The Church of Science
I happen to think this temple of science, called the Atheon, in Berkeley,CA is a terrible idea. However, I do understand where the idea comes from.
Anyone involved in science these days is well aware of the gulf between science and religion. It is a gulf that has been apparent since before Copernicus revived the theory of heliocentrism, since before Galileo was punished by the Catholic church for teaching it as truth.
Religion is doctrine for a belief system based on mythology. The mythology was necessary in a time before science to explain the world, and doctrine to create order amid chaos. Science, as a tool to understand the world around us, slowly chips away at the myths. Of course, this is threatening to many religions. If the myths weaken substantially will the doctrine have any basis for control?
So, for ages there has been a perceived conflict of interest between science and religion. Fine, but does it really have to be such a deep and wide rift? I for one agree with those who think that science and religion both have their places in this world, their own jobs to do. And, I’m normally a champion of projects that try to make peace between the two.
This project in Berkeley, though, is getting in the way of that kind of progress. Science is not religion. It’s hard enough to teach people that science is simply a tool without so-called artists actually going out and promoting it as religion. This way of thinking is part of the problem rather than leading to a solution.
Religions that fight science are afraid that science wants to replace them with a purely scientific institution. How many times have I heard people refer to the Church of Darwin, or talk about scientific dogma? This use of words promotes the idea that science is thought of as a religion.
Science is a tool, a methodology, for examining the universe, not a belief system. It is a mistake to equate the two.
Filed under Esoterica | Comments (9)How Do You Walk?
This video on the Live Science website is quite interesting from the perspective of visual perception. What do we perceive about a person from a distance? How do we see the movements a body makes, and how does that determine our behavioral responses even before we can see a face or hear a voice?
The study, published in Current Biology, found that moving masculine figures were perceived as coming toward the observer, while feminine figures were perceived as heading away. The researchers posit that the difference might have been evolutionarily beneficial since men are more often perceived as threatening. Whether or not they are actually coming at you it might be a good idea to be subconsciously ready to run.
Another study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that people trained in the field of sexology were able to determine a woman’s vaginal orgasmic history simply by watching her walk. It seems like a vague and subjective measure to me, but then again maybe visual cues like gait cannot only inform an observer about threats, but also the reproductive status of potential mates, when olfactory or other cues are unavailable.
The studies together lead me to ponder how changes in a woman’s fertility throughout her cycle might affect the way she walks on a day to day or week to week basis. Might some shoes be better suited for a particular phase? Are stilettos functionally designed to enhance the most fertile, receptive period? Or, do they help a woman fake her fertility? Is there a reason that I love my sneakers some days more than others?
Filed under Esoterica | Comment (1)Science Itself
From Scientific American:
Filed under Esoterica | Comment (0)SEPTEMBER 1958
THE CREATIVE PROCESS— “The most remarkable discovery made by scientists is science itself. The discovery must be compared in importance with the invention of cave-painting and of writing. Like these earlier human creations, science is an attempt to control our surroundings by entering into them and understanding them from inside. And like them, science has surely made a critical step in human development which cannot be reversed. We cannot conceive a future society without science. —Jacob Bronowski”
Climatia in Nature
It’s true. Climatia, the word coined by TWiS’ own Justin Jackson, has been used by one of the most prestigious science journals in the world. Sure, it’s in the art accompanying an article, and it’s not really being used properly in the art, but it’s in there. Climatia has hit the big time.
We interviewed one of the authors, Gavin Schmidt, a year ago in the spring. So, it is possible that he was inoculated with the word at that time. I just have to wonder whether the artist, Mark Roberts, listens to TWiS. I’m guessing that he might.
Filed under Esoterica | Comments (2)Thoughts Over Greenland
This was written while I was on my flight back from Russia and heading over Greenland. Listening to Cut Copy. 6 more hours in the flight. I’d already watched 2 movies, and I only had 3 hours of battery time remaining on my beast of a laptop.
——————–
The beauty of the pristine environment below just makes me think of the unseen effect that we are having on the environment. I look at the glaciers flowing to the sea and the many icebergs floating upon it, and I just wonder how and if we will survive the changes ahead.
I know that many people are not convinced about the climate change situation facing us, but I think many more people are thinking about the possibilities than 30 years ago.
