maybe even week! 2.19.24
Hello Fans and Supporters of Science and Reason!
Here’s to The Most Beautiful Science of the Year. I realize that “new year” was over a month ago but consider the Universe in Verse. Richard Feynman inspired many scientists and non-scientists. He fought for reason and science for most of his life and was well known to non-scientist and scientist alike. I think this 3-part series from FREAKONOMICS might be worth your time… Richard Feynman
Do you know any college bound high school seniors? Maybe you have one and college is looking expensive. Here’s a cool scholarship that could help! The Science Saves Video Scholarship for college-bound high school seniors! “All of our lives have been improved by the discoveries of science. Describe an experience in your life that demonstrates that science does indeed save. The experience can be something that happened to you or someone you know.” The deadline for entry is midnight on May 6, 2024.
Interpreting science is a difficult activity sometimes. How do you know if your source of info is, in fact, correct and reliable? What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them is an interesting read and complement to Every Picture Tells A Story: Death By Diagnostic Error! There is so much to learn… Big Fears Little Risks It seems that science can’t make up its’ mind! Then there is always “human nature” to be considered in how some discoveries become well known and only years later does the truth come out… A new history of the race to decipher DNA reveals Shakespearean plots of scheming.
History is full of amazing scientists and their ideas, discoveries or creations. We are often unaware of who they were and are. I think it is common and maybe even natural to not think about how people of many descriptions and from many places and cultures have been contributing for many lifetimes to help us understand the world, ourselves, and the universe. Guess what… You can “classify” scientists in many ways! Black Scientists Who Changed the World or 38 Scientists who happened to be Black
There has been a lot of speculation about how much science people accept and use to make some of their decisions. Politics this year has the chance to make things a whole lot better… or worse. Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Positive Views of Science Continue to Decline or A new poll examines how the US public views science and scientists. (2023) or How fringe anti-science views infiltrated mainstream politics — and what it means for 2024. That doesn’t even include the potential problem of AI-generated news anchors!
What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them is an interesting read and complement to Every Picture Tells A Story: Death By Diagnostic Error! There is so much to learn… Big Fears Little Risks It is seems that science can’t make up its’ mind! Then there is always “human nature” to be considered in how some discoveries become well known and only years later does the truth come out… A new history of the race to decipher DNA reveals Shakespearean plots of scheming.
One of the few benefits we have due to covid is that many organizations had to go on line and people got to learn and enjoy from home. When the weather forecasts look like they do for the next few days there will be plenty of things to read (I included a bunch here) and watch! What’s the link between cold weather and the common cold? If you get one…
Here are a few items that look pretty interesting and worth note this coming week…
1- Birdy Hour: Lend an Ear: Using Neuroscience to Study Hearing in Songbirds – Tue @ 6:00
2- Critical Environments – Wed @ 3:30 Who knows? This may give us some insight to how the elections and campaigns are going…
3- Celebrate Black History Month: Afrofuturism – Sat @ 10:00
Who knows? This may give us some insight to how the elections and campaigns are going… Wonderfest: The Sense of Fairness in Chimps and Children
You may have missed SexplOrations at the explO last week but they are starting up a longtime favorite program of mine, Pairings, this Thu? Do you like mushrooms? After Dark: Fruiting Fungi
Adding on to earlier… Six Black scientists who changed the course of history and 12 Amazing Black Inventors Who Didn’t Get Enough Credit
Mark your calendar for CSICon 2024 from Oct 24 to Oct 27 this year. The website isn’t up yet but hopefully it will be soon. You can get an idea of the speakers by looking at last years or here.
If there are must see presentations many of us missed this is one of them…Ancient human footprints in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum
Have you ever wondered what your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them is an interesting read and complement to Every Picture Tells A Story: Death By Diagnostic Error! There is so much to learn… Big Fears Little Risks It is seems that science can’t make up its’ mind! Then there is always “human nature” to be considered in how some discoveries become well known and only years later does the truth come out… A new history of the race to decipher DNA reveals Shakespearean plots of scheming.
Don’t be discouraged by all of the conflicting stories and ulterior motives. NASA Science is a great place to get some hope and inspiration.
Thinking about the future? Here’s a message from Earth Day 2047. It might be time to upgrade not just our technology, but also our collective imagination.
There are a lot of links to watch and read this time. I hope they help you weather the storms! Here’s a trick, if you run into a paywall try pasting this in front of the entire url… http://12ft.io/
If you have any hot or cool tips for us, or just want to tell us what you think, please do! Drop a message to calendar@bayareascience.org Also, we don’t have an ad budget! Share this with people you think would like to get yet another weekly email, tell them it’s free and they should subscribe!-}
Have a great week and get wet and cold only when you want to!
herb masters
“Anything you don’t know is going to be hard at first, but if you stay the course, put the time and effort in, it will become seamless eventually.” — Jeanette Epps
“Anything you don’t know is going to be hard at first, but if you stay the course, put the time and effort in, it will become seamless eventually.”
— Jeanette Epps
Jeanette Epps is the first Black woman astronaut to visit the International Space Station. She also worked for the CIA and Ford Motor Company, for which she authored multiple patents.
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