Progress that doesn’t go viral
Some recent posts have addressed events in astronomy that have attracted attention from the general public. Our astronomer would like to explain something that you’ll probably never hear about.
Normal science
Extremes
They need not actually be spectacular
Our astronomer, somewhat reluctantly, talks about the Supermoon
On textbooks
Learning and re-learning
Textbooks are to learn from, of course. But who is doing the learning, and when?
Hard problems and easy ones
What’s difficult is not always clear
Humans have accomplished some pretty amazing things, from putting men on the Moon (with old technology!) to sequencing their own heredity. But stubborn problems that look much easier persist.
The angle of the light
A photographer and appearances
Our photographer draws our attention to how differently the same objects appear in different light. It’s a lesson easily generalized.
Somone else’s poetry
Why read something you don’t care for?
A minor matter of a subscription raises a point of vital importance.
The postures of photography
Conforming to the machine
Our photographer notices how a new technology forces our bodies into new positions.
Science and the long shot
Why new discoveries are over-hyped
We often hear of new scientific results that promise great things, especially in the health field, but then hear no more of them. Most scientific ideas don’t work out. Why, then, do we still hear the hype?
Ringing the changes
The sophisticated basis of old technology
Our astronomer spent a few years in England, where he learned something of the arcane art of ringing church bells. In the belfries of that country are wonderful examples of essentially Medieval technology that also demonstrate advanced mathematical and physical ideas.
The yellow zone vs. the idiot light
What information are you given as an operator?
Much about automobiles has changed greatly over the past decade or two. Part of it comes from different ideas of what the driver should be doing.