The planet doesn’t care about us. We live on a chunk of rock that follows the bend of space-time around a massive ball of Hydrogen. This rock is home to more species than we can count, and yet it seems the only species that counts is Homo Sapiens. We beat out all the other members …
Galactic Map
This week I downloaded an application called Exoplanets onto my iPhone. Not only does it have a list of confirmed extra-solar planets (some 825 and counting in the database), but it also has the ability to plot the discoveries in terms of mass, density, distance, semi-major axis, and many other variables. My favourite feature, however, …
Three Laws
My favourite author of all time is Isaac Asimov: he crafted the wonderful Foundation series, he penned (or type-writered) countless essays on the importance of science literacy and education, and he’s the mastermind behind I, Robot (remember: the plot of the Will Smith movie had very little to do with the original and amazing book …
New Theme
I haven't posted in a little while. Last week I got busy and didn't have time to reflect on the things I had learned in the previous week, and a reflection from the week before did not jive well with the blog format. It involved graphs created in MS Word. Wordpress did not like these …
Galaxy Collisions
I saw a video today of a NASA supercomputer’s simulation of the collision of two spiral galaxies. It is less than two minutes long but simulates the passage of nearly 2 billion years. I am amazed at how much the behaviour of these truly giant structures resembles the swirling of smoke from an extinguished candle. …
We Are Small
I like to think of myself as a moderately sized human. I’m almost six feet tall and I weigh 80 kg. I can lift heavy objects and reach the cookies on the top shelf. I’m busy with university reading, homework, music, and all manner of other activities. I think I’m pretty important. Until I look …