Watch/Download the movie (~120Mb mpeg file) image from here | slides – – – Dr. Hadi Dowlatabadi Canada Research Chair, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Global Change. October 24th, 2008 “It’s Your Experiment!” Science Teacher Conference. Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC – – – Description: A 25 minute lecture looking at the value of integration in the pursuit of science and science education. Prof Dowlatabadi research interests involve systems approach to public policy especially when dealing with scientifically complex issues such as interactions between energy, environment and public health; communicable and vector-borne diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue, …); and Global change mitigation,…
The Science Creative Quarterly
From archive
STOP ANIMAL VIOLENCE NOW!
Dear Animal Empathizer, It’s a scene that’d be shocking if it wasn’t all too common: An innocent baby seal is stalked, murdered, its skull crushed, its bloodied body used and abused for nefarious purposes. But the perpetrator of this heinous hate crime isn’t a furrier or poacher, protected from punishment by a right-wing “population control” zealot: This serial killer of seals is a polar bear, and it’s being protected by you. Animal Wrongs. It’s the taboo topic we in the animal rights movement never dare discuss-too radical even for the radicals. Yet animal on animal violence kills more creatures each…
CAN YOU SOLVE PUZZLE FANTASTICA #3?
(Previously: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4) – – – O.K. o.k. so we’ve been ultra delinquent with keeping on top of the PF3 puzzle, and for that we heartily apologize. But here we go – the proverbial home stretch. As it stands what did happen was that somewhere in the conversation, in the comments, in the hypothesizing, the answer was indeed found. However, in a manner that some might say happens also in the scientific process, the answer when proclaimed was done so in a way that didn’t really reflect a full on “aha!” moment. Truth is, it…
THE ARCTIC PLAYGROUND – SHOULDN’T WE DO OUR HOMEWORK BEFORE WE START PLAYING?
For some a voyage through the Canadian Arctic may be one of the most exciting and thrilling adventures one could dream of: indeed, hundreds of kilometres of virgin land and cold vastness have challenged thousands of explorers in the past. Many of these arctic adventurers shared a common goal: to seek a navigable passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Thanks to Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, and his crew, a 400 year search for a shorter sea route between Europe and the Orient was finally crowned with success at the beginning of the 20th century. Amundsen was the first…
AN ARACHNOLOGICAL GUIDE TO THE SPIDERS FROM MARS
Stardust Dreamweaver (Arachnidius centauri) One of the most deadly of all Martian spiders, the Stardust Dreamweaver doesn’t inject venom into its prey directly. Instead, it surrounds it in a hazy cosmic jive, distracting its victim. Easily trapping its meal, the Stardust Dreamweaver then cocoons it in a hideous kabuki-style space age outfit and subjects it to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” also known as the “Hey Song.” Once the victim’s brain hemorrhages, the Stardust Dreamweaver devours its prey. This arachnid dwells deep within the velvet goldmines of the United Kingdom. It is prized by garment makers for its…
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY: DOES SCIENCE MATTER?
— Watch/Download the movie (~168Mb mpeg file) | image from here — – – – Dr. William Rees. Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning. October 24th, 2008 “It’s Your Experiment!” Science Teacher Conference. Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC – – – Description: A 30 minute lecture looking at whether science is enough. And if not, what elements of human behaviour are dictating or thwarting our efforts towards a sustainable future. Prof Rees’ teaching and research focus on the public policy and planning implications of global environmental trends and the necessary ecological conditions for sustainable socioeconomic development. Much of this work…
NOTHING TO CROW ABOUT
“Crows seem to be able to use causal reasoning to solve a problem, a feat previously undocumented in any other non-human animal, including chimps.” — NewScientist.com News Service, September 17, 2008 I don’t understand what all the fuss is about crows. Sure, they can “fly” and stuff, but come on, they’re birds. So what if some scientists recently discovered that crows used casual reasoning to figure out how to get food from an especially tricky tube? I could do that easily. I don’t find tubes tricky at all. Rain sticks are still something of a puzzle for me, but those…
EVALUATION OF BOUYANT, DRAG AND STAR WARS FORCES ON ENT DERIVED ENGINEERED DEBRIS JAMS
Originally under: DARTHOLOMEW VADER AND DROGO PROUDFOOT*, Department of philosophical biology, University of Tatooine at Mos Eiseley. * Direct correspondence to University of the South Farthing, Crickhollow, Buckland Middle Earth. (Also available as a pdf) * * * Abstract: We used computer flow models and high definition vertical and horizontal GPS to measure the stability of engineered Ent debris jams in deciduous forest streams. We tested the effect of in-situ buoyant, drag and Star Wars forces on the stability of Ent-derived jams. These results were compared to equivalent forces applied to debris jams made from simple large woody debris and…
ANOTHER EYE
The Eye followed the rusty-skin fall leaves collapse on their damp-green bed. Razors cut plum clouds, opening a show of sepia sky. To Clove smoke ashes eyes danced, lips dry, exhales of industrial amounts of smoke. Outside, on the faded deck behind his family’s house, is where the Eye spent most of his time, smoking and reading. The mind was coated with increasing Agoraphobia. The mind? No, he was not a Dualist. His vision of Dualism is that it is tantamount to an ignorance of walking. Hitting a baseball with an invisible bat is impossible, as it goes against the…