tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post5126216710804307864..comments2024-03-21T05:30:03.220-04:00Comments on Science teacher: Bloomfield's sidewalk astronomers catch a galaxydoylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-73562752528749545682009-12-05T19:59:25.761-05:002009-12-05T19:59:25.761-05:00Dear Kathryn,
It's all so overwhelmingly rema...Dear Kathryn,<br /><br />It's all so overwhelmingly remarkable when we stop a moment.<br /><br />I love <i>Genesis</i>, particularly for its internal inconsistencies.<br /><br />I grew up in an Oirish clan that never let facts get in the way of truth.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-26736032550397933972009-11-28T22:23:24.527-05:002009-11-28T22:23:24.527-05:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zufaN_aetZI
This i...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zufaN_aetZI<br /><br />This is an old but interesting video about cell evolution in the fossil record and how oxygen came to be. I can't wait to show it to my students, I get to teach cells and fossils this year!<br /><br />I'm impressed that Genesis pretty much got the whole thing in the correct order. I definitely have a place for both in my life. My interweaving of the Big Bang and Genesis it to think that when God said "Let there be light", it was a bit more than bargained for.Kathryn Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16757414380685368592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-830005647782321482009-11-25T20:00:28.095-05:002009-11-25T20:00:28.095-05:00Dear Patrick,
I love the idea of astrolabes--my e...Dear Patrick,<br /><br />I love the idea of astrolabes--my erstwhile virtual name was almucantar (.aol, back when aol mattered). <br /><br />My Dad was a pilot--a few decades ago, the cockpits of jetliners still had access to the sky, in case of catastrophic instrument failure--he could still navigate by astrolabe if he needed to do so.<br /><br />Time is dictated by our sky. The US made an attempt to disconnect this a few years ago, partly to save money (it's expensive to keep resetting the satellites every time the int'l clock is reset), and I suspect partially to annoy the French, who control the universal clock.<br /><br />I do not yet own an astrolabe, though I may go look for one again soon. <br /><br />We are forgetting who we are. We are rushing to master the clock.<br /><br />If we remember our link of time to the endless sky, maybe, just maybe, we'd take a breath.<br /><br />Cheers!doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-66608776698660904672009-11-24T22:33:45.860-05:002009-11-24T22:33:45.860-05:00Michael,
Saw this today while waiting in the doct...Michael,<br /><br />Saw this today while waiting in the doctor's office and thought you would appreciate it: http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_demos_the_13th_century_astrolabe.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156784418545421424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-1406806292070930592009-11-22T21:08:58.788-05:002009-11-22T21:08:58.788-05:00Dear Count,
Well knock me over with a feather--fi...Dear Count,<br /><br />Well knock me over with a feather--first I lost a half-million light years, now I learn I might see something even farther with my nekkid eye.<br /><br />Next time I see Andromeda, I'll peek for M33. At my age, I think M81 is out of the question, even if I were stone cold sober on a moonless night on top of Mauna Kea.<br /><br />Thanks for the corrections!doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-80095551395875497002009-11-22T20:50:31.261-05:002009-11-22T20:50:31.261-05:00The Andromeda galaxy (M31) is not the farthest gal...The Andromeda galaxy (M31) is not the farthest galaxy visible to the unaided eye. The galaxy M33 is also visible to the naked eye if your sky is dark enough, <br /><a href="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html" rel="nofollow">see this article.</a><br /><br />And if your sky is that dark, you may be able to barely see the galaxy<a href="http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/supp/m81naked.txt" rel="nofollow">M81</a> with the naked eye.Count Iblishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07429017672028256731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-83373980369599220162009-11-22T19:56:31.315-05:002009-11-22T19:56:31.315-05:00Dear Brazen,
Thanks for the words,
That an 8 yea...Dear Brazen,<br /><br />Thanks for the words,<br /><br />That an 8 year old is already separating two very human, entwined activities into distinct categories makes me want to wave the white flag--the 21st century humachines are winning.<br /><br />I'd ask the child how he thinks they are different. I was very confused about art back in elementary school--the emphasis on drawing this way one week, and gluing that way the next, made me bonkers. Didn't help that I was left-handed and maybe a tad ornery as well.<br /><br />I loved art but sucked at it, at least I sucked at assigned art assignments.<br /><br />Industrialized art is about as much fun as industrialized science.<br /><br />Find a book by Jean-Henri Fabre, the amateur entomologist. I think he drew beautiful pictures (if my memory's working). Now there was a man who did not allow himself to be partitioned.<br /><br />Or maybe read some William Blake to him--Blake's a mystic, true, and an artist, but I daresay he was a bit of a scientist as well.<br /><br />(Maybe Blake's a stretch--read him some Blake anyway. Kids need Blake more than they need DARE programs and other modern nonsense.)doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-61774143818796608452009-11-22T19:41:04.044-05:002009-11-22T19:41:04.044-05:00Your blog seems to embrace the incomprehensible......Your blog seems to embrace the incomprehensible... that's reason NO. ONE why I love reading your stuff.<br /><br />Sometimes I love how Science tries to explain the incomprehensible- and other times I get frustrated. And I guess it's refreshing to see you feel the same way.<br /><br />ps~ Had a 3rd grader ask me if "Art had anything to do with Science" the other day. Those words verbatim. And while I believe the answer is... ABSOLUTELY... I was stumped. How can I find the words to describe this to an EIGHT year old? Yikes...This Brazen Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02924652859389870978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-16652368891561401212009-11-22T11:00:54.662-05:002009-11-22T11:00:54.662-05:00Dear John,
I love Genesis as well; I think it'...Dear John,<br /><br />I love <i>Genesis</i> as well; I think it's our modern pride that keeps us from recognizing that folks a few generations ago were not as daft as we believe--they recognized the inconsistencies, and kept the story true.<br /><br />(I have an English translation of Rashi's commentary with the book of Genesis; it's one of my favorite books--the Hebrew is laid aside the English.)<br /><br />Dear Charlie,<br /><br />Thanks for the warm words and the story--truly dark skies take us back to something that matters, or maybe just reminds us that we get confused on what matters.<br /><br />Every child should get a chance to jump in joy upon looking at the night sky the way our ancestors saw it.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-26842079427247788122009-11-22T09:26:35.181-05:002009-11-22T09:26:35.181-05:00@ Doyle
Great post. It reminds me of our first tr...@ Doyle<br />Great post. It reminds me of our first trip to the OBX in North Carolina. It was the first opportunity for my sons to look at the sky from a non urban setting. My 7 year olds could see the array of stars for the first time. It was pretty amazing to see the staring and pointing and jumping up and down.Charlie Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335346223868916197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-90905816343786739892009-11-22T08:38:55.610-05:002009-11-22T08:38:55.610-05:00I love the first few chapters of Genesis. Hell, I...I love the first few chapters of Genesis. Hell, I love the entire book, for all its innacuracies and confusion and brokenness. I love the lyrical poetry of a postmodern style narrative, all out of order. I love the notion that it began with music, quiet and first and then exploding. I love the mystery and the paradox of the story. <br /><br />I also love the Big Bang. I love the vastness of the story. In many ways it seems to be a contemporary retelling of the same story. The order changed and so did the language, but it feels like it's the dance that matches the music of Genesis. <br /><br />I wouldn't pretend that Genesis belongs in a science classroom or that the Big Bang belongs in a cathedral. But I also wouldn't pretend to keep them separate in the mind of a child . . . or a twenty-nine year old trying to figure out his universe.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10956056168256756705noreply@blogger.com