It’s time to SciSchmooze
Herb Masters
11 December 2024
Greetings Fans of Science, Reason. and Critical Thinking,
Well this has been another week of science experienced and applied! We do live in amazing times but often forget the limitations that are still part of our lives. The earthquake on Thursday ended up being a non-event for most people that were actually impacted by it! There was some localized damage, but for the most part, most of the reaction was precautionary and nothing happened. One of the surprising impacts of the quake was one most people never thought of or would expect. At Devil’s Hole there was a seiche! Yes, about 500 miles from the hypocenter of the quake there was impact on a small group of endangered fish! Check out the color of the water at the beginning and end of this video… Video of waves in Devils Hole caused by a 7.0 earthquake two minutes earlier off the coast of northern California and check it around 5:50 and 6:20! That doesn’t look so bad but… imagine you are a tiny pupfish and there are only a few hundred of you!
On another topic of watching what nature and the universe can do… Professor Filippenko shared this… “Let me alert you to the upcoming Geminid meteor shower. The shower will be most active the entire week of Dec. 10-16, but it will *peak* on the nights of Dec. 12/13 (Thu./Fri) and 13/14 (Fri./Sat.). It will be visible most of the night starting around 8 pm local time (though after midnight, especially around 2 am, is optimal because the “radiant” Gemini is highest in the sky). This is one of the two best and most reliable meteor showers all year (the other one being the Perseids in August). Unfortunately, this year moonlight will be a huge problem: the full moon is on Dec. 15, so the sky will be lit up quite brightly and only the bright meteors will be visible. Try to at least block the Moon with a building or a tree, and look away from it in the sky.” Here’s two resources… The 2024 Geminid meteor shower: All you need to know | Geminid meteor shower: Visual guide on when and where to get the best view.
I think it is pretty commonly thought that science doesn’t inform people as much as it claims to. In the skeptic community, nothing is above doubt. I think this coming Thursday there will be an excellent presentation on this. Massimo Pigliucci will be presenting on The Problem with Scientism and the Nature of the Skeptic Community for the Dec Skep Talk at Bay Area Skeptics.
Of course there are many other presentations going on in the next week that are worth catching, even though we are rapidly approaching christmas, which doesn’t stop science as some would believe but does slow down the number of events! Please consider these…
–Wonderfest: Overcoming Limits of Human Vision Tue 12.10 @ 7:00 in Novato (Note that if you can’t make a Wonderfest presentation, they are usually available later on their youtube channel)
–Earth Out of Balance Wed 12.11 @ 9:30 AM in San Francisco
–Breathless: Catie and the Robot Thu @ 7:30 in San Francisco (also Sat @ 1:30)
You really should get tickets soon for The Physics Show If you have never had fun with physics … you haven’t been to The Physics Show!There are multiple shows running from after christmas through most of January.
There’s a new CERN course that teaches particle physics basics online
Have you ever wondered why On These Questions, Smarter People Do Worse
Here’s another series worth your time… Discover Our Universe – KIPAC Public Lectures
Friday the 13th is coming to a calendar near you!
A post T-day message… Black Hole Has Daily Meals Worthy of Thanksgiving
Have another week of learning cool new things about our home universe!
herb masters
“There are quotes about Friday being unlucky as well as the number 13 being unlucky. They are mostly historical, unattributed, and date back to 1656. For example “Now Friday came, you old wives say, Of all the week’s the unluckiest day.” (1656)
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