Hello Science Fans,
I hope you are looking forward to the longest day of the year this week. This Tuesday June 21 at 7:57 AM marks the spot where the sun will be a its northernmost point for the year. It will rise about 5:47 AM and set at 8:34 PM. This marks the end of spring, and the beginning of summer with the longest day of the year. It will be 14 hours 47 minutes between sunrise and sunset or 5 hours 14 minutes longer than it was at its’ shortest just 6 months ago. I often wonder how things were figured out before we had the benefits of so many great scientists and equipment.
What is this artificial intelligence stuff we keep hearing about? Might it be Techno-Narcissism? How Can Science Be More Creative? I think one way to figure out how to approach new stuff including AI is by watching kids solve problems. I’m not much of a kid person but they can be fascinating to watch if you don’t normally have much or any exposure to them! Just yesterday I was watching a kid play with an exhibit at CuriOdyssey when one of the pieces got stuck inside. It seemed like he immediately figured out what to do using other parts of the exhibit. Watching kids, and adults who aren’t self-conscious about themselves when they are trying to solve a problem can be really inspiring, I highly recommend it!
Another big day for CuriOdyssey is happening this week. Last week they reopened after being closed for almost 3 months due to damage from the storms in March. This Saturday they will celebrate the opening of the Bay Gallery and its’ inaugural exhibition, Viewpoint: Looking here, near, & far. I suggest that you take out a membership this week so you can get in for the members preview!
We are into summer break time for schools and vacation time is starting up. Even with that, there are plenty of presentations to catch and learn from. Here are a few that I think are worth some consideration from you and your friends and family…
Note: Humans are pumping out so much groundwater that it’s changing Earth’s tilt!
2- Digital Dilemmas Salon: Digital Technologies in Armed Conflicts – 06/20/2023 06:00 PM
3- Wonderfest: Astronomy for Planet Earth – 06/20/2023 07:00 PM
5- Science on Tap: Predators: Mysteries, Myths, & Marvels – 06/22/2023 05:30 PM
PLUS… There’s a bunch of star parties!
Speaking of stars… Want to see next year’s total solar eclipse? Make plans now!
I had a really hard time choosing which extra reading material to add this week so I’m letting you choose!…
- How Can Science Be More Creative?
- Earthrise 1969/2020
- The doors to the engine room of the world-ship Lightseeker open with a whoosh, revealing a diminutive human with a tattered hat in its trembling hands.
- You’ve Never Seen The Moon Like This Before
- Evaluating sources of scientific evidence and claims in the post-truth era
- The Spool Paradox
- Science can still lead to new paradoxes … “I don’t have the mind of a mathematician, I have the mind of an auto-mechanic, what works is what’s practical.” Leonard Susskind
Have a great week learning cool new stuff.
herb masters
“Well, there is no “truth” to science. I like to think about science in two ways. Science is a verb as in the scientific method, as in being curious, as in exploring things. And I don’t think that any of us would have a problem with that. I believe that science has gone a long way towards improving our lives. But science, the noun, is where there’s a lot of yelling and screaming. Science in terms of the facts makes a difference because science is predicated on the idea that the facts may change over time. I mean, you can take a classic example. It used to be that the sun revolved around the earth. That was a fact up until Galileo and Copernicus came along and said, well, maybe it’s not such a fact anymore and proved that the situation was different. The same holds for a lot of the beliefs we have today, let’s talk for a second about air pollution, and let me be real clear. We all want clean air.”
— Charles Dinerstein, MD
(Note: Some guy named Aristarchus of Samos was ahead of Galileo and Copernicus by 1600 years or so though!)
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