My grandfather, over 90 and well intentioned, didn’t believe the speculation about the population problem, and he doesn’t believe that climate change is an issue either. Well, in his lifetime, we have not observably exceeded the limits of this planet.
However, we are not able to feed millions of people in the less resource rich areas of the world. Is Africa succeeding? Is India succeeding yet? The rich are doing fine wherever they are, but the poor are doing ever poorer. Is that a failing of the planet? I don’t think so. It is a human failing. A political failing.
Cold, cold,
Deep blue hue.
The ice water resembles
A cocktail sipped poolside in
Miami heat.
Hot, hot,
Red, orange.
The earth dark brown
Like chocolate in a silver wrapper.
Shivering with enjoyment,
The snow ever moving
Ever slipping off the edge of the pool
In a white bikini showing
More skin than the prettiest girl.
Ice, ice,
Water, ocean.
Land.
Earth.
Our earth.
Here at the northern pole
The atmosphere wraps it in clouds
And fog like the most demure maiden.
It sizzles and burns openly further south,
But here, here,
It is the ice queen.
The snow maiden
Vasilisa the Fair.
We watch,
Helpless,
As she gives herself to the sea.
That Which Divides
This morning I am struck by an article in the New York Times about testing of athletes in the Olympics, and this time it’s not drug testing. It’ s testing for sex.
According to the article sex testing has been a part of the Olympics since the days of Soviet-era steroid doping. Steroids are a class of hormones, which function by affecting changes in the activity of target cells, and are responsible for modulating physiological processes ranging from sexual differentiation to kidney function to inflammation. The type of steroid with which most people are familiar in the sporting arena is the anabolic steroid, or ‘roid.
Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced compounds that mimic the “male” sex steroids, or androgens. They are commonly used to increase muscle mass, and have secondary effects often resulting in masculinization. Consequently, they have become popular among both male and female athletes in the quest to increase performance level in a variety of sports. In the 50’s-60’s, the Soviets used steroids institutionally as a part of the training regimes for state athletes. It became common to question the sex of the very masculine appearing female athletes, and testing was instated for verification.
Now, steroids are still used, but not in such an overt manner. Many female athletes appear quite masculine, but is it because they take drugs to get a competitive edge?
I’m forced to consider our classification of the human sexes as a binary system. Historically, we have averted our eyes to anything that does not fit the mold, but evidence suggests that human sexual characteristics reflect more of a continuum rather than a neat categorical division. According to the NYT article, the results of some sex tests have surprised even the athlete being tested. Can you imagine thinking that you are female, being raised as a female, only to have a test at an international sporting event tell you otherwise — that you have a Y chromosome?
From the article:
“It’s very difficult to define what is a man and what is a woman at this point,” said Christine McGinn, a plastic surgeon who specializes in transgender medicine.
There are men with no Y chromosomes or too many, women with Y chromosomes, men and women with the appropriate chromosomes who don’t feel like they are the right sex. A study came out recently that underlines the complexity of sexuality and our limited understanding of what makes a person’s sex, which loosely links a particular gene variant to transsexual behavior. It is becoming more and more obvious that chromosomal sex, while an important part, is not the only factor involved in sex determination. We also need to consider hormonal environment within the womb, genes apart from the X and Y chromosomes, and epi-genetic factors.
The situation is obviously not very cut-and-dried, and the testing seems an extreme invasion of privacy. Maybe, instead of testing athletes to see whether they fit neatly into a competitive category, our system should be changed to reflect the variety of forms that make us human.
Filed under Esoterica, Science & Politics | Comments (2)The Russian Experience
So, the following basically consists of my journal entries for the past month. I visited Russia, and loved it. The words that follow don’t come close to capturing everything about the experience. Unfortunately, I’m not a good enough or dedicated enough writer to get all of my thoughts down and recorded for posterity. But, it’s a start. I hope you enjoy my tales of Russia. There may be more to come. I do have hours of video that I still need to edit and upload.
Journey to Russia
I’ve wanted to travel to Russia for years. The opportunity simply has never been presented. That is, until now. Thanks to a chance email and a few conversations I am finally here. For the next three weeks, I’m teaching English to Russian science students just outside of a town called Tambov.
