Banishim Gods

[A Nonny Moose]

I like a good argument as well as any, but theology is definitely not my bag.  A life of scientific pursuits is hard on a kid raised in a Roman Catholic family, and I'm afraid I've become a bit of an iconoclast.

I've been retired now for quite a long time and no longer have access to all the academic sources I had, so am captive of the daily BS to a great extent.  I do read between the lines, however.

I am rather hoping that when CERN fires up the LHC with its new oomph, they can actually get a handle not so much on the mythical dark matter, but gravitons and magnetons.  If we don't get better propulsion systems than Newtonian mechanics, we won't be going anywhere very quickly.

Meanwhile, I still like the idea of the universe existing forever in a steady state.  I will even concede there might be a few bumps and big bangs in the road.  I also have read and still read a lot of science fiction (not the scum fum you see on the media), and I also like the idea of a multiverse.  How may have read H. Beam Piper's Paratime novels?

[Chon Waen]

Isn't .10c about the max using newtonian as it stands?
Regardless, unless we have a better way to deflect mass at even that speed, our craft are going to be screwed up by any grain of sand we run into out there.

Astronomical odds seem to diminish significantly the faster one goes.

[A Nonny Moose]

The biggest problem with physically going very fast is that the vacuum of interstellar space isn't one.  It is full of junk and debris.  I like the idea of "warp" drive where you bend space enough to translate from one part of the field to another in some kind of no-space, no-time.  This is not exactly the Star Trek model, but sort of like constructing a worm hole.

Of course, the problem here is where do we get the horrendously huge amount of power for this?  Scotty, the dilithium crystals are not in the chamber!

[rkelly17]

We could definitely do with better science reporting. Most of the time one reads articles in the newspaper and thinks, "This reporter has no idea what he is talking about!" I have subscribed to one or two amateur astronomy magazines to try and keep up. I let my subscriptions lapse, but I still get the weekly e-mail up date from Sky and Telescope. It's free and though it focuses on observing there are some links to more comprehensive studies. Nice pictures, too.

[A Nonny Moose]

Recently I opened a web identity on the NGS site, and it is getting to be a PITA.  But they did offer me some nice wallpapers today.

[Chon Waen]

Even if it were possible to generate enough power to open a wormhole, isn't it an even bigger problem to stabilize it? Something about needing exotic matter with a negative energy state. Needless to say, we haven't  observed this in nature, and although its been theoretically proposed, it may just be something as elusive (and as fictional) as the aether that was hunted for in our not-incredibly distant past.

[A Nonny Moose]

Is it not possible that the "dark matter" is the same kind of myth as the particulate aether?

[salamander]

As an instructor in the biology field, definitely a form of science, I can tell you that a large part of the problem I have in classes is getting students to 'unlearn' the incorrect concepts they've been taught.  I really don't understand what the problem is, other than the fact that many people, including teachers at all levels, don't want to admit they don't know something, so they make something up.  Whether it's correct or not doesn't seem to matter. 

[A Nonny Moose]

As an instructor in the biology field, definitely a form of science, I can tell you that a large part of the problem I have in classes is getting students to 'unlearn' the incorrect concepts they've been taught.  I really don't understand what the problem is, other than the fact that many people, including teachers at all levels, don't want to admit they don't know something, so they make something up.  Whether it's correct or not doesn't seem to matter. 

The worst part is that in the post-secondary world you get a lot of illiterate and innumerate students.  You often have to bring them to an acceptable level or drop them into bone-head English and Math courses.  And, of course, many of them have never learned the concept of critical thinking.

[rkelly17]

The worst part is that in the post-secondary world you get a lot of illiterate and innumerate students.  You often have to bring them to an acceptable level or drop them into bone-head English and Math courses.  And, of course, many of them have never learned the concept of critical thinking.

Isn't that the truth! And it doesn't end at the undergraduate level. I can't tell you how many graduate students I've had who can't write a 1000 word essay or make a rational argument to save their lives. I once had an English major graduate from UC Berkeley who had gone through a four-year BA without ever once writing a paper! That was even back in the day when UCB was one of the best in the world and in the halcyon days before I became a cynical old fart. 

[A Nonny Moose]

The worst part is that in the post-secondary world you get a lot of illiterate and innumerate students.  You often have to bring them to an acceptable level or drop them into bone-head English and Math courses.  And, of course, many of them have never learned the concept of critical thinking.

Isn't that the truth! And it doesn't end at the undergraduate level. I can't tell you how many graduate students I've had who can't write a 1000 word essay or make a rational argument to save their lives. I once had an English major graduate from UC Berkeley who had gone through a four-year BA without ever once writing a paper! That was even back in the day when UCB was one of the best in the world and in the halcyon days before I became a cynical old fart. 

I am very glad that I have retired from that rat race.  However, you must admit you tend to learn more from your students than they from you.

[rkelly17]

I am very glad that I have retired from that rat race.  However, you must admit you tend to learn more from your students than they from you.

True enough.