Clipmarks | Aribeth's 'science' clips

Periodic Table of Videos

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:29:58 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: Short videos about every element in the Periodic Table.

Go get some science, kids!

Clip Source: www.periodicvideos.com

Tables charting the chemical elements have been around since the 19th century - but this modern version has a short video about each one.

Tags: periodic table of elements, science

The Roots of Today's Science Fiction Go Back Centuries

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:41:03 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Much more of the website,

Clip Source: io9.com

Science Fiction came of age in the 19th Century under the talents of writers like Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells. But before these authors stands a long history of proto-science fiction tales, replete with voyages to the moon, socially and technologically advanced civilizations, and visions of the future. We've delved into our scifi roots and found some of the surprisingly forward-looking works from poets, mathematicians, politicians, and philosophers that predate the year 1800.

Lucian of Samosata – A True History (2nd Centure CE):

his rousing tale of a trip to the moon, aliens armies, man-made men, and extraplanetary colonization is frequently recognized as the first known space opera.

Ibn al-Nafis – Theologus Autodidactus (c. 1270):

Thomas More – Utopia (1515):

Francis Bacon – The New Atlantis (1626):

Johannes Kepler – Somnium (The Dream) (1634):

Jonathan Swift – Gulliver’s Travels (1726):

Voltaire – Micromegas (1752):

Tags: science fiction, sci-fi, history, literature

"Artwork inspired by the mysteries and marvels of science." wonderful images

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:36:09 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "I am often very inspired by science - books on popular science and maths, documentaries, and of course rubbish sci fi films. Here is some of the artwork inspired by the mysteries and marvels of science." The wonderful image is an original drawing by the artist Masonic Boom, aka Kate St.Claire, as part of her series of "science"

Clip Source: flickr.com

You have to imagine this announced in the tone of Thomas Dolby in "She Blinded Me With Science.

Clip Source: flickr.com

"Impossibility" (The Science of Limits and the Limits of Science.)

Clip Source: flickr.com

Richard Dawkin's theory of memetics.

"The trouble is that thought and culture are not the sort of thing that can have distinct units. They do not have a granular structure for the same reason that ocean currents do not have one - namely because they are not stuffs but patterns."

Clip Source: flickr.com

I used to be terrified of the end of the universe when I was a kid, before I realised that it was going to happen 4 billion years in the future not, like, next week.

Clip Source: flickr.com

Inspired by The Moon: The Biography.

Clip Source: flickr.com

i love ferns! i love their fractal self symmetry, and the way the curl out of swirlies to be lovely fronds.

Clip Source: flickr.com

I Can Lose Myself In The Moons Of Jupiter

Clip Source: flickr.com

Inspired by the crazy electrical storm over Croydon last night. I swear to god, that lightening was magenta.

Clip Source: flickr.com

Inspired by this thread on ILX.

www.ted.com/index.php/talks/brian_cox_on_cern_s_supercoll...

50 Years Ago: Greatest Scientific Discovery is Science Itself

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:30:48 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Instant parameters.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

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”

Tags: just, ahead, of, unintelligent, design

Minds and myths

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:04:03 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "..Other sciences certainly do have their own myths – just think of the story of Newton and the falling apple or Archimedes leaping out of the bath following his Eureka insight. Perhaps myths just seem more prominent in psychology because we tend to talk and write about our science in terms of studies rather than facts."

Clip Source: www.mindhacks.com

The September issue of The Psychologist has two excellent and freely available articles that smash the popular myths of scientific psychology.

Clip Source: www.thepsychologist.org.uk

Clip Source: www.mindhacks.com

The first examines the widely mythologised story of hole-in-the head celebrity Phineas Gage, and the other tackles commonly repeated stories of famous studies that don't stand up to scrutiny.

Gage, whose skull is pictured on the front cover, is legendary, but, as the article makes clear, there's actually a great deal we don't know about his life and the information that typically accompanies his story is based on only a very few sources.

The article on other myths in psychology focuses on some of the most widely incidents and studies in the field: the murder of Kitty Genovese, Asch's conformity experiments, Little Albert and the Hawthorne Effect.

