News Stories

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

Ah the heady days when Cosmos, one of the best shows ever, had me glued to the TV. That show, and the emergence of the Space Shuttle did wonders to pique my curiosity in science. I spent a lot of time learning everything I could about Astronomy. Nowadays, it's various websites that keep me informed.

Endless "Inspired" Soul

You mean if Vexx and his colleagues didn't attempt to brainwash you with fluoride and radio beams from satellites, you wouldn't be interested in science?

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

Ah the heady days when Cosmos, one of the best shows ever, had me glued to the TV. That show, and the emergence of the Space Shuttle did wonders to pique my curiosity in science. I spent a lot of time learning everything I could about Astronomy. Nowadays, it's various websites that keep me informed.

Endless "Inspired" Soul

Dr. Tyson wrote a book describing just that, and that nowadays not just America, but the whole world needs another reason to look up into space again.

He says that after the space race has died down, humanity has stopped dreaming and has become too content with staying on this rock. His objective now is to invoke the same curiosity and wonder in people as when he first watched Cosmos.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Are you blaming Mythbusters for decrease in scientific literacy? Have you ever seen an episode of the show yourself?

What Mythbusters is educating is something more important than knowing science itself. It is teaching people the scientific method, searching for evidence to back up anything no matter how weird or mundane the claim is.

In fact Mythbusters is way more efficient at spreading scientific literacy than pure science documentaries that throw facts at the audience, which I also support, but it requires the audience to already be scientifically literate to a certain extent.

Its really insulting to see Mythbusters grouped together with Ancient Aliens, where one is based on thorough experimentation and evidence based skeptical reasoning while the other is made up of people who claim to be scientists.

If Mythbusters didn't exist, the amount of scientifically illiterate people would be much more than it is now.

Keep ya panties on.

I actually know that. I used to watch the show all the time when I had pay tv, I know how much effort they put into things (I even met Adam Savage once!).

I was making a joke at how if things aren't exciting these days people would probably be less inclined to watch it.

The Ancient Aliens bit was meant as a dig at that show - ya know 'heaven forbid', I probably shouldn't have included them since it was an afterthought.

[C.A.]

Great to hear, and since I've been talking about them so much, I might as well add that they have a youtube channel where Adam and Jamie are interviewed every week for a whole array of subjects: http://www.youtube.com/user/testedcom

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

You mean if Vexx and his colleagues didn't attempt to brainwash you with fluoride and radio beams from satellites, you wouldn't be interested in science?

lol

Originally Posted by C.A.

Dr. Tyson wrote a book describing just that, and that nowadays not just America, but the whole world needs another reason to look up into space again.

He says that after the space race has died down, humanity has stopped dreaming and has become too content with staying on this rock. His objective now is to invoke the same curiosity and wonder in people as when he first watched Cosmos.

Yeah I completely agree with him. Back then, news about Astronomy was shown almost nightly. "Voyager passed this point...", "Viking discovered this about Mars...", "New photos of Saturn arrived today...", etc. Astronomical science (among other sciences) was at the forefront of everyone's minds. The 70's and 80's of my youth really were a time of wonder.

Now unless it's something really amazing that happened (such as that photo where every point of light is another galaxy. What a mind-blower that was!), one hardly hears about astronomical science in mainstream media. One has to search for news, if they can be bothered with searching at all. It's disappointing to see the general attitude these days.

Endless "Lamentations" Soul

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Dr. Tyson wrote a book describing just that, and that nowadays not just America, but the whole world needs another reason to look up into space again.

He says that after the space race has died down, humanity has stopped dreaming and has become too content with staying on this rock. His objective now is to invoke the same curiosity and wonder in people as when he first watched Cosmos.

What we need is a near miss with a planet killing asteroid. A good reminder of how vulnerable we truly are.

[C.A.]

That shall be Apophis that comes by 2029 and will circle back really quick on 2036 with a 1 in 45000 chance to crash right into the Pacific, cavitating a 3 mile wide and tall splash of water that will wipe out coastal cities.

I know that because I've heard it from Dr. Tyson about a dozen times.

We better restart our space program soon.

[Badkarma 1]

I always figured we'd be living on the moon by the 21st century, but alas we're still earth bound.
Lack of imagination, lack of funds, hell we don't even have a shuttle anymore! And we're dependent on Russia to get to the international space station too boot, which might be in jeopardy due the Snowden thing (who I think deserves a medal for what he did!).
Well at least we still have the probes on various planets, and their sendin back some increadibke stuff! We do indeed need to get back into space, and start dreamin again! Dale

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I'll dig through my old files and see what I can write for a single post. Going to take a day or so.

