Recently in Science Category
I watched Spider-man this past Sunday and was too embarassed to tell everyone that what really fascinated me was the science aspect of it all.
However I'm glad I'm not alone. Tomorrow's World did a whole programme dedicated to the subject and if like me you missed the show on the BBC check out the site. Answers to questions such as "could a spider bite really transfer genes?" and "does 'Spidersense' exist"? There's also some information on spider silk.
You also may want to check out the Science of Superheroes.
The Renaissance has been defined as a rebirth of knowledge and revival of art and literature originating in Italy in the fifteenth century. This revival led to the revolution in the arts, which had an immense effect on the “understanding of the world of nature”. A revolution in physics and astronomy changed Western cosmology and greatly influenced the development of modern science. “Measurement, observation, experiment and classification” were beginning to be used on a much wider scale. Debus states that the period between the mid-fifteenth and end of the eighteenth century saw an important growth in “cultural and political influence of Western Europe over all other parts of the globe". It can be said that science gets invented in the Scientific Revolution. The word scientia had long been in use, but it meant something like "knowledge." There was no notion of a discipline called Science, and no one described themselves as being scientists or scientific. By the early 1700s, there were Academies of Science, and the word "science" had the specific definition we use today.
My cousin sent me three links today and all three are blogworthy.
Elmo testifies in favour of school music education. Elmo in a suit?!? How cute is that?
Oh bugger, I missed the Channel 4 programme, "The Truth about Gay Animals". But here you can find out if your pet is gay and also how gay you are yourself. I am 33% gay: "You're a straight-laced girlie girl with just a hint of your butch side sometimes poppingup". I'm sure this test is 89.5% accurate too.
If you're interested in Forensic Science and/or love the programme CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, check out their site. The Handbook and Crime Lab sections are particularly informative
Monique has expressed precisely my feelings about the web lately. Let's start a revolution. When I can be arsed.
Note: Sea monkeys are an anti-climax.
Song Recommendation of the Day:
Title: Rock the Boat
Artist: Aaliyah
The mood created: Sudden urge to take a ferry ride from Dover to Calais and proceed in making a prat of yourself by painfully describing what ice cream you want in 'French' and not realising the person working there is in fact English.
We bought Sea Monkeys! One minute we were looking them up along with seahorses, catfish and dogfish on the internet and the next thing you know, we're at "Pets at Home" buying them. I'll let you know about the progress.
On a related note, I learnt some interesting things about those beautiful creatures, seahorses. Did you know the male seahorse incubates the eggs laid by the female in a pouch? Seahorses also have a vertical mating dance that can last for hours. Oooh la la.
Well it looks like I'm back. But why the boring old page you may ask. And an answer ye shall receive. Mainly because I came up with about five fancy schmancy designs that just didn't do it for me. It got to a point where I gave up but then thought all I really want to do is write. So here you have it. My ramblings without all the fluffiness. When I have more time I might jazz this place up a bit but for now, it's just you, me and a white page. I still love you.
While I was away, I figured out that large tongues freak me out, mini people dancing on my computer screen please me and that the periodic table isn't as boring as it may seem. It's a shame it took me so long to figure the last one out considering I'll finish my degree in chemistry in a month or so.
Q: Do the questions in the brain of your icon indicate that it's missing?
A: Yes.
The conflict between Galileo and the church is a well-known incident in history often portrayed as a battle between the tyrannical Catholic Church and a heroic scientist. As recently as 1992 the Roman Catholic Church admitted they had made an error in their persecution of Galileo at a meeting of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome, much to the ridicule of the media who interpreted this as obvious result which had taken a Papal commission thirteen years to derive. To fully assess the reasons behind the condemnation of Galileo’s Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems we shall examine the events that preceded it’s publication and also the condition of Italy at the time.