The program is run through a government affiliated organization called the Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), which was originally created by an act of Congress, but now gets its funding from private organizations. The goal of CRDF is assist other countries in their research needs, and in particular to help foreign scientists collaborate with their American counterparts.
Here, we (I and 8 other teachers – four scientists, four language specialists, and one director) are working with 64 students from Russian universities to improve their English language aptitude. I’ve developed my own syllabus around the idea of contemporary issues in science. Each class will focus on a different topic: “The Hobbit”/Homo floresiensis, Epigenetics, Robotics, Climate Change, and Cosmology. The flow of ideas centers around our perception of ourselves as humans and our place in the universe… pretty deep, right?
I think there is more than enough fodder for discussion within these few topics. I just hope that I can get the students talking. I’m by no means an ESL teacher, and I have relatively little training in teaching foreign students. Yet, I do have a passion for science and teaching. I hope that that will make up for what I lack in experience.
Past experience aside, this trip in itself is quite the experience so far, and promises to continue to be for the weeks to come.
I left San Francisco and the comforts of home early on a Thursday morning. The plane trip took just five hours to reach Atlanta, and thankfully I slept through most of it. I deplaned in the Atlanta airport, grabbed a bite to eat and a coffee, and headed to my connecting flight. At the gate I met a few of my fellow teachers. Everyone seemed a bit tired, but ready to get moving.
We got on our plane, and soon were on our way across the north Atlantic Ocean. The flight took about 11 hours to get to Moscow. I was entranced by the way we seemed to have the sun on a leash off the left wing of the plane. It followed us for hours, slowly inching toward the horizon. It finally hit the horizon with the most spectacular display of reds and oranges I have ever seen. It was also the longest sunset I have ever witnessed. I couldn’t take my eyes from it.
When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, the glow from the great furnace never really left the sky. Perpetual dawn/dusk was the view from my little window. I napped some, but spent many hours enjoying the rare view of such a polar experience.
Some hours later the sun decided to peek back up over the edge of the earth, and begin its climb back into the sky. We landed in full sunlight at 10:30am in the Moscow morning. From there, our little crew made it through baggage claim and customs with little trouble.
A van was waiting for us outside, which took us as swiftly as possible through the traffic jungle to central Moscow and our hotel. We met a few more team members at the hotel, rested and freshened up a bit, and then headed out into Moscow.
We drove past a few monument/memorial sights taking in everything in its Russian grandeur. Our destination for the afternoon, however, was the Red Square. St. Basil’s cathedral towered over us with its beautiful, colorful minarets. We walked through the Square and, finding an outdoor café on its perimeter, shared an hour over tasty beverages taking in the incredible location. I couldn’t help but have a glass of Prosecco. It just seemed decadent to sit on the edge of the Red Square people watching with a glass of bubbly in hand.
After the Square we headed to dinner at a Georgian restaurant. Since none of us were familiar with Georgian food our director, Stuart, ordered for us. We ended up with an amazing feast consisting of delicious dips and bread, fresh vegetables, eggplant wraps, and meat skewers that stuffed even the hungriest among us.
We left the restaurant with full bellies and emptier wallets to grab our bags from the hotel. After reloading the van with all of our bags, we headed to the train station with a stop along the way at some big giant cathedral, the name of which I can’t remember. It was big though. The story goes that there was once a giant cathedral in that same location, but it was destroyed. Then something else, I think it was a swimming pool, stood in its place for many years, until the government decided to rebuild the cathedral to its original grand design.
Now, it is a hulking figure with grand gold domes on its roof, and larger than life sized bronze figures lining its walls. We spent some time walking around this place until we couldn’t put off the train any longer.
The train station was busy as any station would be on a Friday evening. People coming into the city for a weekend of excitement, and going away from it to leave behind the constant activity of the place. We found our train (thank goodness for the Russian speaking individuals in our group. I would have floundered on my own.) with relatively little trouble. Two to a sleeping car, we distributed ourselves among the reserved bunks in our car on the train to Tambov.
Within the hour we were on our way. The Russian beers came out, and everyone seemed relaxed and happy to be traveling again. Moscow is quite a marvelous city. However, it is expensive, and not really a true representation of Russian culture. Everyone I spoke with about it agreed that getting out of Moscow was something they looked forward to.
