Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Happy birthday!

Scott McLeod

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Has it been a whole year already? Today Dangerously Irrelevant is one year old!

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Starts With A Bang

Jupiter endangers Earth, and may have extincted the dinosaurs

65 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth. Not only did Jupiter not stop it, but it most likely caused the impact itself.

Two colorful, semi-transparent spheres, one blue and one red, represent a possible top quark bound state, toponium, surrounded by small particles inside a cloudy, circular enclosure.

Starts With A Bang

The top quark isn’t a loner after all: “toponium” is real!

Can the top quark, the shortest-lived particle of all, bind with anything else? Yes it can! New results at the LHC demonstrate toponium exists.

Painting of a man with red hair and a mustache wearing a white cap, resting his head on his hand, set against a swirling blue background with touches of van Gogh yellow paint highlighting the scene.

Books

Why did Van Gogh eat yellow paint? The troubled obsession behind the masterpieces.

In “Human History on Drugs,” Sam Kelly explores what the research can tell us about one of history’s most brilliant — and troubled — artists.

A human skull and bone rest beside colorful flowers and sheet music in a detailed memento mori still life composition.

Smart Skills

Why memento mori is the ultimate life hack

A mid-flight scare reveals how embracing death can bring purpose and meaning to everyday life.

Black and white image of a star field with one bright object in the center, indicated by a red arrow, believed to be the third interstellar object detected passing through our solar system.

Starts With A Bang

Humanity’s third interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, is arriving now

First ‘Oumuamua, then Borisov, and now ATLAS have shown us that interstellar interlopers are real. Here’s what the newest one teaches us.

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Guest Thinkers

Moving Forward – Example blogs to use for presentations?

Many of give presentations or deliver training workshops for K-12 or postsecondary educators. As part of those professional development efforts, we have a variety of resources and favorites that we […]