Search results matching tag 'science'

Astronomy Revisited

wag.mado@evpl — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:49:00 GMT

Are you over 50? Have you ever wondered how many new astronomical discoveries have been made since you were in school? This Thursday, March 15 the Savvy Senior Series will present "What We Know Now: Significant Astronomical Discoveries Made Since You Were in School."

This program will be held at Central Library in the Browning Events Room at 2:00 PM and will be presented by Mitch Luman from the Evansville Museum.

Come join us for an informative afternoon. No reservations are required. As always, this program is free and open to the public.

For more information on upcoming Savvy Senior Series programs, please click here.

Geeking Out in the Kitchen

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:05:00 GMT

I've always thought if you can read a recipe, you can cook, more or less. However, I've been told this simply isn't true and that there are actually very smart people who fail miserably in the kitchen. This past summer O'Reilly, a publisher I usually associate with software manuals, published Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food by Jeff Potter. It is not just a cookbook. Yes, there are recipes aplenty but the book is more about cooking as a science, which might just be perfect for challenged cooks with scientific minds.

The book also features brief interviews with people like Adam Savage, from the television show Myth Busters.

Previously on the Books Blog: The Hungry Scientest Handbook

Endangered species: where to find current information

googler@evpl — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:44:00 GMT

We've always found it difficult to collect print items that have current lists of endangered species. Thanks to the internet, we no longer have to.

For species that reside in the United States, the definitive source is the US Fish and Wildlife Service (the agency that enforces the Endangered Species Act). To access its list, which also includes threatened species, click on the "endangered species" list at the top of the front page. This list can be searched by location and species name.

For international coverage of threatened species, the most comprehensive list is from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, who maintain a "red list" of threatened species, both plant and animal. The list currently includes information on about 45,000 species, which means some searching is necessary -- there's no A-Z of everything here. You'll probably do a keyword search (such as birds, or hawks), and then on the left, you can narrow by a number of options. Each option will open to list more, which you see by clicking on the plus signs.

The most important option in the left-hand menu is "assessment," because that's where designations of "vulnerable," "endangered," "critically endangered," etc. are listed. You can choose more than one category. The numbers after each category in the plus-sign menus are the number of species that option entails. (As an example, perhaps a depressing one, there are 562 species of birds that are either endangered or critically endangered.)

Another website, Earth's Endangered Creatures, is more user-friendly and makes an excellent effort to be current and accurate, but is not as official, and only lists animals.

For a smaller selection of endangered species, instead of a comprehensive list, you might be able to use the World Wildlife Fund's focus on "flagship species," which they define as the most iconic of the threatened animals.

The Library is adding new books and videos to the collection on endangered and threatened species on an ongoing basis, of course, but none that make a claim to being exhaustive. So websites like these perform an invaluable service.

Charles and Emma: the Darwins' leap of faith

kiya@evpl — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:32:00 GMT

Yesterday was Charles Darwin's birthday, and tomorrow is Valentine's Day. That makes it the perfect time to tell you about an enchanting book called Charles and Emma: the Darwins' leap of faith by Deborah Heilingman. Heilingman opens the book with the scene of Charles Darwin, newly returned from his voyages on the HMS Beagle, trying to decide whether a scientist so devoted to his work has any business getting married. Darwin wants a wife and a family, but he knows already what some of the implications of his work will mean to those close to him. Eventually he decides in favor of a family, and finds a bride in Emma, a cousin he has known and been comfortable with his entire life. Their fondness for each other deepens into love, and they both find themselves happier than they had ever expected to be. Still, there are clouds in their life as well. Like many families of their time, some of their children die young, and the grief tears at them. Those deaths also touched on one of the other tensions of their relationship: Emma was a Christian with firm beliefs in Heaven and Hell; Charles struggled with the traditional religious view in light of what he had learned from science. Still, despite the tensions these opposing world views brought to their life, their marriage remained a partnership, with Emma remaining one of his first and best readers and critics. Heililngman brings her subjects to life, helping the reader understand the importance and impact of Darwin's work. The book is relatively short, and a quick read - I heartily recommmend it for a slightly different view of Darwin.