Exhausted, we fell into our bunks around midnight. I slept fairly well considering the noise and movement of the train. I know that not many others fared as well. I woke up feeling fairly refreshed at 6am. Not able to sleep any more, I sat and read and looked out the window for the last hour or so of the ride.
We arrived in Tambov at 7:30am. Everyone in the group looked pretty haggard from the journey, but good spirits prevailed as we maneuvered our baggage off of the train and into the morning bustle of the station. Our Tambov contacts loaded us into cars and vans, and we hit the road for the camp.
The drive took us outside of Tambov into the countryside. Thirty or forty minutes later we rounded a corner that took us into the confines of a pine forest, and the facility came into view. It turns out that where we are staying is known as a sanitorium, or health camp. Good. I was just about due for a healthy retreat.
Accomodations
I lived in a little room at the end of a long hall on the third floor of the sanitorium. Three flights up a set of uneven stairs I turned left several times a day to head back to my space in Russia. It wasn’t much, but it was mine while we were there.
So, the rooms were dormitory style, but thank goodness I got one multiple occupancy room to myself. The students had to bunk four to a room. Some of the teachers were given nicer rooms with air conditioning, but I enjoyed my little suite. I think it was only at the end of the camp when the temperatures began to rise that I wished I had an AC unit. Aside from that, I was quite content with my balcony to the forest, my decrepit little shower (should I say orange water dispenser?), my twin bed, and the smell of sulfur and mildew.
In between classes I would come back to my room to work on class planning or to edit videos that I had taken, to read, or just to sleep sometimes. I got used to staring at the nice shade of greenish blue on the walls and ceiling. The sun coming in through the sheer floor length curtains added a certain amount of pleasant under the sea feeling to the place.
In the suite were two bedrooms; one on the left and one on the right. In the beginning, the staff had made up one bed in the bedroom on the right, but when I walked into the room I was immediately drawn to the room on the left. It was interesting to look at the two nearly identical rooms to try to discern what could possibly be the difference that made me prefer one to the other. In the end I decided that it all came down to the shade of green-blue on the walls and curtains.
In the end the room on the left was the winner. It could also be that Zoolander made me turn that way.
Food
Oh, the cafeteria. The thing I loved most about this place was the feeling of community that it gave our camp. There really is something to be said about the sharing of food with people. It builds relationships where there were none to begin with.
I wonder how much we have lost as a society with so many living alone and eating alone. My many dinners in front of the television are a testament to the loss of communication in preference of artificial sociality. I can sit with my dearest friends and share nothing more than what we view. Each person absorbed in their own thoughts reactions to the box, ignoring the real people next to them because the person in the box is so much more entertaining.
My meals in Russia really made me stop to reconsider family, friends, and sharing of experiences.
That said, the meals themselves were very simple. Good for a carnivore, but not so good for someone who doesn’t eat meat or milk products. I waited with baited breath for eggs in the mornings, and was rewarded once or twice a week. The rest of the time it was bread, butter and cheese, and kasha (hot cereal from any number of grains).
Lunch consisted of soup and bread, and whatever starch and meat they decided to serve. Lunch was definitely the heartiest meal. But I often left it craving something more. Most likely because I was missing out on the protein front.
Dinner left me feeling like a child sent to bed without dinner most nights. I ate the bread, and I ate the potatoes, and I drank the tea.
I ate so many potatoes in Russia. Please, no more potatoes for a while. I’ll even cut down on the bread. I can’t believe that the carb addict has carbed out. I can’t wait to get home and eat red thai curry and brown rice, or a good spicy Mexican burrito, or a great Indian dinner. Yummmmm!!!
River
One of the best things about the sanitorium was the river. The camp was located on the banks of the river Sna. It was beautiful and peaceful; loaded with wildlife the sunsets took on a life of their own.
One of my favorite things to do was to visit the beach (they trucked in sand from somewhere the day after we arrived to make it a nice beachfront property) during the class periods I had off. All the other teachers and students were in class, but I was free. I would go to the river, lie in the sun, and swim with only my own thoughts to distract me. The quiet of the river made me smile with a simple contentment for the place I was experiencing and the life that brought me to it.
Other times at the river were more active with the students out of class or volleyball matches trying to beat the sudden Tambov heat wave of the last week of our stay. The students were all so young and lithe, bikinis and swim-trunks made me shy away from the exposure of the beach. As their teacher, I didn’t think hanging out in bikini beachwear was very appropriate.
