Greetings Fans of Science and Reason,
Does it seem like the last week has been a blur or is it just me? Of course it turns out to be insanely complicated! I’m always amazed how differently the same event can be perceived by various observers, even if they are close friends or family. Of course a portion of this is based on how we got to where we are! (Sorry, I just had to add that!)
I just watched another SpaceX launch. It is always remarkable. Looking at the crew, it looks like they are sitting very well dressed in a driverless taxi on a nominal trip to a science lecture (in space)! It’s been a little over 60 years since the first humans first broke most of the chains of gravity.
Who would have predicted that one of the many science fiction predictions would come so quickly. Peggy A. Whitson, Ph.D. was born 14 months before the first human went to space. Do you ever stop and think about what achievements science has achieved in your or your parents’ lifetime? Now, when they launch a rocket then land it standing up as it was when it launched! Often within eyesight of where it was launched!!! It will have traveled a few hundred miles and be home in 7 min 44 sec!
Another bit of space history… It’s been just 50 years since the launch of Skylab: America’s 1st space station. It only lasted a bit more than 6 years. Even then, Student proposed investigations aboard Skylab, such as web-spinning studies with spiders Arabella and Anita, were performed to compare arachnid behavioral capabilities in microgravity versus on Earth. The spiders proved successful over time, adapting to their environment. Today’s students are bringing forth new innovative ideas and experiments expanding on these biology questions, for instance the Space Lab investigation to see how jumping spiders adapt to capturing prey in microgravity. Now the International Space Station is nearing the end of it’s service. It has been an amazing success with 20 countries (including a successful partnership with Russia) participating in it’s work. It probably only has 7 or so years left. I wonder what will be next.
We’re heading into the summer season so many of the cool presentations from schools around the area will be taking a summer break but fear not, there are still going to be great opportunities. Here’s a sample…
— Climate & Sustainability: The Defining Issue of the 21st Century Mon@3:30. SLAC talks will never let you down.
— Svalbard: Wild Land, Wild Ice, Wild Life – Livestream Tue@7:00 I was there a year ago. It is amazing and I’m going to watch this!
— Insects in Crisis – Livestream Thu@4:00
— After Dark: Elemental Thu@6:00 Live! Ron Hipschman returns to the stage at the explO!
— Stewardship Saturday: Experiencing Fish Kitchen Sat@11:00 Another one not to be missed.
My friends know that I am not one to pay attention to sports, especially professional sports. Most of them know that I appreciate the ability of the athletes but don’t really like the hype, $$$, and deification of them. I do think that they are an important part of our society and their impact on youth and fans is significant, important, and dangerous. I recommend that you read and share this with people who teach your kids about athletics… The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science
The SciSchmooze is about learning new things, hopefully sometimes things that don’t or didn’t interest you. There are many ways to increase our understanding and learning about this amazing universe we share. If you have kids in school they certainly are facing challenges that you and I never faced. This may help… Strategies for Better Learning: Tips for Everyone (The whole website is impressive. The Rationality of Science) Another interesting take on learning… Forgetting and misremembering are the building blocks of creativity and imagination.
Here’s something that will make for more exciting nights… The northern lights are heating up
Have a great week learning different and cool things,
herb masters
So much to learn, so little time!
“This, the miscalculation of the incompetent stems from am an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from the error about others.”
– David Dunning and Justin Kruger, 1999
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