A visit yesterday to The Works reminded me how blessed we are in Newark Ohio for places to go and things to see.
I had not toured this museum/educational center for many months and I am amazed at the improvements in quality and scope of the displays. One could not wish for a better synopsis of local manufacturing history or a more appealing presentation. Science exhibits geared for children are of COSI type and quality, where kids do scientific stuff either as tourists or as participants in the many educational programs.
Old-time skills, art shows, modern media instruction, banquets, lectures, deli, art shop, sawmill, railway car, wood shop, glass-blowing demonstrations ... you can visit often and learn a lot.
My applause and appreciation for great facility still very much in the growth stage go to Howard LeFevre and the many local leaders who've helped him convert a bunch of old buildings into a show place that shouldn't be missed.
By the way, there is a list of tourist attractions within easy driving distance of Newark. Designed for folks who stop by The Newark Tea Party from faraway places, it's also a reminder to those of us who live here how close we are to so many worthwhile places to spend time. Here's the link.
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Stop with the Earthworks dogmatism
That Indians used to hang out at Moundbuilder's Country Club is pretty certain. But who built them and why is still unproven. It's past time to admit our ignorance.
Nevertheless, from reading about the Newark Earthworks in the Advocate, one is led to assume that one theory has been established as fact. From a recent article ...
The structure -- the Octagon Earthworks -- built by the Hopewell Indians about 2,000 years ago, will align with the rising moon Monday night.
"The moon rises in a different place on the horizon every night, and it follows an 18.6-year cycle," said Dick Shiels, director of the Newark Earthworks Center. "It turns out that the Octagon Mound in our town is built to align with the movements of the moon."
The simple fact is that nobody knows why the mounds were built or by whom. That the notches therein (almost) align with the rising moon once every 18 years does not prove the Moundbuilders were that accomplished in astronomy or that they were in any way equipped to, or interested in, moving so much dirt just so they could gather once each 18 years to see the moon rise between two little hills. This theory should be doubted for no other reason than this: It would be far easier just to build the notch without all this other geometric clap trap.
My admiration for this vast world treasure is not diminished in the least by these doubts about its purpose or origin. But it's way past time when we should stop blindly following the currently prevalent Earthworks dogmatism that implies we know these answers.
A few years ago I posted at The Newark Ohio Tea Party a set of three articles which talk about these doubts and also the status of the Earthworks. You are invited to go read them.
Nevertheless, from reading about the Newark Earthworks in the Advocate, one is led to assume that one theory has been established as fact. From a recent article ...
The structure -- the Octagon Earthworks -- built by the Hopewell Indians about 2,000 years ago, will align with the rising moon Monday night.
"The moon rises in a different place on the horizon every night, and it follows an 18.6-year cycle," said Dick Shiels, director of the Newark Earthworks Center. "It turns out that the Octagon Mound in our town is built to align with the movements of the moon."
The simple fact is that nobody knows why the mounds were built or by whom. That the notches therein (almost) align with the rising moon once every 18 years does not prove the Moundbuilders were that accomplished in astronomy or that they were in any way equipped to, or interested in, moving so much dirt just so they could gather once each 18 years to see the moon rise between two little hills. This theory should be doubted for no other reason than this: It would be far easier just to build the notch without all this other geometric clap trap.
My admiration for this vast world treasure is not diminished in the least by these doubts about its purpose or origin. But it's way past time when we should stop blindly following the currently prevalent Earthworks dogmatism that implies we know these answers.
A few years ago I posted at The Newark Ohio Tea Party a set of three articles which talk about these doubts and also the status of the Earthworks. You are invited to go read them.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Illusion
Here's an interesting visual illusion. I didn't believe it, and you won't believe it either.
Most days, this site - Astronomy Picture of the Day - offers something worth looking at, and this is one of those days.
Most days, this site - Astronomy Picture of the Day - offers something worth looking at, and this is one of those days.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Man can influence this?
It is a humbling experience for me when I see evidence of the vastness of the Creator's work, and you can almost daily find a visual record of it at Astronomy Picture of the Day, where I found this image of Horsehead Nebula.
This vast complex of dust and glowing gas is 1,500 light years away from Earth, in the direction of the constellation of Orion.
The forces "out there" are not only immense beyond imagination, but also are always changing and constantly moving.
In view of that, I don't think man could have any influence on the temperature or longevity of our tiny speck of the planet Earth.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
An old twist on global warming
Here's an interesting report by Monitor News Service about the change in climate and man's effect thereon.
"The task of piecing together the vast puzzle of how the earth's weather changes has new impetus these days. More and more, scientists agree that current weather changes are connected to man's search for more food and more energy. Not only does weather affect food, but energy use and agriculture affects climate."
Keep reading.