Reasons why the world won't end in 2012

googler@evpl — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:22:00 GMT

There's a lot of hype right now about the Mayan calendar, but it's interesting to note that none of it is coming from experts in Mesoamerican studies. In fact, it all seems to be coming from people trying to sell something, from books to movie tickets to emergency supplies. A couple of sites out there might help you rest assured there's nothing to be worried about.

An article in USA Today explains that "Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that 'whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time,' journalist Lawrence Joseph writes. But scholars doubt the ancient Maya extrapolated great meaning from anticipating the alignment — if they were even aware of what the configuration would be. Astronomers generally agree that 'it would be impossible the Maya themselves would have known that,' says Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What's more, she says, 'we have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point.'"

The news site of the Discovery Channel has an article titled "Top Ten Reasons Why the World Won't End in 2012" with a nice summary of arguments against the most frequently proposed doomsday scenarios.

NASA has a FAQ about 2012, in which they explain, "Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar."

I'm fond of The Skeptic's Dictionary, and they've come through with a nice entry that explains the complexities of the Mayan calendar in some detail (and which many doomsayers seem to be ignorant of). They also fail to find any reason to think that the Mayans were making a prediction at all, and ask the question, "what is the likelihood that a civilization that couldn't use its vast knowledge to save itself from self-destruction was concerned with predicting what would happen in a future millennium? The Mayan leaders couldn't see far enough into the future to plan for and solve the human problems they faced: too many people on too little land, destruction of their own environment, farming techniques and deforestation that depleted soil nutrients, droughts (partly brought on by their deforestation programs), and so on."

You have to give Hollywood credit -- they've timed the release of the big-budget disaster film 2012 just about perfectly. If nothing else, it certainly looks like an impressive bunch of special effects. I love how Roger Ebert calls it "the mother of all disaster movies (and the father, and the extended family)."

The Best Medicine

wag.mado@evpl — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:56:00 GMT

Every three weeks we have a Lobby Book Display at Central Library on a different theme or topic. Some topics are naturally more popular than others. However, "Laugh Out Loud" in the month of March was such a favorite that we found it difficult to keep books on the display. The books were fiction and nonfiction titles that were generally written to make people laugh.

Now, I've always known about the importance of laughter since I first saw the "Laughter is the Best Medicine" section in Reader's Digest as a child. And as an adult, I learned about the psychology of laughter while studying Norman Cousins in my college psychology classes and later in a cancer support group I attended. But none of this prepared me for the speed at which those humorous books flew off the book display.

Just about the time I was preparing the book display, I heard that the economic recession was having an effect on the demand for humorous speakers.

Then, about two weeks ago came a news story regarding a new scientific study by Dr. Lee Berk which shows that "mirthful laughter" can raise good cholesterol, reduce inflammation and reduce levels of three detrimental stress hormones in high risk diabetic patients. And, according to a 2006 study by Dr. Berk, just the anticipation of laughter can boost health-protecting hormones and reduce potentially harmful ones.

Next, I discovered that May 3 was World Laughter Day and that it was being promoted by a group who practices Laughter Yoga. Who knew!

So, this got me thinking. Are people attracted to humorous things because they feel better just thinking about that funny stuff? Do they subconsciously know that a laugh is just what they need to get them through these stressful times we live in? Well, I think so.

So my proposition is this: Why not pull a humorous book or movie off the shelf every time you visit the library. Hold it in your hand and look at it often. Even if you don't ever get around to reading it or watching it, just the anticipation alone should be enough to make you feel better. And if you do read or watch it, just think of all those health-protecting chemicals that will be floating around inside you for the next 12 to 24 hours.