You don't need to go through so much effort. You've read and been exposed to information that shaped your opinions. This is a casual online discussion forum, not a journal; you can provide sources or make long posts if you want to, but it's not necessary. There may be some inaccuracies in going from memory, but that's OK. My request is just that you go a step farther. If you find yourself typing that someone doesn't understand something, erase it and write why you think they're incorrect. If someone challenges your opinion, back yourself up by providing a bit more information and/or expanding your thoughts. I can't guarantee that you'll change the mind of the person you're directly conversing with, but you'll be educating a lot of people in the process.

Originally Posted by Solace

2. There's nothing for society to rally around as a big science moment.

Good point. I also wonder if some of the lack of drive is due to people being too content. For example, consider what happened with vaccines. When children were regularly lost to or crippled by disease, vaccine development and implementation was a big deal. The vaccines were a success, but now we've gone a generation or two with none of that suffering. Vaccines are still under development for certain diseases, but society doesn't care - without the experience of the original diseases, there's even a backlash against vaccines.

From a biological research standpoint, there are still many issues that we have to work on. Yet most people don't encounter those issues in their own lives, or if they do, it isn't until they're older. That removes a sense of urgency. Chemistry and physics are likely similar. People are comfortable, and we're more focused inward and on ourselves than ever before. Forget about looking up at the sky and wondering what's out there; who even looks around at their surroundings and contemplates them anymore? We're all glued to screens.

Besides more money or more material things, what more could you want from life? I'm sure many of you on this forum have some dreams or visions you'd like to suggest, yet the bar has been raised. I would imagine that if you asked most people, they wouldn't be able to think of anything outside of their day-to-day frustrations ("less traffic," "lose weight," and so on). If they're content with the way things are, then what's the point of spending money to chase some dream that may or may not ever materialize?

Originally Posted by Solace

Science became less about the big stuff and more about the little stuff, and much of that little stuff was pushed by companies as "it's so amazing, even stupid people can use it", as well as the disposable generation "don't bother fixing it, just go get a new one".

The aspect of the "disposable generation" is probably one of the worst offenders in removing scientific curiosity. At least if people fixed their own things then they would be exposed to understanding how things work. They would likely also feel empowered; after all, if you can fix something, you can change it and possibly make it better. But the devices that are so central to our lives now - computers, phones, and other bits of technology - are not so tangible. Even for the parts that are, the learning curve is much more steep than for many mechanical applications.

It's funny, in a way, because this has also happened within the scientific field itself. I've had older scientists complain to me over our usage of pre-made kits for running certain experiments. "I used to make all of this stuff from scratch," is what they would say. We're saving a lot of time and effort for little added expense by not making everything from scratch, but I wonder what it's done to people. I've occasionally asked how things worked, or "what would happen if"-style questions, and some of my peers would not know the answer. You can still perform the experiments and make discoveries without that knowledge, but it becomes more likely that certain things would be overlooked, or that certain problems would not be solved properly.

[Sugetsu]

It is terrible to see the current state of division in the US. Take for example the 3 major TV news networks; only MSNBC is covering the march for civil rights going on right now in Washington DC, it is just like a media black out. If this was a tea party rally all 3 major networks would be covering it.

The reason is not a mystery to me; the civil rights movement is led by left leaning people and conservatives want nothing to do with it, this a far cry of the times when both sides would support this movement.

The tension and divide between left and right is wider than its ever been. I wonder if all this tension could eventually lead to violence and major instability ala Arab Spring in the middle east.

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by Sugetsu

I wonder if all this tension could eventually lead to violence and major instability ala Arab Spring in the middle east.

Not until the economy also deteriorate to the level of those area, that's the real driver behind much of those uprisings.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by kyp275

Not until the economy also deteriorate to the level of those area, that's the real driver behind much of those uprisings.

in certain parts of the country (Mississippi delta, Appalachians) it is as bad or worse in some cases. And those areas are solid Red.

[kyp275]

Yea, but you'd need a significant portion of the population to be under that condition for the type of uprising Sugetsu is talking about.

[ganbaru]

Lawyer for George Zimmerman chides him for visiting gun factory
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...97N0CT20130824

Big brands race to secure luxury supplies from reptiles to roses
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...97M0CT20130823

[Ithekro]

Well this is a new one for me. And I did a thesis on state seperatist movements. This one sounds a bit like the State of Jefferson from 1941.

