As most of you are probably aware, I really loved the idea that the Large Hadron Collider could potentially create a black hole that kills all of us. I like this idea much better than the human race being wiped out by war. Man vs. Man is not nearly as interesting as Science vs. Man, and I would hope that, if we are destroyed, it is due to our thirst for knowledge and not due to our greedy and selfish tendencies. So from PhD Comics (click on the images to enlarge them):
My favorite part? "Don't blow up... don't blow up..."
David Griffin is the photo director for National Geographic (hence why he starts off with one of Frank McCurry's famous photographs), and he uses some really fantastic photos to show how we use images to tell and share stories. I particularly liked his comparison of the pigmy picture to Degas' ballerinas. Griffin points out that we remember moments via a flashbulb memory, where our minds create still images in order for our brains to connect a story. I love his section of amateur photographs; images tell a story. One of my favorite photographs is the baboons at a watering hole because it looks like a family vacation. By the way, if you have a soft spot for penguins, you might want to skip the leopard seals at the end... although the story behind one particularly curious leopard seal is really kind of cute. I advise everyone to check out his breathtaking blog, Editor's Pick. (February 2008, 14:59)
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Patricia Burchat studies the structure and distribution of dark matter (26% of the universe!) and dark energy (70% of the universe!). These mysterious ingredients can't be measured in conventional ways, yet form a quarter of the mass of our universe. It's amazing how much we don't know... even galaxy clusters and an ever-expanding universe blow my mind. By the way, the expansion of space is speeding up, and no one can explain why. Something new to worry about. The Einstein ring is particularly noteworthy, the notion that there is a cone of possible galaxies due to light deflecting off of dark matter. Because Burchat is so enthusiastic about her topic (she seems to be constantly catching her breath), it's easy to be seduced by this science. (February 2008, 16:09)
From Boston.com: The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of Switzerland and France, is nearly set to begin its first particle beam tests. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is preparing for its first small tests in early August, leading to a planned full-track test in September - and the first planned particle collisions before the end of the year. The final step before starting is the chilling of the entire collider to -271.25 C (-456.25 F). Here is a collection of photographs from CERN, showing various stages of completion of the LHC and several of its larger experiments (some over seven stories tall), over the past several years.
This could potentially kill us all, but I like the idea of death by black hole. Plus, it sure is pretty... you can see all 27 photos here.
Blaise Aguera y Arcas takes you through a mind-blowing photosynthesis demo. Can you imagine having Dickens's entire Bleak House as a single text? What about overlapping images from Google that recreate Notre Dame as a 3D model? This is virtual reality; you can see Paris without ever having been there. He is challenging "the limits of screen real estate" and takes you on a microscopic pixelated journey through the future of computer imagery. You can check out the Photosynth demo here. (March 2007, 7:42)
Stephen Petranek was the editor-in-chief of Discover magazine when he became fascinated by the dangers that face the human race. He has become an eloquent advocate for making policy decisions based on an unflinching look at our worst fears. Although his apocalyptic predictions may seem dire and inevitable, he argues precisely the opposite, and presents plausible goals that will defuse most of these catastrophes. Just in case that isn't enough, he makes the case for humankind adopting a forward-looking policy of space exploration and colonization to get us out of here alive. For the first time in history, he argues, humans can control many of the threats to survival both on and off the planet.
Stephen Petranek looks at ten ways the world could end: depression, aliens (oh, I wish), eco-collapse, particle accelerator mishap (creating little black holes and then expecting them to evaporate, what?), biotech mishap, pole reversal, solar flare, epidemic, rogue black hole (10 million dead stars in the Milky Way?!?), and asteroids. (My vote hopes for a black hole. Wouldn't that be interesting?) If you don't want to watch all 29 minutes, you can skip to labeled sections of the talk. But I do recommend watching the whole thing because his candid look at our world's inevitable demise is often humorous. (February 2002, 29:54)
A.J. Jacobs combines journalism and performance art. He takes on humanist experiments, like being entirely honest for a month or reading the entire encyclopedia (which he catalogued in his book The Know-It All, offering snippets and insights into the words he learned). His latest experiment is living biblically, which involves living by 700+ laws of the Bible, from the mundane and obvious ("I can go a year without killing someone") to the quotidian vices (like gossiping or lying). He even took the law "be fruitful and multiple" law seriously by impregnating his wife, who later gave birth to twins. He came to one conclusion, among others, that suggests that if one changes their behavior, they can change their cognitive functions. If you act like a better person, you will become a better person. (It's the Hamlet dilemma -- is man defined by his thoughts or his actions? More and more evidence seems to point towards actions...) And he's starting a movement of Reverent Agnosticism. How interesting. You can read about some of the rules here. (December 2005, 17:40)
Recently, I have become obsessed with the Ted Conference and its blog. The website and blog both have videos of the talks presented at the conferences (even dating back a few years), and it's so wonderful that these talks are available to the public in such an accessible format. If I had the $6,000 required for one year's membership, I would pay it in a heartbeat. But, for now, I'll settle for these engaging talks online. I've decided to share a few videos that I find particularly interesting in a series of posts I call "Saturdays with Ted." Hopefully this will be more optimistic and educational than those Tuesdays with Morrie...
Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe, discusses String Theory, the idea that "miniscule strands of vibrating strings of energy in 11 dimensions create every particule and force in the universe." It is the first theory of everything, mathematically describing the now-cohesive laws of natural forces and matter (like quarks and leptons). On a basic and fundamental level, Greene explains the theory and the possibility of 11 dimensions (10 in space, 1 in time) and how the supercollider at CERN may be a way of testing this hypothesis. (February 2005, 19:05)
Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice, explains why more is really less. He argues that our lives need a metamorphical fishbowl because, without it, the so-called freedom is paralysing. For the most part, I agree with Schwartz. I think people forget that, at any given moment, we really only have two choices: to either do something or not do it. We just have a lot of things to either do or not do, and that is where choice because difficult. But Western tradition likes to give us freedom of choice, and with so many choices, we often don't make a choice or are unhappy with that choice because we think that there is something better out there -- which is referred to as a "missed opportunity." Very interesting talk and one that could greatly benefit everyone. (July 2005, 19:48)
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