Budding Biologists

The 8 year old performed a dissection in class today.  He recounted the procedures and the parts examined.  The subject was a grasshopper and prior to this morning he didn’t know what a dissection was.

The 12 year old is examining cell and tissue sample and is looking forward to a pig dissection later this month. But he still gets a kick out of seeing a pig on a leash as a pet. 

The 10 year old (tomorrow) spent some time online today learning about slope intersect equations and hours on the couch devouring books. Yet still for his birthday he wants a wood baseball bat “Just my size.”

Further Evidence against the Domestication of Cats

Why do the bad guys in movies so often sit in high back chairs and stroke white cats? It could very well be that cats are naturally inclined to evil and that the bad guys are soothed by the animal that is most like them. 

I know that this may be a controversial opinion but the implications extend beyond my own preferences so I think I have to press forward.  Of particular concern is the impact on impressionable young people. I am constantly faced with the conundrum of sharing the insights I have acquired about cats and letting people discover truths in their own time.

What adds additional complication is when young people have already established their own affinity for cats.  In these situations I need to remember that it is not my place to transfer my view (even though I think it is correct) but I also don’t want to let opportunities for conversation and mutual understanding pass by.

As I said earlier, it is a conundrum.

The Essentials- Science: Standing with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Other Midgets Like Me

In my previous hypothesis post I referred to a scientist’s utility belt.  At the moment I included that term in the post I knew I had to write this post, posthaste.  I had to write this post in order to give proper credit to the person I heard describe a scientist’s utility belt: Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I’m a big fan of Neil’s and enjoy his podcast Startalk and his work on the PBS series NOVA Science Now. 

As described on the internet, Neil (I call him Neil because in my mind we’re tight) is an American astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science.  I heard him talk about the utility belt in an interview with Steven Colbert.  I highly recommend listening to the whole interview but if you want to hear the utility belt comment start at 30:00 then continue on from there.

One of the great things about Neil is that he knows science and he knows how to communicate science.  He also loves and is impressed by it and expresses that every time he talks.  When an elevated degree of drama is required by his subject matter he’ll drop the tone of his voice to a deep and slow baritone allowing the words to resonate with the grandeur they deserve.

You may wonder why, if I hold Neil in such high regard, I would call him a midget.  The reason I’m comfortable with this portrayal is because Neil said it about himself.  He was referring to an Isaac Newton quote, which is also one of my favorites, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.  In response to this notion, and out of reverence for Newton’s work, Neil thought the quote should have been stated “If I have seen further it is because I am standing among midgets.”  

This is why I am big Fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Now back to the utility belt, and back to more from Neil (I’ll paraphrase from here). When asked, “What is science?” and “Is science a bunch of facts?” Neil responded that you don't want someone who can spew out a bunch of facts; you want someone who can figure stuff out.  Science is an understanding of the relationships that are the natural world. A scientist wears a utility belt full of gear that helps interpret the world.  He was careful to distinguish the utility belt from a tool belt.  He said scientists don’t wear a tool belt because if you have a hammer all of your problems look like nails and maybe they're not, maybe their more subtle than that. Some of the implements available to a scientist are mathematical relationships, physical concepts, and knowledge and systems for how to inquire.

One of Neil’s motivations is in increasing scientific literacy for all and that is why I stand next to him, among the other midgets, and so can you if you want.

Are We There Yet?

Is a baby big? Yeah huge – Relative to the circumference of a red blood cell.

Are Isaac Newton’s laws of motion old? Not really – Relative to the age of the Earth.

Space and time are funny because everything is relative.  The theory of special relativity is very famous and is most notably recognized by the equation E=MC².   (For a brief discussion of scientific theories see a previous post found here.  The discussion on theory starts at the 5^th paragraph but if you haven’t read the review yet just start from the top.) Soon after special relativity Einstein recognized that special relativity wasn’t completely compatible with other observations and principles so within 10 years of special relativity he described general relativity in which he proposed the curvature of spacetime.

Awesome.  Right? I’ve seen countless NOVA episodes (an great PBS science show that I highly recommend) and read numerous Scientific American volumes (a pretty cool magazine that I also highly recommend).  These episodes and articles depict relativity in all of its scientific and mathematical glory through images, experts and myriad implications from our everyday lives to the grand mechanics of the cosmos.  I can’t get enough but I also just can’t seem to get it. 

Is general relativity easy to understand? Sure – Relative to special relativity. (I had to smirk when I read that comparison on the Theory of Relativity Wikipedia Page)

I went to school to learn science and I to prepare to teach science.  I feel very fortunate to be able to look at science ideas and process them in a way that I can understand them and communicate them to other people.  There are certain things, like relativity, however that I just don’t get. 

When I read Richard Dawkins’ book on the evidence for evolution The Greatest Show on Earth (previously reviewed on this blog) I found myself thinking, “This all makes so much sense. Everyone should read this book.”  The book covered topics from biology, physics, geology and other sciences.  While the topics were big the reading was light and a joy to consume.

The book was right in my wheelhouse. I had spent several years of my life studying (and at times struggling) with the same topics.  It wasn’t until I read another review of the book by an evolutionary biologist that I realized the limited scope of understanding I had. 

Did I understand evolution well? Definitely – Relative to a fifth grader.

I love science. Not everybody does. Still I believe in science literacy for the masses.  Communicating science (or any subject for that matter) is easy when you are talking with people who already know what you are talking about.  I want to communicate science to people who haven’t spent years in the lecture hall and the lab. I want to speak science to the masses. I’m just not there yet.