I never saw the attachment so many have to Carl Sagan. He was a popular scientist, not someone I would look up to as a poetic hero.
He was the rare scientist that could communicate complex ideas to the public at large. I think many people in the 1980s were turned on to science and humanism by the Cosmos series and his books.
Neil deGrasse Tyson seems like the same sort of person.
I never saw the attachment so many have to Carl Sagan. He was a popular scientist, not someone I would look up to as a poetic hero.
While "poetic hero" might be a bit strong, Sagan went beyond being a popular scientist. He was really the first to show how science could be made appealing to the masses (for those of us old enough to remember being left in awe after watching Cosmos on TV). He also made a lot of contributions towards teaching critical thought - his "Baloney Detection Kit" in particular is a very worthwhile read. More than that, though, he was able to convey his sense of the beauty and wonder of the universe to others - that's probably where the "poetic" bit comes from.
He was the rare scientist that could communicate complex ideas to the public at large. I think many people in the 1980s were turned on to science and humanism by the Cosmos series and his books.
Neil deGrasse Tyson seems like the same sort of person.
He was the rare scientist that could communicate complex ideas to the public at large. I think many people in the 1980s were turned on to science and humanism by the Cosmos series and his books.
Neil deGrasse Tyson seems like the same sort of person.
That is interesting. I always like to hear what books formed the foundation of someone's life.
It wasn't just his books and PBS show, but the implications it formed in an adolescent mind. A desire to seek the truth. Joseph Campbell had a similar effect. It caused me to go deeper and study the scientists, artists and philosophers from human history.
Yes, it's quite hard to believe
That we all come from the same seed:
The scrub, the cockroach and the human being
It's hard to see how the perfection of complex organs was achieved without an engineer
But all you see is the human eye
On top of the mountain peak, so high
A steep wall of rock
Impossible to climb
Our imagination is left behind
But there is a gentle slope on the backside
And even worms have simple eyes
That help them distinguish darkness from light
Our brains are accustomed to the scope of a lifetime
We will never be able to see how the sluggish vessel of evolution
Is slowly creeping up the hill
Uphill
There's no other solution
There's no other solution
There's no alternative to the theory of evolution
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
Yes, it's quite hard to believe
That we all come from the same seed:
The scrub, the cockroach and the human being
It's hard to see how the perfection of complex organs was achieved without an engineer
But all you see is the human eye
On top of the mountain peak, so high
A steep wall of rock
Impossible to climb
Our imagination is left behind
But there is a gentle slope on the backside
And even worms have simple eyes
That help them distinguish darkness from light
Our brains are accustomed to the scope of a lifetime
We will never be able to see how the sluggish vessel of evolution
Is slowly creeping up the hill
Uphill
There's no other solution
There's no other solution
There's no alternative to the theory of evolution
The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can undergo limited transdifferentiation and regenerate organs, such as salamanders, which can regrow limbs. Turritopsi nutricula, on the other hand, can regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will outline a revamped space policy on Thursday that will use $6 billion in new funding over five years to create 2,500 new jobs in Florida with the ultimate goal of going to Mars. Science
Obama has been facing criticism from some members of the far-flung U.S. space community over the direction of space policy after NASA officials announced plans in March to kill the Constellation program that had been designed to launch astronauts into orbit and return Americans to the moon.
The Constellation program, developed under the Bush administration, was aimed at returning astronauts to the moon in the 2020s to clear the way for a Mars mission.
White House officials said on Tuesday that Obama wants NASA to begin work on building a new heavy lift rocket sooner than envisioned under the canceled Constellation program, with a commitment to decide in 2015 on the specific rocket that will take astronauts deeper into space
is this new money, or just shifting around funds from other research endeavors? For example, earlier this year, it was announced that cancer research funding would double to $6B. Turns out NIH budget was increased by just ~$0.5B. The dollars were just shifted around from AIDs or diabetes or other health areas to cancer. Good for us in the cancer research field, sucks for others
