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Comment by Sydni Moser on November 2, 2010 at 7:42am

Comment by Pope OoO (Out of Order) on November 2, 2010 at 1:18am

Small technical point. just discovered why my system gets redirect errors on some links here. I'll just say that if anyone else runs into redirect errors, just google redirectingat and skimlinks. I researched them and I consider them safe. Not sure why this hasn't been mentioned on TA before. (Ha, if you think I'm just sounding paranoid or whacky, just ignore me!)

Comment by Adrian on November 1, 2010 at 11:23pm

Great YouTube clip from my compatriot philhellenes - Science Saved My Soul

Comment by Dallas the Phallus on October 28, 2010 at 2:42pm

I have not read this. I'm just passing it along. - DG

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Science magazine reporter Kean views the periodic table as one of the great achievements of humankind, "an anthropological marvel," full of stories about our connection with the physical world. Funny, even chilling tales are associated with each element, and Kean relates many. The title refers to gallium (Ga, 31), which melts at 84ËšF, prompting a practical joke among "chemical cognoscenti": shape gallium into spoons, "serve them with tea, and watch as your guests recoil when their Earl Grey ˜eats™ their utensils." Along with Dmitri Mendeleyev, the father of the periodic table, Kean is in his element as he presents a parade of entertaining anecdotes about scientists (mad and otherwise) while covering such topics as thallium (Tl, 81) poisoning, the invention of the silicon (Si, 14) transistor, and how the ruthenium (Ru, 44) fountain pen point made million for the Parker company. With a constant flow of fun facts bubbling to the surface, Kean writes with wit, flair, and authority in a debut that will delight even general readers.

Comment by Don on October 25, 2010 at 9:40am

I think that such hostility goes well beyond the creationists' aversion to chance--although the idea that the evolution of life is governed by "random" change does seem deeply appalling to them. More unsettling--and more fundamental to their rejection of evolution--is the idea that all forms of animal life are roughly equal in their value as denizens of the planet, the idea that humans are in no way the object of "Creation," that, instead, humans are simply one more fascinating but transitory animal destined to achieve passing dominion over all of the life we know of like the dinosaurs and then to subside into extinction, forever, like 97% of all the life forms that have preceded us.

Christian fundamentalists are convinced that the entire Universe has been created as a sort of frame and context for our perceptions, to provide us with wonder and pleasure and challenges until the end of time. Talk about arrogance. They cannot give up that vision, because it undergirds their entire delusional system of belief. Surrendering that perspective, they think, would mean that life and, indeed, all of the Universe are without meaning and without purpose, which is truly horrifying to anyone who has held strongly to the supreme human-centered myth his entire life.

Comment by Sydni Moser on October 18, 2010 at 1:14pm

Science Behind Bars


http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/index.jsp

Comment by Sydni Moser on October 18, 2010 at 12:37pm

Comment by Sydni Moser on October 15, 2010 at 7:09pm

Doone, that was a terrific video on education. I sent it to a couple of teacher friends. Thanks

Comment by Adrian on October 15, 2010 at 5:32pm

This is the latest YouTube clip from an excellent channel (greenman3610), which focuses on debunking climate change denial and explaining the science behind global warming. It starts with a fun experiment that, with a little ingenuity, you can readily repeat at home with your kids.

Comment by Nathan Hevenstone on October 15, 2010 at 12:28am

Thanks Michel. Graphene is something I'm interested in, oddly enough. Awesome article.

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