Classes
Two days after our arrival classes began, and I was struck by the disparity between my expectations of the student proficiency level and the actuality of the situation. The students were broken up into 6 groups, A-F, with A being the highest level and F being the lowest in terms of proficiency.
I think I was lulled into a bit of a fairy tale by the people I spoke with prior to the program. They called the students scientists, but they were just students. Yes, science students, but still just students. I will reserve my consideration of the term scientist for people who are paid and practicing in the research field, or with credentials proving their experience or training.
I can’t remember if I was told the students would be working at a higher level or if I just expected them to be what with the moniker of scientist attached to their descriptions. Either way, after the first class I realized that my syllabus would have to change. The students would never be able to deal with all the work that I was expecting of them even though it would be nothing to a high level speaker/reader.
Group A was fantastic for the large part with highly functioning English speakers throughout the group. At our first meeting I realized that they would be able to converse on the most esoteric levels, which excited the scientist and theorist in me. Group F, however, was the lowest performing group as a whole. I was scared that I would not be able to perform my duties as an instructor the first time I met with them. It was like pulling teeth to get them to talk.
So, I dumped a few expected readings and added a couple of in-class activities. I think in all the changes were successful. The students responded well overall. They seemed to like my lessons, and they talked more and more as the weeks progressed. However, to do it again, I would be more prepared for the low proficiency levels with more in-class activities to get them talking and using more vocabulary words. I’m not sure if I would change my expectations for the higher level students. Maybe. There are likely to be many things I could do to get even the high level students working at an even higher level. Hmmm… for consideration in the next year maybe… 😉
Computer/Internet
The lack of internet access was both a blessing and a curse. I know that me at the distant end of a Skype connection is not what people want to listen to, but there wasn’t much else I could do. Also, the podcast was unreliably posted as a result of the computer difficulties, which I’m sure has annoyed more than a few listeners.
But, I have had a freedom from the shackles of TWIS that has been rare in the last 8 years. In Tambov am free from all the internet stuff that I’ve been working so hard on, and it has been wonderful. I have to say that I haven’t been so content in a very long time.
I wasn’t striving for anything. I wasn’t reaching for anything. I was just being and doing something I felt was worthwhile, and for the brief period that it lasted I was truly content.
The first week I did feel as though I had lost something, or that I was missing something, but once the feeling of missing faded away I was just me and my life and it was good.
I’ve been striving for some undefined thing for years. I don’t know anymore whether it’s because I want to strive or because I feel like other people expect it of me, but it doesn’t matter. It’s just something that I do. I have this thing that I want to do, but I don’t know the best way to do it, so I do everything and I work really hard at it all the time and feel really terrible that I’m not living up to this undefined goal of success. And, that’s no way to be. And, being away from the internet for the past few weeks has really made that apparent.
The internet is my soporific and my potential. Something needs to change in my relationship with technology because it is sour.
Movies and Games
The students loved all my American movies. I hosted a couple of movie nights in a large room on the second floor of the sanitorium. One of the students had the responsibility of the LCD projector, and we put together a fairly good approximation of a private movie theater with surround sound and big screen. I had a good time watching the films with the students. I wonder though how much of the movies the students understood. I’m fairly sure that they barely understood Snatch. I have a hard time with that film. They all seemed appreciative for the movies, and wanted to copy them from my hard drive. I am now an international movie pirate.
Students
The students were from all over Russia. I had a difficult time imaging what they would be like before meeting them, but the experience taught me that Russians are as varied as Americans in their tastes, experiences, and beliefs.
Interestingly, the majority of the Russian students weren’t “Christian”. Many of them don’t even believe in God, which makes the number of Americans on Christian missions that I met in the airports and planes in my travels there and back make a bit more sense.
The students were all younger than I expected them to be. It took some adjusting to, but in the end was great. It felt good to interact with young Russia, and to know that I was helping to teach them about both science and America. Maybe my work will help our two countries get along better in the future. I know, a little pretentious thinking, but who knows.
The students were very serious about the program, which made the whole thing better for me in the end. I think that I would have been much less content if the students hadn’t been serious.
