Hello and Happy Random (?) Point in the journey around the Sun!
ረቡዕ, ታኅሣሥ 23 2017 was New Year day using the Ethiopian calendar. Did you ever wonder how it was decided that the new year would start at a specific point as we loop around the sun? Keep in mind that it isn’t a nice simple whole number of days of varying lengths. We can measure the time of sunrise or sunset relative to the day before, or there are several other measurements we could count. If one picks a year that starts with a New Moon and lets the months run in sequence, how many lunar months pass before another year comes that starts on a New Moon? The answer is 235 lunar months – or 19 years. How do leap years work in other calendars? Here’s some Curious Ways Our Ancestors Tracked the Seasons. So, happy new year, whenever it was!
I think, a large number of our elected and appointed representatives don’t understand how science works. I found What is Science to be an excellent explanation of what science is. (It is part of the Science Bench Book for Judges.) I suggest that every science book and class include this in the lesson plans. Being in the public eye and trust is an incredible responsibility. I am always saddened by how the non- or anti- science based public figures use their influence to pedal so much stuff that at minimum has no basis in real evidence and may in fact be hazardous to human and non-human health or even survival. Here’s an example that I found at McGill University Office for Science and Society, Separating Sense from Nonsense. I have yet to find a reference to science based evidence or medicine at the “Quantum University” which is located in this country! Here’s something from the website… “Our holistic medicine education from renowned faculty members is based on quantum physics, the science that provides a model to understand our universe and, therefore, a model to understand healing.”
There is a lot of stuff that we can’t see because it is too small or to far away. Science has led the way in figuring out some amazing things. Consider the lowly photon. Generally there are three ways we can detect things, by touch, by light, or chemically. Most of what we know about the universe from the whole thing, down to the smallest of things, is by using photons, aka light. Light, the Story of the Universe Here’s another take on it… There’s more to light than meets the eye The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation is essentially the spectrum of energy that photons can have. By the incredibly precise measurements of them we discover comets, galaxies, and bits of life that we learn about to treat diseases! I wish more of our representatives in government understood this.
Here are a few items to tickle your interests…
–Building a democratic and just global energy transition Wed 4:30 Stan!
–Lunch Break Science – Livestream Thu @ 11:00
–The most overlooked birds in North America: Females – Livestream Thu @ 7:00
Notable in the “upcoming list”…
Honey @ After Dark– Thu 1.16 at 6:30 and 8:00
BAS SkeptiCamp is Feb 9 in Mountain View. As the link says… Details to follow.
In case you are still reading, I have some other links that I have been looking at recently. You might be interested as well. Check out…
“Merlin’s Tour of the Universe” & the Future of American Science
Defend the science and scientists that keep the public safe!
Prime numbers do not appear randomly.
The Full Story Behind Earth Shaking for Nine Days Straight in 2023
5 Ancient Sites Built to Align with the Spring Equinox
Archaeoastronomical sites by country
USDOE Ceremony and Lecture Series (You might want to add these to your calendar.)
And Last but … here’s one… 2024 Year in Review
Have a great year learning new and cool science stuff!
herb masters
“It’s of no use whatsoever. This is just an experiment that proves Maestro Maxwell was right – we just have these mysterious electromagnetic waves that we cannot see with the naked eye. But they are there.” Heinrich Hertz
Normally I would include the calendar for the next week here but this time…
Please check out our full calendar here!