Let’s Talk Science

Hey Everyone!

I’d like to invite you to join the new TWIS book club.

We’ll be reading a book a month about something science-y. At the end of each month we will get together online and discuss the books and the science. I’m really looking forward to getting to hear what others think about the books we read, and sharing my thoughts  with other people.

So, check it out if you are so inclined.  Let’s get smart together!

More Science Raps

Oh, The Places I Go

Like the RoboGames. What a fun event. It is absolutely amazing what people are building these days. The robots at the games ranged everywhere from little remote controlled humanoids to giant steel combat drones to autonomous explorers. I was doubly impressed by the number of kids involved in robot building. Robots are definitely not only for adults anymore. Young or old, all the builders at the games shared a love for creating that was fired up a notch due to the intensity of the competition.

Thank goodness I brought a camera along to record some of the experience.

Click To Play

Banishing Dragons

A friend of mine, Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid podcast and producer of the Skeptologists tv pilot, recently made this video on critical thinking. I think it is a fabulous introduction into the tools that all people should have in order to critically consider the deluge of information that bombards us on a daily basis. The video itself is of decent length (40 minutes) and without lots of fancy effects, so may be a slog for the ADD among us. But, Brian does a great job of clearly describing critical thinking and its importance, which makes this video something that I think every teacher should consider playing for their students.

As an aside, it might be nice for someone to develop some classroom tools to supplement this video.

Anyway, on to the video:

Pixie Dust?

From the BBC.

I don’t think it’s pixie dust persay, but it is something special. It will be an amazing day when we discover the secrets of tissue regeneration.

And, some basic info from HowStuffWorks.

Thanks for the story, Ted!

The Lesson

I’ve been trying to fit both movie trailers into one post, but to no avail. So, here is the ID version of Flock of Dodos, Ben Stein’s Expelled. You can find a rebuttal to Expelled at expelledexposed.com. I also found this rebuttal to Flock of Dodos interesting.

It all just goes to show that good editing can tell just about any story.

King Kong Blues

So, I’m not really watching King Kong. I saw the original a long time ago, but I’ve never seen the Peter Jackson remake. Marshall is in the living room watching Mr. Jackson’s amazing movie, and I find myself unable to even listen to the thing. I’m sure the movie is amazing, but to me the story is just too sad to bring into my life. Yet, here I am writing about it (first entry in ages actually).

The story of King Kong is one of misunderstanding, greed, and the terrible acts of which humans are capable. Throughout the past couple of hours I have found myself tense and almost sick to my stomach from thinking about the inevitable end of the film. That big ape should have been left alone, just as scores of indigenous peoples throughout history should have been left alone. I know that’s probably a bit of a stretch, but I can’t help but be reminded of so many terrible human acts that could have been averted if people weren’t so consistently greedy.

So, when I cry at the end of King Kong, it’s not just for Kong. It’s for much, much more, and that’s why I just can’t bring myself to watch it. I know, I probably shouldn’t be so sensitive.

Jesus Camp

Saw this documentary recently. I highly recommend it as a very well produced film that opens a door into a growing sector of our nation’s community. Check it out:

Bill Maher, as usual, set up an extremely interesting conversation based on having watched the movie:

I would love to meet and talk with Mr. Maher. While I think he can be a raging jerk sometimes, he is also one of the most coherent voices in the media these days. I love it when people aren’t afraid to be smart.

Evolving Viewpoint

One of the perks of having a science radio show is that from time to time I receive books on fascinating subjects. The better part of the equation is that now that I am finished with my dissertation, I once again have time to read books I find interesting. I’m going to do my best to review these books as time allows. Hopefully, I’ll give those of you who read this little blog an idea of whether or not they might be worth your time.

I recently received a book (well, ok, I requested it from the publisher… but, they did send it to me!) , called “40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, And Other Oddities On Trial In Pennsylvania“, on the Kitzmiller v. Dover Board of Education case that took place in Dover, Pennsylvania in 2005. If you are not familiar with the case, it was the most widely publicized lawsuit regarding the teaching of creationism in public schools since the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.

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Wo-ho… Radio

It may not be the best book that I’ve ever read, but it certainly inspired some thought and reactions. Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear is certainly one of the most intriguing books that I’ve read recently. It delivers one future possibility that we may or may not discover to be true: maybe evolution doesn’t only occur through gradual steps. The book challenges the current paradigm by questioning our knowledge of evolution, and asking scientists to search for a more complete explanation of how we and other animals on this planet have evolved.

Tags: Science, Books, technology, Genetics, Evolution, Scifi

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