Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn't End
Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn't End If you're reading this story, it means the world didn't end on Dec. 21, 2012. Despite reports of an ancient Maya prophecy, a mysterious planet on a collision course with Earth, or a reverse in Earth's rotation, we're still here. The Mayan connection "was a misconception from the very beginning," says Dr. John Carlson, director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy. "The Maya calendar did not end on Dec. 21, 2012, and there were no Maya prophecies foretelling the end of the world on that date." › Read More About the Mayans Video: Why The World Didn't End Yesterday For years leading up to the supposed apocalypse, NASA scientists worked to dispel the myths and answer questions on a host of 2012 topics: Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Answer (A):The world will not end in 2012. Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012? Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012? A: Absolutely not.
Michio Kaku: What Put the Bang in the Big Bang?
smOnline | The online manifestation of MetroCosm
What does it take to wipe out more than 90 per cent of all the life on Earth... and how long would it take to do it? It seems all you need are greenhouse gas-belching volcanoes and about 60,000 years THROUGHOUT ITS 3.8bILLION-YEAR HISTORY, life on Earth has faced more than its fair share of challenges, set backs and catastrophes. That’s not to say that life laughs in the face of adversity – it has been pushed to brink of annihilation several times in its long history (most famously by the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs), but perhaps the closest life ever came to total obliteration was 251million years ago. At the end of the Permian period, the Earth was visited by an environmental catastrophe so extreme that the land was left with just 30 per cent of its inhabitants still standing (or crawling, or growing roots) and the oceans were stripped of 96 per cent of its marine life.
50 Years of Incredible Space Images From the European Southern Observatory | Wired Science
This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s leading astronomical institutions, the European Southern Observatory. In honor of ESO’s birthday, we take a look at some of its most stunning shots of the night sky, amazing objects in space, and the organization's beautiful telescope facilities. ESO started when astronomers from five European countries – Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – came together on Oct. 5, 1962 to build a telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. Having a large telescope south of the equator gave these member states access to unprecedented clear skies and celestial objects that simply can’t be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, such as the Magellanic Clouds. Over the decades, many more countries have joined, including Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, and, in 2010, Brazil, which became the first non-European state to join. Above: Image: ESO/J.
Everything is a Remix, Part 3: The Elements of Creativity
by Maria Popova What Gutenberg has to do with Thomas Edison and the secret sauce of Apple. Kirby Ferguson’s excellent Everything is a Remix project is, as I’ve previously written, one of the most important efforts to illuminate the mechanisms, paradoxes and central principles of creative culture in modern history — an ambitious four-part documentary on the history and cultural significance of sampling and collaborative creation, reflecting my own deep held belief that creativity is combinatorial. Enjoy — this is a cultural treasure: The most dramatic results can happen when ideas are combined. From derivative work in art to incremental innovation in technology, Kirby tells the lesser-known stories of history’s greatest innovators to illustrate the point that creativity builds on what came before rather than crystallizing from thin air under the touch of a mythical muse. What started it all was the graphical interface merged with the idea of the computer as household appliance.
Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology
DeepAstronomy.com
Europeans Show Mild Apathy Toward Science
BRUSSELS—Only 53% of Europeans say they are interested in science, and 40% say that they feel informed about it, according to a public opinion survey published by the European Commission yesterday. The Eurobarometer report is based on more than 27,000 face-to-face interviews carried out in all 28 member states of the European Union earlier this year. On average, the proportion of people interested in science across the union has increased by about 8 percentage points compared with a similar survey carried out in 2001. (There were only 15 E.U. countries at the time.) But the figures reveal wide variations across the bloc, with the proportion of science enthusiasts ranging from 34% in the Czech Republic to 77% in Sweden. More than a third of respondents also appear content to be left out of science and technology decisions. The survey also shows a slight increase of traditional views, in particular in Eastern and Mediterranean countries.