Particularly interesting is a discussion of the role of myths in science and what benefit they bring to the study of the human mind:

Paul Drummond Illustrations

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:23:42 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.pauldrummond.co.uk

Science Fiction

Select an image to view it in detail:

His Master’s Voice

Little Lost Robot

Africa (cover)

Strange Behaviour

Insurgency

Leaving Orbit

Exploration

Tags: paul drummond, artist, art, illustrationist, scifi, fantasy, horror

Wacky Sci-Fi “Laws”

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:14:27 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: If that’s not enough for you, check out Wikipedia’s list of eponymous laws.

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

1. Hanlon’s Razor (aka Hanlon’s Law)

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”

2. Sturgeon’s Law

“Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

3. O’Toole’s Corollary of Finagle’s Law

“The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum.”

4. Clarke’s Three Laws

The third is by far the most famous:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

5. Asimov’s Laws of Robotics

First law: A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second law: A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third law: A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

There’s also a Zeroth Law.

6. The Dilbert Principle

the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management.. (See also: the Peter principle

Tags: laws, science, science fiction, writers, humor, list, people, robots, work, life

Do parallel universes really exist?

Sun, 04 May 2008 15:19:39 GMT

clipped by: fewstingscorpio
clipper's remarks: Something to ponder while you look up into the night sky. The best time is a campfire with some friends or family. Interesting conversation...
To read the full article:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/parallel-universe.htm

Clip Source: science.howstuffworks.com

Do parallel universes really exist?

In 1954, a young Princeton University doctoral candidate named Hugh Everett III came up with a radical idea: That there exist parallel universes, exactly like our universe. These universes are all related to ours; indeed, they branch off from ours, and our universe is branched off of others. Within these parallel universes, our wars have had different outcomes than the ones we know. Species that are extinct in our universe have evolved and adapted in others. In other universes, we humans may have become extinct.

With his Many-Worlds theory, Everett was attempting to answer a rather sticky question related to quantum physics: Why does quantum matter behave erratically?

In fairly short order, physicists studying the quantum level noticed some peculiar things about this tiny world. For one, the particles that exist on this level have a way of taking different forms arbitrarily.

Tags: science, universe, "quantum physics", "parallel universes", metaphysics

Could Jupiter wreck the solar system?

Sun, 04 May 2008 12:13:24 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: "So what's the likelihood Mercury could crash into the Earth? If it did, the asteroid that most likely wiped out the dinosaurs will seem like a drop in the ocean compared with a planet 4880 km in diameter slamming into us. There will be very little left after this wrecking ball impact.

But here's the kicker: There is only a 1% chance that these gravitational instabilities of the inner Solar System are likely to cause any kind of chaos before the Sun turns into a Red Giant and swallows Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars in 7 billion years time. So, no need to look out for death-wish Mercury quite yet… there's a very low chance that any of this will happen. But some good news for Mars; the researchers have also found that if the chaos does ensue, the Red Planet may be flung out of the Solar System, possibly escaping our expanding Sun. So, let's get those Mars colonies started! Well, within the next few billions of years anyhow…"

Good stuff for the next science-fiction movie

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

Could Jupiter Wreck the Solar System?

Happily orbiting the Sun, the eight planets (plus Pluto and other minor planets) appear to have a high degree of long-term gravitational stability. But Jupiter has a huge gravitational influence over its siblings, especially the smaller planets.

The huge gravitational pull of Jupiter seems to be bullying Mercury into an increasingly eccentric death-orbit, possibly flinging the cosmic lightweight into the path of Venus. To make things worse, there might be dire consequences for Earth…

The researchers

Jacques Laskar

Konstantin Batygin

and Gregory Laughlin

formulate four possible scenarios as to what may happen as Mercury gets disturbed:

Mercury will crash into the Sun
Mercury will be ejected from the solar system altogether
Mercury will crash into Venus
Mercury will crash into Earth

The last option is obviously the worst case scenario for us, but all will be bad news for Mercury, the small planet's fate appears to be sealed.

Tags: science, space, astronomy

RealClimate: Real Scientists on Real Science

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:09:00 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: A bit boring. Deals with the science of climate change.

