Clipmarks | earnric's Science collection

Devolution...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:40:13 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: The ability of mankind to cling to ancient myths when they can't fully grasp science is astounding...

Clip Source: fogghorn.blogspot.com

You would think I wouldn't have to beat this subject to death, but here we go again. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, said to be on the short list for running mate with the idiot McCain, wants his kids to be exposed to the "best science" because he's a "Christian" and to be politically correct according to Christian politics, that means ancient and resoundingly debunked legends handed down from illiterate goatherds on the edges of civilization. Jindal insists that the denial of all observed facts packaged as Intelligent Design is a "legitimate scientific discipline." It's not. It's none of those three things, but perhaps it makes Bobby Jindal just dishonest enough to appeal to American voters.

Tags: evolution, culture, religion

Dr. Dawkins on the universe...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:34:15 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: A great talk on the state of our knowledge about the universe... Check out the video on the link.

Clip Source: www.ted.com

Talks Richard Dawkins: The universe is queerer than we can suppose

Tags: science

TED - Ideas worth spreading...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:27:34 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: If you haven't checked out this site I strongly suggest you do... I can't believe I haven't clipped it before!

The site covers everything from culture and entertainment to scientific accomplishments and wonder... It is packed with videos by some of the best scientists, entertainers and thinkers of today.

Clip Source: www.ted.com

Janine Benyus points out that nature has to its advantage around 3.8 billion years of "research and development," and lists wonderful examples of natural designs that solve intractable human engineering problems. Juan Enriquez describes how nature is driven by a remarkable information engine -- DNA -- and what that means for our future.

Richard Dawkins, perhaps the world’s most outspoken and influential evolutionary biologist, describes a "queer" natural world abundant with surprises and peculiarity, and warns us that even our minds are products of evolution.

Tags: science, culture, evolution

Algebra and astrophysics...

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:13:09 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Interesting read... an unlikely link between pure mathematics and astrophysics.

Clip Source: space.newscientist.com

In a gravitational lens, the gravity of stars and other matter can bend the light of a much more distant star or galaxy, often fracturing it into several separate images (see image at right). Several years ago, Sun Hong Rhie, then at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, US, was trying to calculate just how many images there can be.

The gravitational lens G2237 + 0305, dubbed the "Einstein Cross", shows four images of a very distant bright galaxy called a quasar whose light has been bent by a relatively nearby galaxy acting as a gravitational lens (Image: NASA)

She managed to construct a case where just four stars could split the galaxy into 15 separate images, by arranging three stars in an equilateral triangle and putting a fourth in the middle.

Later, she found that a similar shape works in general for a lens made of n stars (as long as there are more than one), producing 5n - 5 images. She suspected that was the maximum number possible, but she couldn't prove it.

Tags: math, astrophysics, science

People in need of education...

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:31:02 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Seems like a lot of people who comment on an issue I raised don't know what "begging the question" means... They simply assume the desired outcome (e.g. - marriage is a religious institution and given to a man and a woman) and say "I defined my term -- you are wrong"... How silly can you get...

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

begging the question has traditionally described a type of logical fallacy (also called petitio principii) in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one of the premises.

Tags: argument, religion, logic

The Science of love...

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:37:37 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: A very short excerpt describing the scientific basis of "love" ...

Clip Source: www.templeton.org

What science offers for explaining the feelings we experience when believing in God or falling in love is complementary, not conflicting;

I find it deeply interesting to know that when I fall in love with someone my initial lustful feelings are enhanced by dopamine, a neurohormone produced by the hypothalamus that triggers the release of testosterone, the hormone that drives sexual desire, and that my deeper feelings of attachment are reinforced by oxytocin, a hormone synthesized in the hypothalamus and secreted into the blood by the pituitary.

Further, it is instructive to know that such hormone-induced neural pathways are exclusive to monogamous pair-bonded species as an evolutionary adaptation for the long-term care of helpless infants. We fall in love because our children need us! Does this in any way lessen the qualitative experience of falling in love and doting on one's children?

Tags: evolution, emotions