What did NASA’s Hubble Telescope See on Your Birthday?

Here's a great way to feel humbled by the fact that you are a tiny speck within an immense universe. It's also a chance to to have a brain orgasm tied to your own birthday: You are invited to receive a high-res Hubble photo from NASA accompanied by a detailed scientific explanation of something incredible that existed eons ago and farther away than you can imagine without serious effort. Go ahead and enter your birthday so that you can become a time traveler to deep space, courtesy of NASA.

Continue ReadingWhat did NASA’s Hubble Telescope See on Your Birthday?

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Criticized for Refusing to Bring Charges for Videotaped Daylight Shooting

There was a shooting three days ago in the Central West End during broad daylight and it was captured on video. The bullets hit the victim in the shoulder, stomach and back, although he is expected to survive. I was surprised to hear that the assailant was released from custody the following day without any charges being filed. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has seen this video but states that her office needs more time to decide whether it will bring any charges against the assailant. Gardner mentions self-defense even though the victim had his hands down at his side when the assailant started shooting and the assailant continues shooting the victim even though the victim was running away. Are we to the point that we should only prosecute perfectly easy cases? I'd like to show this video to the Circuit Attorneys in the 100 biggest cities to see how many wouldn't immediately bring charges.

Gardner has come under a lot of criticism for the way she has been running her office since she took office in January, 2017.  And see here.  And here.  Recently, Gardner has been shown to be less than honest when making accusations against the St. Louis Police Department.

Continue ReadingSt. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Criticized for Refusing to Bring Charges for Videotaped Daylight Shooting

This six-minute TED video by Janet Iwasa inspires me. It's a story about what goes on inside of you and me. Iwasa is a bio-molecular animator. She creates animations of the processes within our cells. Her workspace is an extraordinarily beautiful but disorienting mini-universe.

The molecules Iwasa studies function as the support team within cells. Even though these many non-living things that are clearly not alive, they seem to be alive and even purposeful in these animations. They appear as tiny magical robots. Iwasa offers many examples of her animations in this video, including molecules that allow DNA to function. DNA is not an intricate code that simply sits there. DNA allows your body to be alive via the synthesis of proteins.

That this highly coordinated activity can happen at this scale is mind-boggling, especially given that the DNA is so incredibly complex and so tightly folded. It is mind-boggling that the DNA from one microscopic human cell, completely unfolded, would stretch six feet in length. I hope you as amazed as I was when you see Iwasa's animations.

Continue Reading

Waking Up Podcast Interview: Sam Harris and Caitlin Flanagan

Today I listened to yet another engaging episode of "Making Sense," the podcast of Sam Harris. Sam's guest was Caitlin Flanagan, who often writes for The Atlantic. I enjoy listening to energized conversations like this, involving thoughtful people whose thought processes are not severely warped by political party tribal forces. I'm getting worn out from all of the conversations (in so many other places) involving people who are consciously and enthusiastically reverse-engineering their comments to fit the prevailing dictates of political parties. We would all be so much better off if only we would (as Jonathan Haidt suggests) unplug from the Matrix so that we could each be more consciously self-critical. 

Continue ReadingWaking Up Podcast Interview: Sam Harris and Caitlin Flanagan