Teachers
The teachers were a great bunch of people: Serious Stuart who led us all with a professionalism I didn’t know was possible; Steven who brought us all together and really was our glue; Michelle the linguist; Wes the Republican; Don the Quaker; Joanna the poet; Eric the sporty lawyer; Mike the color scientist who never failed to surprise; and me, the internet and science news junkie.
We all got along, which was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t spend time with everyone equally, but I did have some good times with everyone. Beers with with Wes, Mike, and Don; coffee with Stuart and Steven; walks and champagne with Michelle; beach with Joanna and Eric.
And then there was volleyball. I haven’t played v-ball in years. And here in the forest of Tambov I was on a team because they needed two girls on the team, and Michelle didn’t want to play. It turned out to be fun even though every fiber of my brain and body wanted to run away from the team involvement.
I didn’t want to be so attached to something here in this place in the middle of Russia, but I was. It was fun, too, so what was my problem? We played well, not great, but well. I made some good plays. We made it to the finals in our camp tournament beating every other team at least once.
That felt good, but I couldn’t help but be on the side of the students. We gave the students homework, and then we beat them at sport in their freetime. What a downer. I was secretly happy when one of the student teams finally beat us in the final set. And, it was group F’s team. How great that the lowest of the English speaking groups could totally own us on the sandy volleyball court?!? It made the students so happy to win.
I couldn’t relate to the competitive streak in the other teachers who actually wanted to win against the students. What would that have accomplished?
Day in Tambov
Two weeks into the routine of our English camp we had a break for a day, and got to go into Tambov for some sightseeing. Unfortunately, the Tambov State Technical University found out that we were coming to town, and scheduled the teachers for a tour of various departments at the University.
Blah, blah, blah… I can appreciate all the work they are doing to make their university more of a world-class institution (They were the first to bring internet to that local area in Russia), but it felt like one of those time-share seminars you have to sit through to get a free dinner or trip to Hawaii. But, instead, we just got to be in Tambov, and had to miss most of the free day for the seminar.
I think I would have rather gone with the students to see Hancock in a bad Russian dub instead. But, no luck, it was a morning of the Russian insititutional system.
In the afternoon we got a taste of Russian pizza. Kind of like focaccia bread with stuff on it, but it was good. Then we wandered around the streets of Tambov, viewing the sights, and buying tchotchkies for friends and family at home.
At one point we wandered into the park and came across the first gypsies of our time in Russia. They are so beautiful and pitiful, and I wanted to give them everything I had. The childrens’ eyes pleaded with us as we walked past, but I had nothing to give. Nothing that they wanted anyway, so on I walked feeling the pain of their needing and my own remorse that people have to need at all.
Last day in Moscow
The last day in Tambov was definitely bittersweet. So many students were so sad at the fact that the program was coming to an end. Many of the girls were driven to tears when people started the process of filing onto the buses that would take us to the train.
The awards ceremony on the last day was the sweetest moment of the three week program. I never really understood before those last moments how much the camp meant to some of the kids. It really was the only experience of that kind that they had ever had. Most of the students had never left their home villages or towns and were studying at a local university. The idea of “going away” to college had no meaning for them. This camp was the furthest they had ever been away, and maybe ever would be.
I can only hope that the itch to experience more from life has been planted, and that I might see them again someday as fully realized scientists on the international scene.
The train took us overnight to Moscow. I had originally planned to spend time with some of the students in Moscow, but the situation didn’t work out as planned and we all ended up going our separate ways in the early morning hour of our train’s arrival into Moscow.
The stark morning lighting matched the mood of the separation. But, it was good to sever the cord and let the students go. I will see who stays in touch and who does not.
I spent the day wandering through Moscow with Michelle. We both had flights out the next day, so it seemed natural to share these last moments in Russia together. We visited the Darwin Museum, and I got to look at beautifully preserved bird specimens. It seems like such an arcane way to study animals; kill them and stuff them and put them in a glass case. Anyway, I did enjoy the museum. Then we ate at a Russian cafe, and bought vodka to bring home as gifts. I fell asleep for a couple of hours back at the hotel, and then Michelle and I shared a glass of champagne in the late evening. Michelle and I wandered around a bit more, and finally turned in for the night. I couldn’t sleep, so I went back out for more walking. The streets were dark and deserted at 11pm on Sunday night. It was a little unnerving to be out alone in this strange city, so I headed back to the hotel and to bed.
