve never seen Cosmos, it’s on Hulu, you should check it out.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark
Brilliant & Beautiful
jewel October 6th, 2009
I’m probably the last person on the interwebs to see this, but I really enjoyed it and wanted to share. Carl Sagan is one of my heroes and this tribute is fitting and quite beautiful. I hope you enjoy it.
Happy 40th Anniversary Apollo 11
jewel July 20th, 2009
Is it 20 July 2009 already?!? Where does the time go?
I took my first breath 10 months after Apollo 11 touched down on the moon, so I obviously do not remember that momentous event. Still, when I learned about it in school my imagination soared. We had already been to the moon — where would we go next? Well, sadly, humans haven’t ventured that far again – yet anyway – but with machines we’ve built, we’ve reached so much further and learned so much more and there is no end in sight.
Thank you Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr., and everyone who made Apollo 11 possible and inspiring generations of children. Whether you believe it or not, you are heroes.
Theories and Laws
jewel July 18th, 2009
Last night a I and a group of friends were having a conversation (sometimes argument or debate) about what science is and what constitutes proof. It kind of went in circles for a while, but I enjoyed the process none the less. One of the group, who is actually pretty scientifically literate, made a statement that I knew to be false, but I couldn’t really explain the difference at the time. He said that in science a theory, once proven, became a law. I knew that was not right.
Today, I decided to do some Googling and find the answer and commit it to memory for next time. In short, scientific laws are a description of an observation. Laws don’t tell you why or how something happens, though. That is where theories come in. A theory is the real meat of science, explaining the observed phenomena. If anything, a theory actually holds more weight than a law because the theory actually explains what is happening. And a theory never becomes a law.
Here are a few websites that go into a bit more detail on this:
Scientific Laws, Hypotheses, and Theories – The Scientific Method
Scientific Laws and Theories
Scientific Law Wiki
Not Just a Theory
Never Gets Old
jewel April 12th, 2009
Today on Bad Astronomy, Phil Plait linked to a BBC Radio 4 program where Brian Cox speaks about Carl Sagan. Listening to it made me nostalgic to watch the Cosmos TV series. So, I just fetched my DVD set and have begun watching.
Even 30 years after it was made, Cosmos is relevant and brilliant and inspiring. Carl Sagan takes us all on journey to know ourselves, where we came from and, hopefully, where we’re going.
Carl Sagan introduced me to skepticism and critical thinking and I am ever thankful for that. He inspired me to learn. Far from taking the beauty out of the universe, science teaches us just how magnificent it really is. And that we can even comprehend any of it is truly awesome.
If you haven’t seen Cosmos it’s available on Hulu. Check it out!
Happy 200th Birthday Charles Darwin
jewel February 12th, 2009
200 years ago today, Charles Darwin took his first breaths. He grew up to make some of the most important discoveries of his time – and ours. I wish the human race has come as far as science has. The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection is still a taboo subject for many people; at least here in the USA.
I, honestly, feel that if the people that don’t accept evolution would learn more about it rather than listening to the Ben Stein’s of the world, they might find out that it does not at all take away anything of who we are. If anything it illustrates just how far we’ve come!
Happy Birthday Charles Darwin! Continue Reading »
Science Debate 2008
jewel August 31st, 2008
While it is unfortunate the presidential candidates wouldn’t actually participate in a public debate regarding their positions on science policy, Obama and McCain did both say they would provide answers to the decided upon 14 questions. I’m happy to say that Obama has submitted his answers and they are posted on the ScienceDebate2008 website. Perhaps McCain will submit his answers soon so that the American people can see where he really stands.
LHC Really Isn’t Going to Destroy the Earth
jewel August 27th, 2008
Twice in the past couple weeks I have walked by someones desk at work and saw them looking at one of the scare monger websites saying that the Large Hadron Collider is going to destroy the planet! Oh noes! Sadly, both times the person reading the site was buying into all the weapons grade bullshit the site was spewing. Also, sadly, I have no links to the sites they were visiting. I’ll have to remember to get links next time.
Anyway, thankfully, people way smarter than me have done all the hard work for me and have explained exactly why these scare monger websites are so very wrong and I was able to point these folks in the right direction and give them, hopefully, some peace of mind. I hate to see people scared over nothing and actually buying into whatever these snake oil salesmen are selling. And it’s always something, isn’t it. Continue Reading »
