lightsinthedistance-modernlife

Just a quick blog post to leave you with an interesting video to watch. It was filmed back in April, when there were some questions about the future focus of NASA . Neil deGrasse Tyson makes some good points about why we should be continually exploring the universe.

I recently had the amazing opportunity to visit La Selva Biological Station , operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies, on a class trip. The station was established in 1971, and is one of the most important biological stations for tropical rain forest research in the world: every year 250 scientific papers are published from research done at the station. Pretty impressive for a station only 15 square kilometers in area. It's operated by a consortium of 63 universities, and they do a great job of managing it. Unfortunately, due to the massive amount of pictures I took while there, I can only select a few to elaborate on, so I'll make those count. Let it be said, however, that there are a massive amount of interactions, plants, animals, and so many other organisms at the station, and in the rain forest as a whole. It's no wonder that so much research comes out of the place.   Bridge over Río Puerto Viejo, containing crocodiles and fruit-eating piranha. I had a lot o...

Old Man's Cave is an interesting place. It's part of Hocking Hills, an Ohio state park, and is located near Logan, Ohio. The state parks in Ohio are wonderful places to enjoy nature, find bugs, and just revel in various types of biology, and Old Man's Cave is no exception. The cave is named after a settler who lived in the cave after the Civil War, Richard Rowe. He was killed by an accidental shot from his own gun, and it's rumored that local Native Americans buried him near the Cave. Who knows if that's true or not, but it's an interesting story. Moss covers every rock around the park, and there are good amounts of lichens and bryophytes as well. While I was there, I found a lot of mushrooms. If you're a mycologist, you'll enjoy the place. Unfortunately, my mycology skills are pretty non-existent right now. I'll have to come back to the ecology and identification of these at a later date. But still, very neat, and a good variety for only a cursory g...

Something that has become very clear to me is that science and popular culture don't mix as often as they should. There is a large portion of the general public that doesn't understand science, thinks it's boring, and has no interest in pursuing any other information about science. Yet, maybe that's not a fair nor a correct characterization. According to the National Science Foundation's most recent  survey on public attitude's about science and technology , more than 80% of Americans reported that they were very or moderately interested in new scientific discoveries. Public interest in science and technology topics is higher in the US than in many other countries, including European countries, China, and South Korea. 59% of Americans visited an informal science venue (such as a museum or zoo) in 2007. So, maybe the problem isn't a lack of interest. Perhaps the problem is a lack of effective communication by scientists and the lack in the number of opportun...