science

Reason for Optimism in 2023: The Universe In Verse on “What is Life?”

The perfect accompaniment to the reflective week between Christmas and New Years is the Universe in Verse, an event masterminded by The Marginalian’s Maria Popova, to explore the question “What is Life?” through science and poetry. A gathering of extraordinary humans “celebrate the marvel and mystery of life, from the creaturely to the cosmic, with stories from the history of science and our search for truth, illustrated with poems spanning centuries of human thought and feeling”. It offers a mightily hopeful view.

Tom Ashcraft: Make the Heart Light Up

(Video link here.) For years, Thomas Ashcraft has been documenting atmospheric phenomena —meteors, space dusts, the sun, fleeting emanations of cosmic light called sprites. Although he’s gained a lot of recognition for the remarkable sightings he’s recorded in his All Sky Observatory in New Mexico, this is the first video that explores the inside of Tom’s thinking and method, of…

Monday Morning Magic: Real Life Levitation

(Video link HERE.) David Saltman over at The Houdini File recently posted this wondrous example of real-life levitation created by sound waves. (Since the waves are ultra-sonic, they actually make no sound whatsover; turn the music off to see what that would be like). With or without music, it’s the perfect mix of science and magic,…