Picture of the Day - The Airliner Chronicles

One of my favorite aspects of flights to Europe (and there are very few; Europe is great, nine-hour flights are not) is the necessity of crossing over Greenland. When the weather is clear, the views of this icy alien landscape are just stunning. Our flight home from Paris in 2006 was one of those trips, with just a few clouds over the highest part of the (really big) island. So what do you all think of this glacial feature? What's going on here?

The Media Gets One Right

I was pleased to see that one of the internet news sources got something right. In an article about global warming deniers (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/02/27/global_warming_deniers/), Joseph Romm catches the very essence of why science works. He mentions a Wall Street Journal article that asserts that "scientists are human; they do not wait for proof. Many devote their professional lives to seeking evidence for hypotheses, especially well-funded hypotheses, they've chosen to believe.", and then hits the nail on the head with the following:

How sad that the WSJ and CNBC have so little conception of what science really is, especially since scientific advances drive so much of the economy. If that's what Jenkins thinks science is, one would assume he is equally skeptical of flossing, antibiotics and even boarding an airplane.

(Note to WSJ: One reason science works is that a lot of scientists devote their whole lives to overturning whatever is the current hypothesis -- if it can be overturned. That's how you become famous and remembered by history, like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin and Einstein.)

In fact, science doesn't work by consensus of opinion. Science is in many respects the exact opposite of decision by consensus. General opinion at one point might have been that the sun goes around the Earth, or that time was an absolute quantity, but scientific theory supported by observations overturned that flawed worldview.

Kudos to Salon and Dr. Romm...

Picture of the Day - The Airliner Chronicles

Back into the (virtual) air, after a few days of distractions on the road in Death Valley, and the aftermath of catching up with grading tests and such. I appreciate all the nice comments and encouragement, and I find blogging to be a lot of fun. I am enjoying reading the latest entries into the Accretionary Wedge Carnival, hosted this month by Lounge of the Lab Lemming.

Today's photo was taken moments after take-off from Calgary on our way home from a great visit to Banff, Jasper, and the Burgess Shale in 2005. It is in part of the Overthrust Belt of the Canadian Rockies although I am not sure of the precise location. I found this photo striking primarily for the powerful contrast between the aerial view and what it must look like from the ground. The rocks are probably Paleozoic carbonates which have obviously been deformed to nearly vertical dips. My jaw dropped as the ridge became visible (and was I ever thankful for the nice weather...it had been socked in and raining the day we flew in).

Geological Things That Make Me Go "Hmmm?"

Lounge of the Lab Lemming is the host of this month's The Accretionary Wedge carnival, and the topic of the moment is (geological) things that make me go "hmmm?". I've been mulling this one over for days on end, and although I can think of a number of geological phenomena that are mysterious and intriguing, it turns out that the thing that makes me go "hmmm?" is this: Why don't more people go "hmmm?" How and when do children lose their sense of wonder and become jaded and cynical grown-ups who are willfully ignorant about all things scientific and geological? When do volcanoes and dinosaurs and planets become unworthy of attention?

I teach at a community college, and I encounter students from a great diversity of backgrounds, and almost without fail, they wait until the last semester to take a science course because they are afraid that the class will be "hard" and "boring". Andy they almost always say "I'm just not a science person". Their image of scientists is worse; they are white old men in lab coats (and no, I never wear a lab coat; and I'm only sort of old and white). It has literally become my mission to try and shake them out of these stereotypes; the first week of class is a celebration of how lucky we are to be living in these times when we have access to more knowledge than any other humans who have ever lived. We are seeing pictures of planetary surfaces that no one has ever seen before. We are discovering new species of dinosaurs and other weird strange creatures every day, and the roster of newly discovered living species continually surprises us.

It seems like every child goes nuts at some point over dinosaurs at the very least, but kids just hunger for information about volcanoes and crystals and earthquakes. But somewhere, I think just past 5th or 6th grade, that sense of wonder disappears. It takes a lot of work to bring it back. I have to literally drag some of them into the wilds, and in a few precious instances, that spark returns and after a few minutes they are crawling and searching for an elusive trilobite. They have forgotten for a few moments that they are grown-ups and all past getting excited about seeing a fossil on the ground, a fossil that no human has ever before seen until that moment. And the moment of discovery is something that stays with them for a long time.