I woke up early so that I could try my walk again. This time it was much better. People were just heading to work. Some people were out for their morning runs. Just like any other city. But, not like any other city. The morning light is different this far north. The signs on the buildings, the advertising banners, the street signs; all of these things are different. The sounds in this city are different. Car horns, cell phones, the voices sound different.
I soaked up the similarities one last time, and then went to the hotel to catch my cab to the airport.
And Home
I guess the question is whether knowing what I know now about the program would I return next year? I don’t know. It was good for me as a person and as a teacher, but not so much for me as the video/radio personality.
So, on the plane I’m struck by the distance between the USA and Russia. Culturally there are some but not many points of discrepancy. Mainly, I’m struck by the language barrier. That one thing plus history remains a major factor in the future of relations between these two amazing countries. The dollar is low these days, so it’s pretty much the same experience in Moscow as in San Francisco if you’re out for a night out. If you want to be a high roller, it’s the same anywhere.
Checking the price of gas on the way out of Moscow, it was 25.00 rubles per liter. That’s about the same as a 4-5 dollars for a gallon of gas. We have officially caught up to (slowed down so others could reach us?) the rest of the world.
People want the USA to stay ahead of the rest of the world with an amazing exchange rate and luxury exports, but the reality of our planet is finally catching up to us. We need to pay for what we use. And, we use a lot, so lets ante up.
The moral of the story is that people are people, wherever you go. Nobody wants to give up what they have, but if we don’t do something who will have anything in the future?
24 hours of travel and I’m home, jiggety-jig.
Filed under Esoterica | Comments (8)A Picture Worth a Thousand Words
Hahahaha! I love the picture accompanying Michael Shermer‘s latest article in Scientific American. OMG, I think my face says everything you need to know about how I feel about the wheatgrass juice I just swallowed. According to the very nice gentleman who gave us the wheatgrass: the worse it tastes, the more toxic you are. I decided there and then that I must be the government’s next superfund site.
Filed under Esoterica | Comments (9)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.
Filed under Esoterica, Reads and Watches | Comments (3)
A World of Science
This past week I attended the World Science Festival in New York City as a reporter for the Science Channel. I ran around the multitude of events with Melissa, the outstanding producer,
and a camera crew (Thanks, guys!)
wrangling all too brief interviews with scientists. I have never interviewed so many people in such a short period of time. It was fun, but I wish that I had more time with each of the scientists. I had so many questions to ask. Ah, well… I’ll just have to schedule them all for some time on TWIS!
For those of you who are not aware, the World Science Festival was a meta-event, encompassing something like 70 events within the city of New York. There were lectures, panel discussions, movies, performances at venues throughout the city, which managed to interlace science and culture in a way that I don’t believe has ever been done before. The whole shebang was brought to life by theoretical physicist, Brian Greene, and his wife, news reporter/journalist, Tracy Day. Scientists from all over the world were in attendance, and a majority of the events sold out with many experiencing lines down the street hoping for last minute tickets. In all, I think that everyone involved considers this inaugural year a massive success.
I thought they did a fantastic job with the multimedia presentation aspect of the various events. It gave a depth to the events that is not normally part of science lectures or discussions. Also, many of the events were designed with kids in mind. This was an essential part of the entire festival in my mind. It’s great to give adults the mental stimulation that might come from a discussion on quantum physics, but kids are the next generation of both scientists and voters. Creating events that stimulate a child’s scientific curiosity should be a major component of any science festival.
What specifically did I do at the festval, well here’s a synopsis…
Day one: We started with a presentation called Pioneers in Science, which brought two such pioneers, Leon Lederman and Cynthia Breazeal, to the stage to be interviewed by two teams of thoughtful high school students. The audience was filled with kids, and everyone seemed to react positively to the format. I got to interview both Leon and Cynthia after the event was over, and was highly impressed with how strongly they both felt about educating and working with youth.
Next it was off to a documentary premiere called Parallel Worlds, Parallel lives in which Mark Everett of the indie rock band the Eels delves into his now deceased father’s (Hugh Everett) body of work in the field of quantum/theoretical physics. After the film, three prominent physicists discussed Dr. Everett’s theory of parallel worlds, which has made quite a splash in recent years. I was able to interview all of the panelists: Mark Everett (who was interesting in his position because he doesn’t really have an interest in science, but knows the importance of his father’s ideas), Michio Kaku, Max Tegmark, and Brian Cox.