51st State Takes a Step Forward

4 rural Colorado counties will include ballot measure, 7 others considering it

http://www.newser.com/story/172843/5...mpaign=rss_top

At least four rural Colorado counties will vote Nov. 5 on whether to make "Northern Colorado" the 51st state. Fed up with what they see as a lack of representation in Denver, Weld County this week became the largest county to get on board, after its commissioners voted to place the referendum on its fall ballot; Cheyenne, Sedgwick, and Yuma counties will do the same, the Washington Times reports. Voters will be asked whether they want their counties to "pursue becoming the 51st state of the United States of America?" That state would potentially be composed of 11 counties—the other seven are still considering the referendum, ABC Denver reports. But a "yes" vote would still leave a number of hurdles to clear.

First, the state legislature would need to re-configure the borders in the state constitution; then, a majority in both houses of Congress would need to approve the move (the president's OK isn't needed, however). Experts think the chances of success are slim, though it's not without precedent: Maine broke off from Massachusetts in the 19th century, as West Virginia did from Virginia; but recent efforts in California, Washington, and New York to do the same have gone nowhere. There is one other possibility, per a 51st State Initiative rep: Wyoming could annex the counties. (Another possibility for 51st state: New Columbia.)

[SaintessHeart]

Yes.
YES.
YES.

CEO Ballmer retires as Microsoft struggles to modernize

*pops champagne*

They are not the only ones scrutinised btw. HP is famous for having incompetent CEOs too. And I bet willx can give you guys a Top100 list.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Yes.
YES.
YES.

CEO Ballmer retires as Microsoft struggles to modernize

*pops champagne*

They are not the only ones scrutinised btw. HP is famous for having incompetent CEOs too. And I bet willx can give you guys a Top100 list.

But in the other way, Blackberry is giving more than 50 millions to their ex-CEO than did such bad job...

[Chaos2Frozen]

Doesn't he still have one more year to go?

Also, Microsoft's stocks rose after this news was announced...^^

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Doesn't he still have one more year to go?

Also, Microsoft's stocks rose after this news was announced...^^

Isn't that obvious? Everybody wants him to go, even fund managers. In fact, alot of good people quit MS because of him for the past 10 years or so.

And where did they go?

Apple.

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Isn't that obvious? Everybody wants him to go, even fund managers. In fact, alot of good people quit MS because of him for the past 10 years or so.

And where did they go?

Apple.

Well, MS corporate culture is rather infamous for it's inter department rivalry. Not being able to get things done because you would step on the toes of another department is just plan tiring in the long run, and not helping the company either. And frankly, his at fault for not reining in this or maybe even encouraging it.



Altered Images: New twist in scandal that rocked charity

Altered Images
Questioning whether cameras never lie

They were scandalous photos that almost brought down China's biggest charity - and this week the "Guo Meimei" affair took a new twist.

When the glamorous young woman, whose microblog profile said she worked for a company linked to the country's Red Cross Society, posted photos of herself posing on the bonnet of luxury cars and carrying designer handbags, the public was outraged. They wanted to know how she was funding such a lavish lifestyle. And despite the Red Cross pointing out that she was not employed by the charity, claims of a lack of transparency at the organisation - coupled with the fact that Weibo - China's Twitter equivalent - had incorrectly verified her profile - meant questions persisted. The charity is still rebuilding its reputation today.

It turned out Guo had exaggerated her role and her possessions were said to have been gifts. But as Time magazine reported in 2011: "Guo became an unwitting poster girl for the murky world of Chinese philanthropy, in which donations have long been suspected of funding more than just charitable causes." She even earned herself a spot on the front of Time - except the cover doing the rounds turned out to be faked.

This week, amid a Chinese government crackdown on "rumour-mongers", Beijing police arrested two men from a PR company they allege exploited the scandal - along with a host of other examples of spreading false information, reports news agency Xinhua. They're alleged to have made up information to influence opinion online, including false rumours that civil servants were obliged to donate to the Red Cross, reports Xinhua.

Commenting after the arrests, the Beijing Times said: "The fabrication and spread of rumours and other criminal activities are currently running amok on the internet," However, the government action has also provoked concerns over free speech. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post noted the unusual publicity surrounding the arrest and argued the arrests might "coincide with a concerted government campaign to discredit outspoken liberals and crack down on dissent".

Rather thought provoking I think. Reining in the free press or going after dishonest people? (Or maybe a bit of both)

I personally believe the phrase: You can have freedom of speech, but not freedom from the consequences of your speech.