Scholars
Leading intellectuals in the fields of history, philosophy and science
Darwin for Dads and More Science Finds in the August Issue
When my daughter was small, I used to take her to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. There, I would explain why the dinosaurs disappeared and how mankind evolved from our primitive forebears. She seemed rapt. But a few weeks ago, after hearing me on the radio discuss a new boo...
July 21, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Moon Landing Video Restored
I always get a little shock when I see crisp, color images from the first moon landing (like the one featured as the most recent Picture of the Week). We’re all far more familiar with the grainy video that millions watched live 40 years ago today. But it’s one thing to snap color photos that will b...
July 20, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Legacy of Apollo
On July 16, 1969, NASA launched Apollo 11, the mission that put two men on the moon four days after lift-off.Forty years later, historians and NASA officials are still trying to gauge the legacy of the Apollo program. On Thursday, five panelists met at NASA headquarters to discuss its impact.Many o...
July 18, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Picture of the Week—Apollo 11 Solar Wind Composition Experiment
NASA didn’t send people to the moon just to bounce around and hit golf balls; Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 were performing science experiments during their brief time on the lunar surface. What looks like a white towel next to Aldrin in the photo above was the Solar Wind Composition ...
July 17, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Apollo 11 Owners’ Workshop Manual
If you wanted to replace the muffler on your Ford Mustang, you might logically turn to your handy copy of the Haynes Repair Manual. If you wanted to install a new space sextant in the Apollo 11 Command Module, you wouldn’t turn to the new Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual, but you would have such a go...
July 16, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Caricature of a Female Scientist
I hadn’t intended on writing about my Saturday excursion to the theater, even though the play, Legacy of Light, was about two female scientists; the play’s run ended on Sunday. However, I’m so disappointed, and I have to tell you why.The play follows two women: French mathematician and physicist Ém...
June 16, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Well-Dressed Time Traveler
It might be the most important consideration before you take off in your time machine: What should I wear?Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics has this suggestion:This t-shirt contains all of the information you could need to ensure not only your survival but perhaps wealth and success as well. Electricit...
June 09, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Girls CAN Do Math (Duh)
In 2005, when then-president of Harvard (and current Obama advisor) Larry Summers posited that biological differences might be one reason why women have not been as successful as men in math and science careers, he was only the latest man to make that suggestion. Back in 1887, George Romanes declar...
June 04, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
What is Schrödinger's Cat?
You may have heard the phrase "Schrödinger's cat," but like me, you may not have entirely understood what it meant. But I get it now, having watched the video below. It's from scientists at the University of Nottingham in England, and in their Sixty Symbols project (a companion to the Periodic Tabl...
June 02, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Cat’s 10,000-Year Journey to Purring on Your Lap
Most of the time, it feels quite natural to have a kitty prowling your home or curled up on the bed. On occasion, though, you might look at one and wonder how it got there. A new article in Scientific American plots out the journey:~10,000 years ago (ya): The house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) t...
May 27, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Journey Through Science History From Those Who Lived It
One of the true pleasures of science reporting is listening to scientists describe algae, rocks or black holes with passion. They recollect the countless overnighters in the lab during graduate school. Some are brought to tears recalling when a problem they were investigating just made sense.Unfort...
May 20, 2009 |
By admin
Picture of the Week—Alabama Science Class, 1939
I was nosing through the Library of Congress’s collection of photographs earlier this week when I came upon this one labeled “Student in science class. Gee's Bend, Alabama.” It was taken in May 1939 by Marion Post Wolcott, who documented poverty during the Great Depression for the Farm Security Adm...
April 03, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Female Scientists Aren't THAT Rare
Tuesday on the Freakonomics blog, Stephen Dubner posed the following question from a reader:I am an economics teacher from Alaska. I can personally list my top 10 favorite actors, top 10 favorite living writers, top 10 favorite rock groups, and even my top 10 living economists and top 10 entreprene...
April 02, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Booting Up a Computer Pioneer’s 200-Year-Old Design
Charles Babbage, the grandfather of the computer, envisioned a calculating machine that was never built, until now
April 02, 2009 |
By Aleta George
Forensic Astronomer Solves Fine Arts Puzzles
Astrophysicist Don Olson breaks down the barriers between science and art by analyzing literature and paintings from the past
April 2009 |
By Jennifer Drapkin and Sarah Zielinski
Have You Seen These Women?
Though underrepresented in some fields, female scientists are no longer rare. That wasn’t the case for a very long time. Usually when you see historical photos of scientists, there will be only a woman or two among them. The Smithsonian Institution Archives, though, has put together a collection of...
March 24, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Darwin Rocks
Lectures, symposia, essays and articles are not my idea of a birthday party, but that’s how institutions around the world are celebrating Charles Darwin’s big 2-0-0. In my opinion, you can’t have a party without drink and dance, and luckily Darwin is a muse for scientists and entertainers alike. P...
February 13, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Inventor of Air
Known for discovering oxygen, scientist Joseph Priestly also influenced the beliefs of our founding fathers.
February 09, 2009 |
By Bruce Hathaway
Volcano Obsession -- UPDATED 03-23-09
UPDATE (3.23.09): According to widespread news reports, Mt. Redoubt erupted last night four times and is expected to continue similar activity for "some days, weeks, maybe even months."Volcanoes around the world erupt each week, but we rarely pay any attention unless the level of destruction is par...
February 05, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
How Lincoln and Darwin Shaped the Modern World
Born on the same day, Lincoln and Darwin would forever influence how people think about the modern world
February 2009 |
By Adam Gopnik
