Emphasis on science and the general public at IAS

Posted by Tara C. Smith on August 25, 2006
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The Iowa Academy of Science has released its summer newsletter online, and is available here (.pdf).

There’s a lot going on for scientists and the science-interested at all levels (students, teachers, researchers), so for the Iowa folks (or, those of you in other states who are just looking for some good ideas), if you’ve not already checked them out or have a membership, give them a look (their homepage is http://www.iacad.org/). They also have new programs focusing on science education for the general public, which I know is an interest for many readers as well.

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  1. #1 MusingGreg
    August 25, 2006

    I was particularly excited about the GLOBE project described in the bulletin. The world is so full of bad news, I love to learn when positive things are going on. I immediately found and bookmarked the GLOBE website.

  2. #2 traumatized
    August 25, 2006

    …and the Exec is the old meteorologist from channel 7 in Waterloo!!!!

  3. #3 Tara C. Smith
    August 25, 2006

    Yep, Craig’s on “Good Day Iowa” now, and is a professor at UNI. I don’t watch morning TV, so I’d known him for a bit before I realized he was “famous.” We’re working on a symposium on teaching evolution for next March together with some faculty at Wartburg; I’ll post more details once we’ve secured funding.

  4. #4 DouglasG
    August 25, 2006

    I used to watch him when I went to UNI a million years ago. Still in Waterloo, wow!

  5. #5 marvin e. kirsh
    August 25, 2006

    Dear Dr. Smith and readers:
    On viewing the blogs I ascertained that sometimes sci4ence is put on the line-questioned-as a suitable career-for conflicts with religion,as a budget topic, etc.
    I wanted to add a few thoughts to these topics.
    In early education we are exposed to both math and science, and most of us view them both as a study of extraction of facts from the world and logical interpretation. I wanted here to point out something I believe very vital to this notion. mathematics is a study of almost perfection-what equals and what does not equal. In its’ very complicated forms we talk about space-time-multiple dimensions-relativity, etc: and sometimes forget that the real world is not a perfect circle. if you define allthat is as either a perfect circle or not a perfect circle-science and math are opposites, and it is quite easy to forget this when for instance we speak of mathematical space, multi dimensional relativity. recently a Russian mathematician solved a problem in topology a century old, that basically all certain kinds of mathematical structures reduce to a sphere in muklti dimensions of any kind: i.e that there exists some focus that is equi-distant from every point. And we forget and say that space is round or circular, and closed. In fact it must be the opposite. if not for the intuitive creations of science-biology-medicine-we might never come to ask these questions., or reason consciously that a fifty manifold structure has little to with the big mish-moshes of the real world. I n fact being able to prove things about fifty manifolds and knowing that it is opposite of the real world gives us a fantastic leverage when we think plan design, piece our sciences and social knowledges together. it even says in the proof that science and social knowledge are inseparable.
    When I review some of the data gathered and analyzed by science, I realize that science is indispensible -that despite our stages of theory the world cannot be understood without it -whether it’s ideas are right or wrong,as it involved history-time passing -event, and as long as we know where our perfect mathematical thinking should stop- we know about ethics also.
    There are lots of areas in science for a person to consider and if one belives the activities in one are wrong he should not dismiss a scientific career altogether, if he has interest and inclinations that that way. There is perffectly no excuse to commit a wrong to find out something-if we need to know something, it would become knowable in an honest ethical way or it would be not important. This comes to say a little bit-if we are digging up our environments,with sophistocated intellectual methods, straining ourselves to look past what we observe that is with in reach, it might mean the key to the problem is burried in our own human history-that we already know the solution is somewhere in the graphs, lines, (open!-life(active communication processes inside )ribosome and microsome, chromosomes, DNA, microtubules and copulating pili figures, and all the colors gears and imagery of our imaginations, if we are getting too mathematical either there are historical like pieces not found, or our imaginations to know of them is represssed. But the answer is always somewhere that is not in a ten manifold space.
    Don’t let science talk you into being self abusive=punishing-mathematical figures wont explain human behavior which is obviously at its best with rest and self entertainment and relaxation. A grave digger can contribute to society when he earns his wages and performs his tasks, where as compulsive mathematics can dig it’s grave.

    http://www.marvinekirsh.com
    http://www.authorsden.com/marvinelikirsh