Among the barriers to equality faced by women in science is the deeply entrenched notion that women are subjective, personal, and emotional, whereas men — like science — are objective, impersonal, and rational.
Rita Levi-Montalcini in 2008 • Photo by audrey_sel (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Detail from “Road with Cypress and Star” by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s night
In [a 1988] issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, astronomers Donald Olson and Russell Doescher turn their attention from the real sky to a sky painted by the 19th century Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting, “Road with Cypress and Star,” shows three celestial objects — a crescent moon, a bright star, and a less bright star near the horizon. The astronomers asked themselves: Is the sky in the painting the product of the artist’s imagination, or was it inspired by an actual configuration of celestial objects?
Photo by Rayan Almuslem on Unsplash
Bach on the wing
If someone tells you the age of miracles is past, don’t believe it.
Artist's impression of asteroid impact • Donald E. Davis (Public Domain)
Apocalypse now?
I heard on the radio the other day that a “rocket scientist” had predicted — with the aid of mathematical equations and biblical references — the imminent end of the world.
Photo by Ivan Oboleninov from Pexels
Mysterious sleep
The title jumped off the new-book shelf at the college library — a volume called Why We Sleep.
Photo by Derek Oyen on Unsplash
Welcome propaganda
Some weeks ago I swam with a wild dolphin. Well, not quite wild. This particular dolphin has taken up residence in the cold waters of Dingle Harbor in southwest Ireland and seems pleased to swim with whatever person comes his way. A lot of people have availed themselves of the opportunity, so many that the Dingle dolphin has become an important tourist attraction.
A fruit fly • Photo by Hannah Davis (CC BY-SA 4.0)
All hail the fruit fly
Like a Newton, a Darwin, or an Einstein, Drosophila, the fruit fly, begins life as a single cell. Within that cell are the genes that will lead, in the fullness of time, to a human of genius, or to an insect with…ah, shall we say, another sort of scientific fame.
Valles Marineris on Mars • Image by Kevin Gill (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Voyage to Mars
Next month [Sep. 1988] the planet Mars will be closer to Earth than at any time since 1971. For telescopic observers in mid-northern latitudes, the viewing will be best since 1955.
Period table of elements, Houston Museum • Photo by Shadow Byrd (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Nature’s music
Somewhere on the wall of every high school or college chemistry laboratory hangs a periodic table of the elements. Every student of chemistry has an image of the table graven on his brain.
Artist's impression of space travel via wormhole • Les Bossinas (Public Domain)
Space travel is bilge
Ah, yes. Galactic travel. A zip through hyperspace. The meat and potatoes of science fiction. We have traveled so often to Antares and beyond, in books, films, and television, that it seems only a matter of time before humans must actually embark upon such a voyage.