So I got my hands on a copy of Cosmos.. I watched the first episode so far and wow, oh wow.. Carl Sagan is the man. I could post a hundred things in that mind = blown thread just from episode one.
Very well done, can't wait to start reading Demon-Haunted World... thanks again to this thread for opening my eyes to this area of study.. so closely related to my field but yet I hadn't even had a sniff that it was there.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
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So I got my hands on a copy of Cosmos.. I watched the first episode so far and wow, oh wow.. Carl Sagan is the man. I could post a hundred things in that mind = blown thread just from episode one.
Very well done, can't wait to start reading Demon-Haunted World... thanks again to this thread for opening my eyes to this area of study.. so closely related to my field but yet I hadn't even had a sniff that it was there.
Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.
* The book is over one billion words long.
* The book is bound in 5,000 300 page volumes.
* The book fits into a cell nucleus the size of a pinpoint.
* A copy of the book (all 5000 volumes) is contained in every cell (except red blood cells) as a strand of DNA over two miles in length.
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'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
Not really news, because there's been lots of evidence of the behavior for years, but these amazing photos of sperm whales feeding on a giant squid made my science week.
A violent explosion picked up by a NASA satellite earlier this year is the oldest object ever seen by astronomers, its light having been emitted some 13 billion years ago. At that time the universe was roughly 5 percent of its present age and the big bang was a fairly recent occurrence, having taken place just 600 million years earlier.
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Ares I-X has lifted off into the Florida sky and done what it was designed to do: lift off, test the flight software, perform a separation maneuver, and test the recovery system. This is a great day for the Ares I-X Mission Management Office, and a first step toward NASA’s next generation of human spaceflight. More details on the data will be coming out over the next several days, weeks, and months.
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'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icon
dear god is he 14?
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That is my favorite part of the Cosmos series so far. When he goes on the "calender" and points out the part of it that represents our time as a species on this earth.. which was equivalent to I believe 15 seconds in a years worth of time.
God I love this thread.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
That is my favorite part of the Cosmos series so far. When he goes on the "calender" and points out the part of it that represents our time as a species on this earth.. which was equivalent to I believe 15 seconds in a years worth of time.
God I love this thread.
Yes, the Cosmic Calendar.
The cosmic calendar compresses the local history of the universe into a single year. … We humans appear on the cosmic calendar so recently that our recorded history occupies only the last few seconds of the last minute of December 31st.
Where did we come from? What makes us human? An explosion of recent discoveries sheds light on these questions, and NOVA's comprehensive, three-part special, "Becoming Human," examines what the latest scientific research reveals about our hominid relatives.
Part 1, "First Steps," examines the factors that caused us to split from the other great apes. The program explores the fossil of "Selam," also known as "Lucy's Child." Paleoanthropologist Zeray Alemseged spent five years carefully excavating the sandstone-embedded fossil. NOVA's cameras are there to capture the unveiling of the face, spine, and shoulder blades of this 3.3 million-year-old fossil child. And NOVA takes viewers "inside the skull" to show how our ancestors' brains had begun to change from those of the apes.
Why did leaps in human evolution take place? "First Steps" explores a provocative "big idea" that sharp swings of climate were a key factor.
A must see for us science geeks.
__________________ Allskonar fyrir Aumingja!!
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Nova Documentary on PBS tonight, part 1 of 3 Becoming Human: First Steps.
A must see for us science geeks.
Good doc, I am a little surprised they didn't bring up "Ardi" in their quest though. Maybe the Ardi find wasn't available to them at the time of shooting.
I liked the part where they figured we started walking on 2 feet to save energy,(ape use 4 times the energy to move than we do?) my theory was we did it so we could carry food over distances to our family's but i never hear that..oh well, I'm no scientist either.
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I missed it, WHY OH WHY GOD DID I MISS THE BUMP IN THIS THREAD
Damn son of bitch. Anyway to watch it? Or just wait for part two? Hurry up and watch it Thor so you guys can give me a detailed, SECOND BY SECOND recount of the show. Actually if you just want to re act it out,tape it, and post it here that would be great.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
I missed it, WHY OH WHY GOD DID I MISS THE BUMP IN THIS THREAD
Damn son of bitch. Anyway to watch it? Or just wait for part two? Hurry up and watch it Thor so you guys can give me a detailed, SECOND BY SECOND recount of the show. Actually if you just want to re act it out,tape it, and post it here that would be great.
Streaming not available on-line in Canada, but transcript is here:
Good doc, I am a little surprised they didn't bring up "Ardi" in their quest though. Maybe the Ardi find wasn't available to them at the time of shooting.
I liked the part where they figured we started walking on 2 feet to save energy,(ape use 4 times the energy to move than we do?) my theory was we did it so we could carry food over distances to our family's but i never hear that..oh well, I'm no scientist either.
Yeah the energy to walk thing got me too, that was truly a big leap for evolution.
I think the coolest was how they've been able to take core samples from the ocean and sedimentary layers to show just how unstable the weather was for that key jump start in our evolution for those 200,000 yrs.
It seems intuitive really, that extreme changes in an environment is such a strong force for change and adaptation for species, and obviously makes a ton of sense for why after brain development had flat-lined for those 4 million years of pretty stable environment.
I get a real kick of how every discipline in science helps solve mysteries in others, I mean the use of DNA to date our split from the common ancestor to approx 5.7 million years is a massively important thing to have learned. Considering we had previously thought it would be around 3 million years ago.
Great start to the series, hopefully once all 3 are shown they'll offer a cheaper 3 pack than what they are doing now, charging $34.99 for 1 DVD in Blu ray
Btw I'll keep my eyes out for a online version to watch here in Canada.
