Category: History of Science

Eureka on the Radio

SteelyKid and The Pip illustrate the process of science.

Yesterday, I drove through the slush to Albany to do an appearance on KERA radio’s “Think” from a studio there. The audio is at that link. It was a bit of a strange experience, because I drove to a place to do the interview in a radio studio, but I was the only one in… Continue reading Eureka on the Radio

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 10: Anagrams. Oy.

Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. From Judge Starling Tumblr post linked in text.

The final step of the scientific process is to share your results with others, and that’s the step where things are most prone to breaking down. Countless great discoveries have been delayed or temporarily lost because the people who made them were more concerned with protecting “their” secrets than with sharing new knowledge with the… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 10: Anagrams. Oy.

Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist: Release Day!

SteelyKid and The Pip demonstrate the steps of the scientific process.

Today is the official release date for Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist, so of course there are a bunch of exciting things happening: — There’s a short excerpt at the Science of Us blog from New York Magazine. This is a chunk of the Introduction, about how scientists are smart, but not that smart. —… Continue reading Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist: Release Day!

Eight Things You Need to Know About Science

SteelyKid and The Pip demonstrate the process of science.

Copies of Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist have been turning up in the wild for a while now, but the officially official release date is today (available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, Powell’s, and anywhere else books are sold). To mark that, here’s some stuff I wrote about the core message of the book,… Continue reading Eight Things You Need to Know About Science

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 8: The First GMO

Modern corn compared to its genetic ancestor, teosinte. Image from NSF.g

This entry doesn’t have a fictionalized story both because I’m on vacation, and because I don’t think there’s a single dramatic turning point in this particular story. It’s probably one of the most impressive human accomplishments of the last umpteen thousand years, though, and definitely deserves a place in any rundown of wonders of science.… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 8: The First GMO

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 7: Apocryphal Empress

Women preparing silk, painted around 1100 by Emperor Huizong of Song; from Wikimedia.

Following on yesterday’s story of transformative discoveries starting by accident, we’ll jump from the Middle East to the Far East for the probably apocryphal story of the Empress Leizu (also sometimes referred to as Xi Lingshi) who is credited with the discovery of silk around 2600 BCE. One of the many versions of the story… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 7: Apocryphal Empress

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 6: Party in Mesopotamia

Borne of the flowing water (…) Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag, Borne of the flowing water (…) Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag, Having founded your town by the sacred lake, She finished its great walls for you, Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake, She finished its great walls for you… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 6: Party in Mesopotamia

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 4: Solstice

The passage tomb at Newgrange, in Ireland. Inset: some dude in front of the entrance to Newgrange.

The southeastern sky had been lightening for some time, stars slowly fading away. Off to the west, a band of clouds was moving in, obscuring stars as it came, but they wouldn’t make it in time to block the sunrise. A good thing, as the last two dawns had been cloudy. There would be maybe… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 4: Solstice

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 3: Iceman

Otzi the Iceman, both as a mummy and a modern reconstruction. From DOGOnews, link in post.

The fungal tea tastes vile, and not for the first time he considers dumping it on the last of the morning’s fire. It does seem to be helping the pain in his gut, though, as the medicine man said it would, so he gulps the last of it with a grimace. Around him the younger… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 3: Iceman

Advent Calendar of Science Stories 2: Begin at the Beginning

Exterior of Blombos Cave in South Africa, photo by Magnus Haaland, from Wikimedia.

She kneels on the dirt and watches the elder study the rocks she brought. Five fist-sized chunks of red stone, laboriously hacked from an outcrop. Half a day walking there and back, and half a day pounding rocks against rocks to yield this offering. The elder’s hands are stained the same red as the stone,… Continue reading Advent Calendar of Science Stories 2: Begin at the Beginning