Will the world end in 2012?

Answer: No.

Read for a thorough debunking of this pseudoscientific meme that is percolating through popular culture.

Sleep tips from the Mayo Clinic

Here are some great sleep tips

A great quote you might have missed

If you didn't have a chance to read the great article in the NYT on Carolyn Porco, who heads the Casssini space probe studying saturn, I thought I'd highlight one quote from the article, which ties in nicely to what we talked about today:

To my mind, most people go through live recoiling from its best parts," Porco told The New York Times. "They miss the enrichment that just a basic knowledge of the physical world can bring to the most ordinary experiences. It's like there's a pulsating, hidden world, governed by ancient laws and principles, underlying everything around us -- from the movements of electrical charges to the motions of planets -- and most people are completely unaware of it. To me that's a shame." A shame, indeed.

Also, you might be interested in knowing a bit more about this amazing photo I linked to. Here's a description from BadAstronomy.com. Saturn-shine is a amazing concept...


That, duh, is Saturn, taken by the ever-amazing Cassini spacecraft. It’s actually 75 different exposures stitched together, and was taken on August 12, just a little over a day after Saturnian equinox, when the Sun shines straight along the rings. The illumination from the Sun is about the same everywhere, but on the left the rings are illuminated by Saturn-shine glowing down on them, making them a bit brighter.

Humorous idea for the day

Luckily, in this class pain doesn't have to be your teacher.

Are you living well or preparing to live well?

Another great post from study hacks. Here's a quote:

The happiest students are those who try to shape their life into something that’s meaningful, quality, and enjoyable right now; the type who get excited about the philosophy seminar they got into, and then spend an early Fall day outside getting acquainted with the reading. These students aren’t afraid of hard work, but they keep it carefully contained, because they know there’s a lifetime more where that came from, and if they can’t handle it well now, when will they ever?



If you’re not trying to live well now, what are you waiting for?

Remember, I'm always free during backwork (or just about any other time) to talk to you about how to put these ideas into action.

Definitely worth 20 minutes of your time

No matter what your politics are, you should take 20 minutes to watch this speech by the president today about how hard work and goal setting can help you to achieve your dreams, and solve the world's problems. It's wonderful speech worth serious thought.

Space Probes and Messages to Other Civilizations

In class yesterday, we talked about Pioneer 10, a space probe launched in 1977 to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and that has now left our solar system. We also discussed that Pioneer 10 contained a plaque featuring a series of pictures designed to communicate a message from humankind in case the probe should be encountered by extraterrestrial civilizations. You can click on the image below to get a larger image.

In class, I said that Pioneer 10 was the furthest man-made object from the earth. This is untrue. That record is now head by the Voyager 1, a space probe launched a few years later. Voyager was able to pass Pioneer 10 thanks to a number of gravity assisted speed boost from passing close to the outer planets.

In addition, Voyager contained the golden record I mentioned in class that contains a message for any extraterrestrial civilization it might encounter.

You can listen to a wonderful story about the creation of this record told by Ann Druyen, widow of the great scientist Carl Sagan, whose idea it was to make the record in the first place. This story is part of the incredible Raidolab podcast, simply one of the very best shows you can listen to on your ipod.



Voyager 1 also plays a central role in the original Star Trek movie, which is a pretty funny look back to a young William Shatner 1970s imagining of the future.

So what would YOU put on a record to extraterresterials? Here's a podcast with answers from comedian Margaret Cho, composer Phillip Glass, Chef Alice Waters, and authors Michael Cunningham and Neil Gaiman.

Idea for the day

How is this an appropriate metaphor for our (mine and your) relationship in this class? Comments welcome.

HT (hat tip)-Dan Meyer, teacher extraordinaire.