So why do the kids lose interest? Is it hormones? Is it the peer pressure? I don't know. But I do know that one of the greatest benefits of teaching is that I am somehow involved in getting that sense of wonder back; it's not what I do, it is the earth itself that fascinates.

Update: not only do people willfully ignore the wonders of geology, they actively search out fringe ideas and conspiracy "theories", and are depressingly open to "believing" just about anything. Check out Expanding Earth and the Conspiracy of Science at Dynamic Earth (http://dynamic-earth.blogspot.com/) for a great example and discussion.

Update #2: Oh, and also I go hmmm when I wonder what exactly the story was with the formation of the Grand Canyon: check out http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1130%2FGSAT01803A.1&ct=1

Update #3: The Accretionary Wedge is now posted! Check it out at http://lablemminglounge.blogspot.com/2008/02/geohmms-accretionary-wedge-6.html

Cal Paleo Conference at CSU Stanislaus

For those of you in the central California, the following is a great local opportunity. Courtesy of Dr. Julia Sankey at California State University of Stanislaus:

California State University, Stanislaus will be hosting Cal Paleo, a state-wide Paleontology conference this semester. The conference will be on Saturday April 19 in Naraghi Hall of Science from 9-5.

Since paleontology is by nature interdisciplinary, expect talks and posters on topics ranging from paleoecology, evolution, geology, paleclimates, dinosaurs, anatomy, and on fossils ranging from China to California (such as the Pleistocene mammals and salvage efforts at Fairmead Landfill near Fresno, etc).

There will be a full day of talks, posters, an invited plenary speaker (world-famous dinosaur paleontologist and public educator, Dr. Scott Sampson), and a published abstract volume.

This has traditionally been a small, informal, friendly conference, and it is a great forum for graduate and undergraduates to present their research in, as well as for professionals.For more information, see the Cal Paleo website:
http://arnica.csustan.edu/jones/CalPaleo/index.htm

Magnitude 6.0 Quake in EASTERN Nevada?

How strange is that? The quake, which struck this morning, had a magnitude of 6.0, and caused some rather extensive damage in the historic downtown district of the town of Wells. Something like 25 building facades were damaged, and 3 people suffered minor injuries. The quake is a surprise if you consider the history for the region. Out of nearly 76,000 recorded quakes through 1992, there are barely any recorded in the northeastern part of the state. Although the mountains there resulted from basin and range style normal faulting, most of the action occurs at the margins, along the Sierra Nevada, and in a zone extending from Winnemucca into California. I noticed a lack of aftershock activity at first; I wonder if it is because of sparse seismometer coverage in the region.

I offer best wishes for a quick recovery and rebuilding for those in the affected region. It is one of my favorite parts of the world as far as geology is concerned. The picture below is from our 2006 Pacific Northwest field trip, showing the Ruby Range just south of Wells, and not far from the epicenter of the quake. It was considered for inclusion into Great Basin National Park in the 1980's.

So, What's Been Happening in the World? And Why is it always Florida?

Sort of like Lois Lane in Superman II, after she had her memory wiped by the Man of Steel, I re-enter the world after five days in the wilds of Death Valley blissfully ignorant of world news (the picture above is from deep in Titus Canyon; you must see this place!). I go on the internets and find that there have been elections and primaries, $100/barrel oil prices, earthquakes, and Florida education officials thinking they are cute by linking the word "theory" with the word "evolution" (as was pointed out in Princess Bride..."You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. "). Check out some of the updates on this issue at http://www.flascience.org/wp/.

The contributors at the Panda's Thumb (http://pandasthumb.org/) have been on top of the Florida evolution controversy. On the one hand, the state education standards for the first time include the words "theory of evolution", instead of the timid "change over time". This could be considered a victory of sorts, except that as always there is a huge difference in what "theory" means to scientists, and what it means to laypeople. Evolution is indeed a theory, in that it has been confirmed by loads of evidence, it explains the origin of many diverse phenomena, and competing hypotheses have fallen by the wayside over the last century or two. On the other hand, when I ask students to use the word "theory" in a sentence, I tend to get "We don't have to believe that, it's just a theory".

You can be sure that this perception will exploited by the creation-science crowd. We have a great deal of educating to do....