Corey Powell has an interesting post up on what he calls the Four Great Eras of Exploration. The first era was Galileo's discovery of the vastness of the universe, the second that stars were composed of chemical elements, and the third was Hubble's discovery of other galaxies. The fourth, and main topic of his post, … Continue reading You say multiverse, I say galaxies
Sleep and death
HuffPost has an interesting Sleep 101 article up. Sleep is anything but a waste of time. While many people think of catching ZZs as the body "shutting off" until morning, nodding off actually activates a complicated process that helps you feel rested and healthy the next day. Scientists divide sleep into four stages -- each … Continue reading Sleep and death
Was Jesus a conspiracy?
Bart Ehrman posted a video on his blog (embedded below) where he discusses the case for the existence of the historical Jesus. Most of his excellent blog's content is pay-walled, so I'm happy to have an opportunity to link to something that isn't. (Incidentally, if you have the means and interest, I highly recommend subscribing. All … Continue reading Was Jesus a conspiracy?
If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel – A tediously accurate map of the solar system
Wow! We've talked before that humans can't really comprehend large numbers, or very large or very small distances. We have to deploy metaphors to handle them. At this link is an image of the solar system, drawn to scale, including all the empty space. If you think you've ever seen that, you may be in … Continue reading If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel – A tediously accurate map of the solar system
When Classical Universes Collide, The Result is Quantum Mechanics, Say Physicists
I shared this on Twitter, but it occurred to me that, although I didn't have any particular comment to make on it, many of my non-Twitter readers might find it interesting. The strange behaviour of the quantum world is direct evidence of the interaction between our universe and many other classical universes, according to a … Continue reading When Classical Universes Collide, The Result is Quantum Mechanics, Say Physicists
Epigenetics: The sins of the father
A while back I linked to a BBC story on the discovery that mice could pass on a learned fear of certain smells to their descendants. This is an almost Lamarckian observation, one that may indicate that the long discredited scientific theory of acquired traits being inheritable may have had a glimmer of truth. This … Continue reading Epigenetics: The sins of the father
xkcd: Land Mammals
It's indeed true that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. (Click through for full sized version.)via xkcd: Land Mammals.
Why Revive ‘Cosmos?’ Neil DeGrasse Tyson Says Just About Everything We Know Has Changed
Neal DeGrasse Tyson did an interview with HuffPost on the upcoming Cosmos series. I suspect we'll see more of these before the weeks out. Things are looking up for Neil deGrasse Tyson--way up. As the director of the Hayden Planetarium and the author of several popular books on space, Tyson is already one of the … Continue reading Why Revive ‘Cosmos?’ Neil DeGrasse Tyson Says Just About Everything We Know Has Changed
50 Science Misconceptions
I have to admit that a few of these were news to me, such as that hens can lay eggs without roosters, or that pterodactyls were not dinosaurs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqaDf2fuUH8 via Machines Like Us.
Leviathan Wakes to be a TV series
I had no idea of this when I read the book or wrote the review, but apparently Leviathan Wakes, along with the rest of the Expanse series, is slated to be a TV series. I agree with IO9 that the story will be well suited to the medium.
SelfAwarePatterns 