i'm a big fan of choral music and wanted to share a piece i just saw that impressed me! in this video, the group perpetuum jazzile perform toto's africa. the part that amazed me most was the intro... i LOVE the thunderstorm! (it might seem like the sound of the video isnt working at first, but it is... be patient!)
the rainstorm effect was inspired by this performance by a south african youth choir: the kearnsey college choir.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
science communicator career?!?
tonight i went to a nice dinner gathering, with various people involved in science communication and public outreach organizations from around the UK in attendance. i got a bit dressed up and walked across town in the rain in my fancy shoes, only to notice that i wasnt as dressed up as everyone else. oh well.
the more official discussions that occurred over dinner were quite enlightening to someone who has been bottled up in academia and has only recently broken out into the realm of public outreach! there isnt really a defined career path for "science communicator" it seems, and i find that rather unfortunate. the overwhelming opinion was that it is best for science professionals to communicate with schools and the public, because they are the most knowledgeable about the cutting-edge science being conducted. but its also true that there are many people eager to communicate science to the masses who lack direct avenues to pursue this goal. i agree that it is excellent for scientists to communicate directly with schools and the public at large, but its not great that most professional scientists have had no proper training in media relations or public communications.
in the US, we spend some time during our graduate student careers as teaching assistants, but for the most part this is not mandatory. in the UK, the time spent in graduate school is so short, and the financial resources are so limited, that most students dont get in front of a classroom until they are lecturers or professors. by that time in a career, one is so busy advising students, preparing lectures, grading tests, doing science, and participating in committees, that the lack of recognition for public outreach activities makes the exercise more work than its worth - unless an individual is naturally enthusiastic about the pursuit.
so - i think universities should put in a little more effort in training students and staff in public and *media* communication. this is beneficial because professors and lecturers might be more willing to engage the public if they get some sort of professional credit for their efforts, and its also positive considering the types of stories often picked up by media outlets.
one example i can think of right now is the large hadron collider (LHC). popular news media outlets necessarily try to appeal to the masses thru catchy headlines. things like "Black Holes Created by LHC Will Destroy Earth!" can get decent newspaper attention, even though the reality of that happening is ridiculously unlikely and only a couple people amid all of humanity are spouting off such silly things to the media. unfortunately, those headlines seem to be a lot more exciting than the majority of stories coming from scientists involved who are talking about quantum mechanics and fundamental particles. scientists make a huge effort to be completely accurate in all information disseminated, of course! but sometimes in an effort to be absolutely "correct," they will sacrifice flashy language that might otherwise appeal to the media and the public. hence the need for media training for current and upcoming scientists!
in my opinion, its not always about being absolutely, positively accurate in every word that comes out of your mouth... its about engaging people with the simple and exciting information that will get them curious enough to think about the subject more!!!
yet, in a time of facebook, youtube, twitter, and other sources of immediate (and not always accurate) online news... what will be the future of traditional media sources in 5, 10, 20, 40 years?? will we bother printing newspapers? will anyone be able to sift thru all the junk to get to the "real" information? will the appeal of the unobstructed internet eventually extinguish, leading us to a renaissance of tangible reading materials? after all, i think most people that still read novels like to read real books with paper pages.
with how quickly media sources and internet fads are changing, and how unexpectedly certain websites are gaining popularity, i hesitate to predict anything about how information will be distributed by today's youth in even a few years time.
these are my late night ramblings... i'm curious about the thoughts from my media-savvy audience.
the more official discussions that occurred over dinner were quite enlightening to someone who has been bottled up in academia and has only recently broken out into the realm of public outreach! there isnt really a defined career path for "science communicator" it seems, and i find that rather unfortunate. the overwhelming opinion was that it is best for science professionals to communicate with schools and the public, because they are the most knowledgeable about the cutting-edge science being conducted. but its also true that there are many people eager to communicate science to the masses who lack direct avenues to pursue this goal. i agree that it is excellent for scientists to communicate directly with schools and the public at large, but its not great that most professional scientists have had no proper training in media relations or public communications.
in the US, we spend some time during our graduate student careers as teaching assistants, but for the most part this is not mandatory. in the UK, the time spent in graduate school is so short, and the financial resources are so limited, that most students dont get in front of a classroom until they are lecturers or professors. by that time in a career, one is so busy advising students, preparing lectures, grading tests, doing science, and participating in committees, that the lack of recognition for public outreach activities makes the exercise more work than its worth - unless an individual is naturally enthusiastic about the pursuit.
so - i think universities should put in a little more effort in training students and staff in public and *media* communication. this is beneficial because professors and lecturers might be more willing to engage the public if they get some sort of professional credit for their efforts, and its also positive considering the types of stories often picked up by media outlets.