Clip Source: www.realclimate.org

Climate science is one of those fields where anyone, regardless of their lack of expertise or understanding, feels qualified to comment on new papers and ongoing controversies. This can be frustrating for scientists like ourselves who see agenda-driven 'commentary' on the Internet and in the opinion columns of newspapers crowding out careful analysis.

RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. We aim to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary.

we will not get involved in political or economic issues that arise when discussing climate change. The validity of scientific information is completely independent of what society decides to do (or not) about that information.

Science Links

Communicating Climate

Tags: science, climate

Is Humanity Destined to Self-Destruct?

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:31:01 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug
clipper's remarks: Interesting read. The article is divided into several parts, I only clipped a bit from Part 1.

Clip Source: www.indiana.edu

"Is Humanity Destined to Self-Destruct?"

by Lynton Keith Caldwell

"In remaking the earthly environment, modern society has failed to take into account the full significance of resulting changes in the circumstances of life on earth."

Aided by science and science-based technology, modern humanity has achieved great material success. But scientific findings also suggest that in pursuit of this achievement human society may inadvertently be putting its future at risk.

The capabilities that have enabled modern humanity to attain present levels of civilization may be insufficient to overcome the risks incidental to this achievement.

science and technology have enabled humans to reshape the world more rapidly than has growth in understanding of the risks as well as the benefits of these advances.

For centuries humans lived within the parameters of nature, benefitting from its beneficence, adapting to its rhythms, and coping with its adversities.

The science of Addiction

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:24:09 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii
clipper's remarks: Flash - why we feel -" High "

Clip Source: learn.genetics.utah.edu

Mouse Party

Note:

The simplified mechanisms of drug action presented here are just a small part of the story. When drugs enter the body they elicit very complex effects in many different regions of the brain. Often they interact with many different types of neurotransmitters and may bind with a variety of receptor types in a variety of different locations. For example, THC in marijuana can bind with cannabinoid receptors located on the presynaptic and/or postsynaptic cell in a synapse.

Where applicable, this presentation primarily depicts how drugs interact with dopamine neurotransmitters because this website focuses on the brain's reward pathway. Mouse Party is designed to provide a small glimpse into the chemical interactions at the synaptic level that cause the drug user to feel 'high'.

Tags: science

The body in depth

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:04:27 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: for our viewing pleasure online

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Thanks to Stanford University’s school of medicine

the 25-volume “Stereoscopic Atlas of Human Anatomy”

will soon be available to the world. The school is bringing the images online

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Tags: science

What planet is this?

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:19:51 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth

Clip Source: www.ironicsans.com

Waterworld

What planet is this?

It’s Earth, of course, viewed from around 9900 miles above a small island called Tetiaora, one of the few bits of land on this half of the planet.

It’s weird that there’s a view of earth that’s almost entirely water.

Tags: photo, image, french polynesia, atoll, science

Evolution:24 myths and misconceptions

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:47:43 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: It doesn't matter if people do not understand evolution
"Survival of the fittest" justifies "everyone for themselves"
Evolution is limitlessly creative
Evolution cannot explain traits such as homosexuality
Creationism provides a coherent alternative to evolution

Creationist myths:

Evolution must be wrong because the Bible is inerrant
Accepting evolution undermines morality
Evolutionary theory leads to racism and genocide
Religion and evolution are incompatible
Half a wing is no use to anyone
Evolutionary science is not predictive
Evolution cannot be disproved so is not science
Evolution is just so unlikely to produce complex life forms
Evolution is an entirely random process
Mutations can only destroy information, not create it
Darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution
The bacterial flagellum is irreducibly complex
Yet more creationist misconceptions
Evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions

16 April 2008

It will soon be 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, arguably the most important book ever written. In it, Darwin outlined an idea that many still find shocking – that all life on Earth, including human life, evolved through natural selection.

And yet despite an ever-growing mountain of evidence, most people around the world are not taught the truth about evolution, if they are taught about it at all. Even in the UK, the birthplace of Darwin with an educated and increasingly secular population, one recent poll suggests less than half the population accepts evolution.