"The direction and the extent of these effects remain a mystery which scientists want to unravel. So far, as they strain some of the world's largest computers, study satellite photos, and launch large-scale atmospheric experiment's, the practitioners of the new science of climate change cannot agree where the different pieces of the 'puzzle' fit."
Don't stop reading. We're going to make a point.
(Skipping down several paragraphs ... )
"Scientists already have established that waste heat from large cities can change local climates. In Washington, D.C., the frost-free growing season is one month longer than in outlying areas, Dr. James Peterson of NOAA has found. Also, cities average as much as 10 degrees warmer and have less snowfall and fog than rural areas. ... beside putting out heat, burning coal and oil pours vast amounts of tiny particles - aerosols - into the atmosphere.
Yeah, yeah; now to the point ...
"This could account for the worldwide cooling trend since 1945, which has spurred widespread speculation about the return of the ice ages ... "
Huh?
(The article was published 2/10/75)
"The task of piecing together the vast puzzle of how the earth's weather changes has new impetus these days. More and more, scientists agree that current weather changes are connected to man's search for more food and more energy. Not only does weather affect food, but energy use and agriculture affects climate."
Keep reading.
"The direction and the extent of these effects remain a mystery which scientists want to unravel. So far, as they strain some of the world's largest computers, study satellite photos, and launch large-scale atmospheric experiment's, the practitioners of the new science of climate change cannot agree where the different pieces of the 'puzzle' fit."
Don't stop reading. We're going to make a point.
(Skipping down several paragraphs ... )
"Scientists already have established that waste heat from large cities can change local climates. In Washington, D.C., the frost-free growing season is one month longer than in outlying areas, Dr. James Peterson of NOAA has found. Also, cities average as much as 10 degrees warmer and have less snowfall and fog than rural areas. ... beside putting out heat, burning coal and oil pours vast amounts of tiny particles - aerosols - into the atmosphere.
Yeah, yeah; now to the point ...
"This could account for the worldwide cooling trend since 1945, which has spurred widespread speculation about the return of the ice ages ... "
Huh?
(The article was published 2/10/75)
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Three science horror stories
Science Horror Story Number One:
Cattle Antibiotic Moves Forward Despite Fears of Human Risk
The Washington Post reported March 4, 2007 that your government employees are about to "approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency's own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people."
Science Horror Story Number Two:
The rice with human genes
The first major step in Frankenstein Foods - the mingling of human-origin genes and those from plants - is about to be set loose in open fields. The laboratory-contrived rice produces some of the human proteins found in breast milk and saliva. Profiteers have been given preliminary approval by your government employees to grow it on more than 3,000 acres in Kansas and used in drinks, desserts, yoghurts and muesli bars.
Science Horror Story Number Three:
Government gave you nasty roses
Multi-flora rose was introduced to the eastern United States in 1866 as rootstock for ornamental roses. Beginning in the 1930s, your government employees in the U.S. Soil Conservation Service promoted it for use in erosion control and as "living fences" to confine livestock. State conservation departments recommended multi-flora rose as cover for wildlife. More recently, multi-flora rose has been planted in highway median strips by your government employees to serve as crash barriers and to reduce automobile headlight glare.
Multi-flora rose is a nasty plague on farms and in forests. Multi-flora rose was a shoot-from-the-hip solution to non-problems by your government employees. It is the same kind of solution to non-problems by your government employees as those in Science Stories Numbers One and Two, only the consequences from those might be more than the untold inconvenience and expense by landowners as caused by the wild rose projects.
Cattle Antibiotic Moves Forward Despite Fears of Human Risk
The Washington Post reported March 4, 2007 that your government employees are about to "approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency's own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people."
Science Horror Story Number Two:
The rice with human genes
The first major step in Frankenstein Foods - the mingling of human-origin genes and those from plants - is about to be set loose in open fields. The laboratory-contrived rice produces some of the human proteins found in breast milk and saliva. Profiteers have been given preliminary approval by your government employees to grow it on more than 3,000 acres in Kansas and used in drinks, desserts, yoghurts and muesli bars.
Science Horror Story Number Three:
Government gave you nasty roses
Multi-flora rose was introduced to the eastern United States in 1866 as rootstock for ornamental roses. Beginning in the 1930s, your government employees in the U.S. Soil Conservation Service promoted it for use in erosion control and as "living fences" to confine livestock. State conservation departments recommended multi-flora rose as cover for wildlife. More recently, multi-flora rose has been planted in highway median strips by your government employees to serve as crash barriers and to reduce automobile headlight glare.
Multi-flora rose is a nasty plague on farms and in forests. Multi-flora rose was a shoot-from-the-hip solution to non-problems by your government employees. It is the same kind of solution to non-problems by your government employees as those in Science Stories Numbers One and Two, only the consequences from those might be more than the untold inconvenience and expense by landowners as caused by the wild rose projects.
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