The Author gave me... ...breakfast?

kiya@evpl — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:46:00 GMT

You never know what you might find when you go exploring on authors' websites. Maybe there will be a contest - a chance to win a signed book or other prize. Perhaps some short stories about minor characters in an ongoing series. With Google or other search engines it can be easy to locate author websites. Here are some interesting things I've located lately.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes modern romances with engaging characters, strong women, and very descriptive love scenes. When I went looking for her website I found an epilogue for one of her books, a contest, writing tips, information about the charities she supports, a message board, and the grand prize - RECIPES! So far, my favorite is the Baked Oatmeal - a casserole that can prepared ahead and pieces reheated in the morning for a quick and easy hot breakfast - SO much better than instant oatmeal, and just as easy in the morning. The whole family likes it, and I've started experimenting with adding different fruit before baking. My kids also liked the Harvest Soup, and the Pumpkin Dip was yummy for dipping apple slices.

Emilie Richards writes a mystery series about a minister's wife, occasional romances, and what is often called "women's fiction" - including her Shenandoah Valley Quilt series. Her website includes her blog - I loved this entry about her recent trip to Guatemala. Also included on her website is information about quilting, and the quilts she describes in the Shenandoah Valley series, along with other treasures.

Jeffrey Cohen mostly writes mysteries and screenplays, but he also has a couple of nonfiction books about raising children who are somewhere on the Autism spectrum.

Whatever he is writing, you can be sure his sense of humor shows through. Cohen's latest gift to his readers is a song about all the different subtypes of mysteries: cozies, noir, hard-boiled, etc. Take a couple of minutes to watch the video, and see why his fellow authors are taking up a collection to buy him a trench coat.

Last but not least, Len Fisher writes about science for those of us who are interested in science, but not especially well-educated in the field. At least one magazine describes him as "the guy who puts the Fizz in Physics." His website features cartoons, his blog about the writing he does, some humorous stories from the media about science.

Please share the authors' websites that you like to visit.

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"Everyday Mysteries" answers interesting questions

googler@evpl — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:20:00 GMT

"Everyday Mysteries," subtitled "Fun science facts from the Library of Congress," is a great website for reading interesting articles on a variety of topics, getting ideas for research papers, and submitting your own questions. Each article includes both links to related websites and a bibliography of written materials, so it's a great jumping-off point for further study.

Some of their articles include "What does it mean when they say the universe is expanding?" and "Who invented the automobile?"

LibGuides from HowStuffWorks

seeker@evpl — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:29:00 GMT

I've always been a sucker for dropping by HowStuffWorks to see entertaining how-to's. After all, you never know when you might be called upon to build a straw bale house or explain to your 7-year-old how a Star Wars light saber appears to be real in a movie but she's not going to see a working version in Wal-Mart any time soon. Certainly not in time for Christmas! The short articles offer a clear picture of how something functions, is put together, or its history. Designed by Discovery Channel and its spinoffs, the information is sound, the speculations are reasonable, and the information is presented in an entertaining way. (The accompaning ads that allow it to be a free site are clearly marked and easy to skim over.)

On the other end of the spectrum, I enjoy exploring the more serious LibGuides collection of guides by research librarians, whether they're subject guides, information portals, or focused research tip sheets. These reliable explorations were originally written for their individual library, so not all resources listed are available for free, but there always seems to be some valuable content in each topic I've opened so far.

Now How Stuff Works has joined the LibGuides community with their own collection of research guide topics at HowStuffWorks LibGuiides . They combine HowStuffWorks' entertaining outlook with LibGuides' research orientation. The topics run from cooking to dinosaurs to elections & politics, each with videos, articles, questions and links to other informative sites. One of the features I particularly liked is the ability to pull up the most recently written guides. For an intriguing introductory meander through a new broad topic area, browse through HowStuffWorks' LibGuides.

Physics got you down?

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:54:00 GMT

I came across this little bit of interesting hip-hop this morning and had to share. It looks as though some intrepid internet diva has decided to lay out in detail what the CERN-operated Large Hadron Collider is intended to do. The only thing missing is the button that commences total global annihilation.

Follow this link to check out the video.