Finally, we raced across the city to NYU to catch the end of a panel discussion/presentation called Illuminating Genius: Unlocking Creativity. Unfortunately, we were late and I was unable to see much of the discussion. Given my interest in neuroscience and memory this was one of the sessions that I really wanted to see. However, I was able to meet and (briefly) interview V.S. Ramachandran (a.k.a Rama), Nancy Andreasen, and David Eagleman. All three were fascinating, and I just wish I had more time, but it was already 10pm and everyone was getting tired. Knowing I had a full day coming up, I politely turned down an invitation to go out with Dr. Eagleman and friends.
Day Two: With a full day under our belts, this second day of the festival went a bit smoother. We also weren’t running around the city quite as much. First, was an event called Cool Jobs, and boy were the jobs represented cool. A monkey researcher – Laurie Santos, a forensic scientist – Peter Diacek, an oceanographer/research diver – Eileen Prager, a Disney Imagineer – Ben Schwegler, and a NASA researcher – Christopher McKay. I interviewed everyone except the monkey researcher, and I want all of their jobs. Although, I am quite aware that what I am doing is amazingly cool as well. How many people get to talk to their scientific heroes and share it with the world? My life is definitely not boring.
Later in the evening, we attended the presentation called Invisible Reality: The Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World, which was a fascinating discussion between leaders in the realm of theoretical and experimental physics and philosophy. I got to speak with Brian Greene, David Albert, and William Phillips after the event. We set the interviews up to look very red-carpet because scientists should be celebrities afterall.
Day Three: This our final and longest day of shooting and interviews was also by far the most fun. We attended a session called Your Biological Biography: Genes and Identity, which discussed the Human Genome Project and DNA testing in light of how this new knowledge might change the way we as humans think about ourselves. The take home message that all panelists seemed to agree with was the fact that we still don’t understand enough about the genome to make many useful inferences from genetic information. Afterwards I was able to speak with Dr. Francis Collins, director (until August at least) of the Human Genome Project, Paul Nurse (my third Nobel laureate of the week!), and Nikolas Rose.
Then it was time to hit the street fair. We ran around Washington Square Park taking a look at all the sciencey booths, performances, and interactive stuff. Most of it was aimed at kids, and there were many in attendance of all ages. My favorite interview from the fair was with the Imagineer who developed the most advanced animatronic robot to date, Lucky the Dinosaur.
After a rejuvenating sushi meal, we headed back to the festival for Powering the Planet: a Townhall Meeting. Although informative if you are new to the green arena, I wasn’t much impressed by the overall discussion here, and unfortunately the person who I thought would be the most interesting was not so much. Ah, well… you can’t win them all. And, maybe I was just tired. The interviews were not my best either. I think this was because I wanted to ask more complex questions that might have provoked argument, and really didn’t have the time to get into them. Also, this whole thing with the Science Channel was pretty much an audition. Not such a good idea to get people riled up during an audition. So, I was left frustrated and the questions I did ask suffered as a result. I spoke with M.Glen Kertz of Valcent Products, Saul Griffith of Makani Power, and Dan Nocera. At least I got to hug a chemist.
The final group of interviews were after a session that I wish I had time to attend, What it Means to be Human. The panelists were certain to play against one another in viewpoint and practice. I heard it was a vibrant discussion, and considering the hour the scientists brought that energy to our interviews quite readily. I had a lot of fun interviewing this lot, and again it might be due to my own scientific inclinations. Pat Churchland and Daniel Dennett were both interesting and inspired me to many more questions that could not be asked. It turns out that Dr. Dennett has worked with one of my graduate advisers, and I probably met him while I was in the early years of my graduate study. Unfortunately, I was oblivious to the greatness that was before me at the time. Heh. What a difference time makes.
Sunday was my last day in NYC, and thankfully I was able to get out a bit before heading home. I was able to connect with my adviser, Dr. Max Gomez, from my AAAS Mass Media Fellowship at WNBC back in 2005. It was a very pleasant lunch…
Oh, and this was the view out my hotel window…
And, this was the spyglass that came with the room…
