from the desk of David Almandsmith

New Year’s Day is Wednesday! ¿But why is it not on a scientifically logical date? Ancient Greece, for example, celebrated the New Year on the winter solstice. Blame it on the Romans. Starting in 153 BCE, the Roman calendar designated January 1st as the beginning of the new year but there was no protocol to keep it aligned with the stars. The Julian and Gregorian calendars also kept it as January 1st. In some places, the New Year is still related to astronomical events: (A) the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon between 21 January and 20 February; (B) the Persian New Year is celebrated at the spring equinox.
 
In the United States, you are likely to hear the song Auld Lang Syne at the New Year. If you are in Japan, you are likely to hear Nanakusa Nazuna (Seven Herbs, Shepherd's Purse) and

from the desk of Bob Siederer

Hello again Science Fans!

It is time for the Winter Solstice.  Next Saturday will mark the most southern point in the sun's apparent position in our northern sky, and the day with the least amount of daylight in the northern hemisphere.  Got kids asking why?  This article contains a neat graphic visualizing the difference in daylight across the planet at both the Winter and Summer solstices.

The end of the year is fast approaching and you know what that means...Top 10 (or 20) lists!  It is also the end of the decade, so there are some Top lists of the Decade too.  National Geographic published just such a list of science discoveries and, in reviewing it, I was pleased to see that most of the things mentioned were a

from the desk of Herb Masters

Hello Friends of Science and Reason,

Well here we are on the verge of our shortest day of the year.  Of course the day remains essentially the same but the period of daylight is what is really getting to the minimum!  I think we all think about time, one way or another.  It's sort of like money, there's never enough!  Set aside some time for this one I think it is fascinating and makes me think a lot…

from the decrepit cerebrum of David Almandsmith

My dad remembered when folk in his town got around on horse-drawn wagons and young men would gather for ‘drag races’ - astride their favorite horses. A couple of richer folk bought unreliable automobiles that reliably got stuck in the mud on the unpaved roads. “Get a horse!” was the taunt of everybody else. The last 110 years has brought nearly incomprehensible changes - at least to first-world countries.

¿What will the next 110 years bring?

On the plus side, there will be fewer and smaller pockets of undereducated folk and

from the desk of Bob Siederer

Hello again Science Fans!

Did you know that today is the anniversary of the first publication of "On The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin?  It was published in 1859.  Still controversial in some circles today, it presented the theory of evolution.  Today it is often misused by those who don't understand how the word theory applies to scientific research.

I have a lot of articles to point you towards, but first let's look at my picks for this week:

1. Nerd Nite East Bay - 11/25/2019 07:00 PM in Oakland
2. Science Saturday: Magnificent Monarchs - 11/30/2019 at 10:00 AM at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

Yes, it is a light week due to the Tha

from the desk of Herb Masters

Hello Science Fans,

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the need for museums (I would include schools in this as well) to stand up to bad, fake, false, or pseudo-science as well as support, promote, and teach real science.  I did get some responses to what I mentioned.  I received one in particular that really hit home.  It was from the son of Tom and Marlene Dickerman, both docents at the California Academy of Sciences that I was privileged to work with.  I think it is a better statement than any I have made.  So here it is…

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I had discussed with both my parents, for quite some time, how the CAS (California Academy of Sciences) needs a permanent exhibit explaining how discern provable fact from conjecture, fable, and (for fans of the musical The Book of Mormon) metaphor. With mom on the evolution cart, and dad discussing climate change, each saw their share of debate on topics which are widely considered indisputable.  

There is a resistance to scientific acceptance which is worryingly strong in the US compared to other parts of the world, but is hardly new. Great researchers have been jailed, tortured, and killed over concepts we accept as obvious today. Worse, many today begin biased against science, viewing it as the anti

from the desk of David Almandsmith

Greetings, friends of science,
 
Robots and drones are perennially in the news. Two of them caught my interest this week. This video of a person-sized robot has been viewed about 8 million times. This microswimmer is smaller than a human cell and is remotely controlled; it is aimed using a magnetic field and is propelled by ultrasound. Impressively, technology marches on.
 
If you watch TV, you’ve seen slick ads by Big Pharma and by the fossil fuel industry priming us to be more forgiving of their avarice. I stumbled upon this slick ad while browsing the Internet, but it is from NASA. I’m guessing they are preparing us for upcoming higher taxes for

from the desk of Herb Masters

Greetings People of the Science Persuasion,

What do you learn at a science museum?  Science?  I always thought that was it.  At least since before the current millennium I have also thought that we need more education about what incorrect, wrong, or "bad" science is.  My concern has only grown since then as it seems like more people don't seem to get it.  The Science Schmooze is about promoting science, reason, and critical thinking by letting you know where you can go to learn these things.  In the last few years I have become more and more concerned about the lack of information about how to discern what is reliable and what is not and it'

from the desk of Bob Siederer

Hello again Science Fans!

This past week has brought us another reminder of our fragile existence here on the planet.  The Sonoma County fires and the PG&E blackouts should serve as a reminder that we should all have disaster kits that are up to date.  Our thoughts are with those affected by the fires, blackouts, and evacuations.  Several events, including the North Bay Discovery Days event for the Bay Area Science Festival were canceled because of the fires.  Always check the weblink in our listings for any last minute changes or cancellations.

I've got a lot of interesting articles to share with you, but first, here are my picks for events this week:

1. Nerd Nite East Bay: Barnacles, Chevron Richmond, Martian Atmosphe

from the desk of Bob Siederer

Hello again fans of Science!

There are not one but two festivals this coming week for your enjoyment. 

The first is the Art + Tech Festival which combines art and science for a variety of events and workshops held this coming weekend.  See our listings for pricing and 20% off discount codes.

The second is the annual Bay Area Science Festival, with over 40 different events taking place starting Friday and running through the grand finale Discovery Days at Oracle Park on November 2.

While we're big fans of the Bay Area Science Festival, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in the event schedule this year.  Almost all of them take place in San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley.  Only one is in San Jose.  The number of lectures is quite limited and most of those are regular series events that seem to be re-branded for the Festival instead of being something special.  As usual there are many tours, but the majority of them only deal in the biological and genetic sciences.  Gone are the trivia contests and comedic events of past years (they weren't part of last year's festival either).  The number of adult-oriented events is limited, which is great for kids, but not so great for adults.  I'm not saying you should not go, just that I hope