Neil Degrasse Tyson: "There Are No Mysteries"

I came across this video of Neil Degrasee Tyson maybe a month ago. It struck a bit of a chord with me. He carries a bit of an air of: "Don't waste your time purposing foolish notions upon me, lest you would like me to afford you the time I would a fool."

My interpretation shouldn't be taken so absolutely, in a way that makes him sound less considerate than he actually is. A review of material from across the web shows he clearly has an interest in educating the world about what he knows and of ways in which people can think about, address, and engage the world. The point is, without forcing it, he provides little to no leeway for nonsense. The very way he carries himself suggests that silly notions require education, clarification, or correction. Otherwise, they ought to be ignored.

It's the kind of attitude I can learn a little bit from. I feel, too often, that I give the benefit of the doubt, or am prone to keeping enough of a straight face to look like I am possibly buying what is being sold to me.

Odd Addiction

Spent the last week or so watching videos from Michael Starbird, math professor at University of Texas Austin. Guy is good at what he does, if you have any interest in it. Probably better for high school through college students, those that just want a refresher on material, those who want to apply this stuff to their line of work or living, or parents who want to help their kids at school. Probably not all that great if you are someone who is younger than 14 or 15 and isn't interested in the material on your own, or are overly familiar with the material. Which is to say, perfect for me.

The videos are produced by The Teaching Company. I'm not sure, but I get the impression they distribute videos nationwide. You might be able to find some of these at your local library, if interested. I might have more to say on Starbird and his videos later. Might not.

I think one of the most interesting things is the way he described how professionals like him see beauty in proofs. The beauty of proofs, says Starbird, comes from when you find unexpected, unintended truths that very simply describe previously unseen complexities. His thinking comes together, in one, when he visually describes the proof behind the existence of the 9-point circle on any triangle (Mathematics From The Visual World, Chapter 5, 16:00).

The proof itself is something I couldn't redo or completely understand if you asked me. But what strikes me is how much his description of aesthetic beauty in proofs reminds me of art. Music in particular.

You take a bunch of stuff that simply is, mess around with it, put it all together in some order, and "prove" or show (really, come across) something unexpected that holds some sort of universal aesthetic or truth. And that unexpected, unique property just draws people back time and time again. That actual proof may just be a happy accident. And it often is. But it comes from things that are very real, things that you learn from just being in it, and playing with the material, so to speak. You get there doing, exploring, experiencing. It sounds so... yes.

My ears are open.

Twitter Got Me

Well that's just an excuse. But really, soon as I opened a Twitter account I forgot all about this blog.

And I found a local magazine. Finally to incorporate scenary, interaction, persons, etc. into writing. It's the kind of stuff I've wanted to do.

And I'm looking at local lit mags. Better for personal essays. Feels like those things can be put to better use there.

Will still be doing interviews for a few web sites. Maybe a little commentary or something approaching an essay.

Will post up whatever is published. Otherwise, on hiatus for now.

Red Eye

I'm doing some research for pitches to a local magazine, and started looking for topics akin to the kind of nature and science stuff Orion and National Geographic would cover, but in New Jersey and the east coast. In light of Hurricane Sandy, a few articles I stumbled across both surprised and disheartened me.

It seems scientists were strongly and specifically giving warnings about current and future increases in environmental warming, storms, and sea levels (all related to the global warming concept, with localized and worldwide factors considered) for some time now. More specifically, they were as geographically specific as New York and the East Coast since 2007, as far as I can tell. I haven't read in depth, but a few quotes caught my eye:

Finally

Finally got a local outlet. It's been a long time since I've been able to incorporate place, person, and theme into a long-form article. This will be fun.