one example i can think of right now is the large hadron collider (LHC). popular news media outlets necessarily try to appeal to the masses thru catchy headlines. things like "Black Holes Created by LHC Will Destroy Earth!" can get decent newspaper attention, even though the reality of that happening is ridiculously unlikely and only a couple people amid all of humanity are spouting off such silly things to the media. unfortunately, those headlines seem to be a lot more exciting than the majority of stories coming from scientists involved who are talking about quantum mechanics and fundamental particles. scientists make a huge effort to be completely accurate in all information disseminated, of course! but sometimes in an effort to be absolutely "correct," they will sacrifice flashy language that might otherwise appeal to the media and the public. hence the need for media training for current and upcoming scientists!
in my opinion, its not always about being absolutely, positively accurate in every word that comes out of your mouth... its about engaging people with the simple and exciting information that will get them curious enough to think about the subject more!!!
yet, in a time of facebook, youtube, twitter, and other sources of immediate (and not always accurate) online news... what will be the future of traditional media sources in 5, 10, 20, 40 years?? will we bother printing newspapers? will anyone be able to sift thru all the junk to get to the "real" information? will the appeal of the unobstructed internet eventually extinguish, leading us to a renaissance of tangible reading materials? after all, i think most people that still read novels like to read real books with paper pages.
with how quickly media sources and internet fads are changing, and how unexpectedly certain websites are gaining popularity, i hesitate to predict anything about how information will be distributed by today's youth in even a few years time.
these are my late night ramblings... i'm curious about the thoughts from my media-savvy audience.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
block island
such a serene scene of the seaside...
but wait, no its NOT! its a photo taken by the opportunity exploration rover on MARS! the robust little rovers are still alive on the surface of mars, even though they were scheduled to parish many many sols ago.
the future is looking pretty grim for the spirit rover which is currently stuck in a ditch of soft sand. there remains little hope for movement, even though many tests are being performed on earth to figure out how to rescue it :(
opportunity keeps trucking along, though, and recently found the rock pictured above! NASA scientists call it "block island" and it very well might be a meteorite that has landed on the surface of mars after millions of years of traveling around our solar system. its interesting that it has no crater around it?! several such rocks have been found by the rovers on mars, but its too difficult to determine their true origin from available data.
but wait, no its NOT! its a photo taken by the opportunity exploration rover on MARS! the robust little rovers are still alive on the surface of mars, even though they were scheduled to parish many many sols ago.
the future is looking pretty grim for the spirit rover which is currently stuck in a ditch of soft sand. there remains little hope for movement, even though many tests are being performed on earth to figure out how to rescue it :(
opportunity keeps trucking along, though, and recently found the rock pictured above! NASA scientists call it "block island" and it very well might be a meteorite that has landed on the surface of mars after millions of years of traveling around our solar system. its interesting that it has no crater around it?! several such rocks have been found by the rovers on mars, but its too difficult to determine their true origin from available data.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
mysterious spots on venus and jupiter
you may have heard of the two exciting mysteries that were discovered over the last few weeks by amateur astronomers around the world: a bright spot on venus and a dark 'bruise' on jupiter.
here is our sixty symbols take on the solar system excitement!
here is our sixty symbols take on the solar system excitement!
UKRC's august astronomy blogger!
guess who?!?!
"Amanda Bauer - Astropixie and galaxy-gazer!" awesome.
in march of this year, i attended a conference in london that focused on the future of women in science, engineering, and technology. the successful event was hosted by the uk resource center for women in science, technology, and engineering... or UKRC for short. you can read some of my initial reactions to the event here and here, and some less-directly related posts here and here.
i'm honored that this useful organization asked me to be their featured astronomy blogger for august!! so go over, have a read, and leave a comment!
enjoy!
"Amanda Bauer - Astropixie and galaxy-gazer!" awesome.
in march of this year, i attended a conference in london that focused on the future of women in science, engineering, and technology. the successful event was hosted by the uk resource center for women in science, technology, and engineering... or UKRC for short. you can read some of my initial reactions to the event here and here, and some less-directly related posts here and here.
i'm honored that this useful organization asked me to be their featured astronomy blogger for august!! so go over, have a read, and leave a comment!
enjoy!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
being followed by a moon shadow
this image was captured by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the exact moment when the moon's shadow was passing over me in ningbo, china a couple weeks ago during the total solar eclipse! cool! the shadow is only about 100 miles wide - not every big!
Monday, August 3, 2009
fox and piano
a piece by artist robert hunter:
oddly, this illustration shows what some of the songs i've written feel like. i might try to make decent recordings of some soon so you can tell me if you agree.
oddly, this illustration shows what some of the songs i've written feel like. i might try to make decent recordings of some soon so you can tell me if you agree.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
carnival of space #114
enjoy this week's space reading at the 114th carnival of space, hosted at cheap astro.
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