Category: Science

The big announcement

OH: "We can just have physicists on in the background…"

Tuesday does Saturday right: Our big screen shows physicists filing in slowly to take seats for the big Higgs-Boson announcement #nerds #yes

OMG. Physicists are cute. #higgsboson

Default for male physicists seems to be blue shirts, for females red. Does this mean female physicists are moving faster away from now?

Physicists. Sooooo cute and funny. #higgsboson #nerdsRgreat

Quickly becoming incomprehensible to me, but STILL CUTE! #higgsboson

Loving the messy, non-definitiveness of science. Slow growth of understanding & growth of subsequent questions. Thank you, scientists!

Trying stuff no one’s done before? Science does that.

"Nobody thinks to raise baby ostriches in the middle of a museum."

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At @calacademy again. Yay!

 

These chicks are about 2 weeks old. Since they're the same ones I saw a week ago and the scientist in the rear of the photo said they'll be too big for the enclosure in another 4 weeks and that they have the next batch of eggs incubating now, I recommend a visit between June 25th and July 5th for optimal cuteness, either of the gangly teen or teensy fluffy baby variety depending on your luck and the accuracy of my memory of what he said.

 

The scientist bending over is using a small thermometer to test the temperature under the heat lamps. Baby ostriches are sensitive to heat and humidity and they like it about 95 degrees under there. The scientists are adjusting the height of these new lamps for optimal conditions.

A lovely visit to the museum

Having a great time at @calacademy. The new Earthquake exhibit is excellent–especially the shake room! Members only today; public tomorrow.

New planetarium show at @calacademy is super cool, esp. for fans of #SF. Fly-through of bay in 1906 is entrancing & intriguing. #earthquake

 

(I love my city. Why did the info desk guy at @calacademy look so familiar? He’s a Cockette, of course & he was great in Pearls Over Shanghai)

sexism is a negative economic force

Interesting comments from astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell (co-discover of pulsars) re: women, science & engineering

“There is a lot still of unthinkingness and I have to say this is in the UK. This programme will go to many countries, particularly in southeast Asia, where there aren’t these kinds of issues; where it’s perfectly normal for women to do engineering, physics, science, what have you. But, it’s a cultural thing and the English-speaking countries in particular tend to be on the poor side.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s something to do with cultural history. It may be something to do with defensiveness by the males. But what has happened, I judge, in southeast Asia for example, is the government has seen they need all the scientific and engineering talent they’ve got, so they make sure that it’s perfectly okay for women to do science and engineering. And it shows.”

High tea with astronomy break

Turns out the overlap between Gilbert & Sullivan fan & science nerd is pretty high. @lamplightersMT #eclipse

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The intermission at the special fundraiser event was extended so everyone could enjoy the eclipse.

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Joe under the pinholes created by gaps in the trees’ leaves.

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Pinholes in paper.

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Pinholes created by gaps in leaves.

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Making pinholes with our hands.

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Media I’ve enjoyed recently

Productivity and problem-solving

Lewis Pugh's mind-shifting Mt. Everest swim (TED video)

Bosses Who Work Out Are Nicer (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Psychology

Gun-Toting Increases Bias to See Guns Toted (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Environment and climate

Jason Clay: How big brands can help save biodiversity (TED video)

Lee Hotz: Inside an Antarctic time machine (TED video)

Rob Dunbar: Discovering ancient climates in oceans and ice (TED video)

 

Politics and philosophy

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index (TED video)

Carne Ross: An independent diplomat (TED video)

 

Technology and the Web

Chris Anderson: How web video powers global innovation (TED video)

Christien Meindertsma: How pig parts make the world turn (TED video)

This was great. Really impressive piece of research. (It never occurred to me that fine bone china has actual bone in it.)

Sebastian Thrun: Google's driverless car (TED video)

Breathe Easier with Electric Car Charging Overnight (60-Second Science podcast)

App Turns iPhone Into spiPhone (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Health

Nicholas Christakis: How social networks predict epidemics (TED video)

A non-health takeaway from this one: Corporations (or as more benignly referred to, "brands") will be analyzing and acting on our social activity in staggering detail in ways that are not automatically or even always possibly perceptible to us. Individual rights now and in the future will require people with an understanding of the technology and techniques of analysis who are working on our side. We will need watchdogs with deep understanding of advanced analytics.

Mitchell Besser: Mothers helping mothers fight HIV (TED video)

Annie Lennox: Why I am an HIV/AIDS activist (TED video)

Sebastian Seung: I am my connectome (TED video)

Didn't enjoy his presentation style, but the content and its implications are impressive.

Inge Missmahl brings peace to the minds of Afghanistan (TED video)

Wonderful projects and encouraging data on the power of psychosocial counseling to help break cycles of violence.

Mechai Viravaidya: How Mr. Condom made Thailand a better place (TED video)

Hans Rosling: The good news of the decade? (TED video)

"The time has come to stop thinking of sub-saharan Africa as one place. Their countries are so different and they merit to be talked about in the same way that we don't talk about Europe as one place. I can tell you that the economy in Greece and Sweden are very different."

It's bigger than that, though:
"There is no such thing as a Western world and Developing world."

"You can clearly see the relation with falling child mortality and decreasing family size."

"Almost 50% of the fall in child mortality can be attributed to female education."

It's this kind of tight focus on the actual data—on what really works—that makes me love and respect Hans Rosling. It also reinforces my commitment to only vote for presidential candidates who place a high priority on the family planning and female education efforts which will drive that reduction in child mortality while at the same time slowing population growth.

Boys Who Lack Empathy Don't React to a Fearful Face (60-Second Science podcast)

Animal Production Practices Create Antibiotic Resistance (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Astronomy

Amateur Planet Hunters Find Exoplanets (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Culture

Amit Sood: Building a museum of museums on the web (TED video)

Monika Bulaj: The hidden light of Afghanistan (TED video)

 

Physics

Large Hadron Collider "Big Bang" Analogies Put Under Microscope (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Biology

Elephants Ask for a Helping Trunk (60-Second Science podcast)

Black Plant Life Could Thrive on Other Planets (60-Second Science podcast)

Box Jellyfish Eyes Aim At The Trees (60-Second Science podcast)

Bat Ears Deform for Better Ping Pickups (60-Second Science podcast)

Body Hair Senses Parasites While Slowing Their Blood Quest (60-Second Science podcast)

Boa Constrictors Listen To Loosen (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Cocktails

Bloody Mary Gives Up Its Flavor Secrets (60-Second Science podcast)

 

Music

You Probably Get That A Lot (TMBG Podcast Video Bonus)

Fame is no substitute for expertise

RT @AGW_Prof: Serious errors and shortcomings void #climate letter by 49 former #NASA employees

“The letter was filled with no less than six serious errors regarding the science, data, and facts of climate science. The errors, in turn, exposed that the signers had confused their fame and/or their expertise in unrelated fields with expertise in climate science. And in response, NASA’s chief scientist politely suggested that the letter’s authors and signers should publish any contrary hypotheses and data in peer-reviewed scientific journals instead of trying to censor the publication of scientific conclusions from NASA climate scientists.”