I never realized the moonrise was so bloody. It hangs over the hazy lights of the city like an attacking alien planet, looking much more like Mars than Mars, which actually looks like a star, and is only slightly red if you squint really, really hard. Outside the city, on an empty access road, I get the best view I can afford, but even here in the prairies, I am resentful of all the things in my way. I’ve reaffirmed my vague ambition to drive to the desert and sleep under the stars sometime. I can imagine the huddled masses…
The Science Creative Quarterly
By J. J. S. Boyce
J.J.S. Boyce is a Canadian science teacher and sometimes writer, and he's never met a scientific field, sub-field, or interdisciplinary venture he didn't like. He tries to use both sides of his brain regularly, but will probably never know enough opera to be a Jeopardy! champion. His book reviews can be found at Green Man Review, other works are at Terry, SCQ, and occasionally in print media.
ON SYMMETRY (AND ITS DESIRABLE, POSSIBLE, AND ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES WITH RESPECT TO THEOLOGY, PARTICLE PHYSICS, AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
I’ve been thinking lately about the prevalence of symmetry in so many philosophies, ideologies, and such. It seems like just about every major world religion, if not every major religion, has some concept of good versus evil; light versus dark — dancing an endless waltz; a delicate, fragile deadlock, which, despite all odds, never loses its equilibrium. There must be some subtle gyroscope at work, maintaining the balance. A god beyond God? The thing is, all these varying belief systems seem to agree that this balance exists, that there is a counteraction to each action, that there is a shadow…
WHAT IS THE POINT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION?
Recently I have found myself in the unintentional, and unenviable, position of final stumbling block to a young lad’s high school graduation. It seems he’s been managing to meet all the minimal requirements for a high school diploma, save one: a grade 10 general science credit. After three years and as many attempts, he is no closer to receiving a passing grade, and convocation is just a few months away. He is not a scholar. His transcript is a string of numbers ranging only from the low- to mid-50s. In education it is generally understood that a student with a…
THE ART OF SCIENCE – THE SCIENCE OF ART?
We started a new unit in my grade 12 biology class yesterday, on the mechanisms of inheritance. I wanted to impress on my students how the recognition of DNA as the code for life pervaded and altered the public consciousness. In a century that had already seen (and would later see) more history-changing events in science than perhaps the previous two or three centuries put together, DNA still stands out. I even suggested that the DNA double-helix might be the most recognizable scientific icon of all time [1]. So, I started out the lesson by telling them about my favourite…
CHINESE COOKING: THE INDUCTION HEATER
As a recent Canadian ex-patriate, currently living in the Mysterious East, I find it interesting to note some of the technical differences between the two societies. Architecture, infrastructure, and day-to-day technology often differ in subtle ways. You may or may not be aware that China, as a developing country, has no Three-Phase electric power. Which is what, exactly? At the conclusion of the Current Wars, at the turn of the 20th century, alternating current became the standard. What this means is that instead of a continuous supply of one-way current coming our way from the electric plant, what we have…