03 August 2008

TEDTalks' own guitar heroes

TEDTalks fan Stefan Kreitmayer was watching Tod Machover -- whose lab at MIT developed the tech behind Guitar Hero -- when he noticed an interesting coincidence and took a screenshot. Wondering what to watch next? How about these guitar heroes:

(Links for these talks: Craig Venter ... Freeman Dyson ... Kwabena Boahen ... the Theme "What's Next in Tech" ... and check out Stefan Kreitmayer's blog.)

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01 August 2008

The Lonely Interplanetary guide to scuba diving

Bored with Earthly beach destinations this summer? Does the word "Carribbean" not ring exactly, well, "exotic" these days? With this week's news that (highly acidic) water has been tasted on Mars and an ethane lake has been discovered on Saturn's moon Titan, perhaps it's time to investigate otherworldly destinations for fun in the surf. Grab your ultraviolet-shielded swimming gear and a good beach read (say, Project Orion by George Dyson, who spoke at TED in 2003), hop aboard Virgin Galactic's newly unveiled SpaceShipTwo, and cruise to these astonishing natural satellites orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, where summer never comes:

Tidally bound to face its mother planet, Europa consistently offers breathtaking views of Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, while its breezy hardly-there chemise of molecular oxygen is delicate enough to leave the magnificent sight unobstructed. (But, beware the occasional barrage of comets yanked in by Jupiter's gravity.) Adventurers wishing to forgo Europa's "spa experience" will be at home, too: drill through miles of icy crust to access this satellite's vast subsurface ocean of liquid saltwater -- and whatever may lurk there.

Unlike visitors to other Jovian moons, sailors to Callisto can leave their ionizing radiationscreen at home: though excessively pockmarked by impacts, its outer orbit saves it from the effects of Jupiter's monstrous magnetosphere. Hiking enthusiasts can traverse its gigantic basin of concentric rings, Valhalla, spanning 600 kilometers, kicking through wisps of condensed oxygen. This moon's lack of tectonic activity makes for easy access to its likely ocean of liquid saltwater. (Robert Ballard has made the case that Earth's own oceans are still deeply mysterious.)

Athletes and thrill-seekers delight at Enceladus' suite of extreme winter features and low gravity: spirally slalom the slopes of its unforgettable impact craters; gawk at the ivory, propane-scented violence of erupting cryovolcanoes as the panorama of Saturn's rings sets below the horizon; bobsled along thousand-mile escarpments of fresh chemical ice. Meanwhile, geology geeks can enjoy exploring this highly reflective moon's incredible tectonic scars and stripes. But let divers beware: the existence of a liquid subsurface is only speculative.

Titan's atmosphere, unique among moons, makes it a mysterious entity among other natural satellites and an attractive destination for Saturn-bound families seeking an exotic experience without patent danger (asteroid strikes are rare). Visitors willing to endure its unusual weather -- the nitrogen-humid nights with the sky awash in orange; monsoons of methane and other hydrocarbons -- will be rewarded by its Earth-like terrain: newly discovered lakes of ethane, vast sand dunes, a probable ocean of water-ammonia under the surface, and perhaps even microbial life. (Get your vaccinations!)

Our solar system is truly a cornucopia of enchanting and enigmatic phenomena. Make sure your frequent-flyer miles go to good use on your next trek by studying TEDTalks by Carolyn Porco, Bill Stone, George Dyson, Freeman Dyson and other adventurers. -- Matthew Trost

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25 July 2008

Browse an archive of science advice to Congress

Nonpartisan science advice in the US Congress? A newly opened online archive shows that it was possible -- and stimulates a call to re-open the Office of Technology Assessment as an advisor to Congress.

The OTA's archive of 700+ scientific reports on topics ranging from addiction to terrorism to "personal rapid transit" spans the lifetime of the Office of Technology Assessment, which advised the US Congress on science and technology questions from 1972 to 1995. The archive has been put online by the Federation of American Scientists, and makes for fascinating browsing.

It's often difficult to separate science from politics. The 2006 book The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite, by Ann Finkbeiner, discusses the legendary summer institute where some of the most distinguished scientists in postwar America, including Freeman Dyson (watch his TEDTalk) and Murray Gell-Mann (watch his TEDTalk), kicked around the biggest questions. It's a fascinating look at the complicated Sputnik-era collision between science and government.

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14 July 2008

Let's look for life in the outer solar system: Freeman Dyson on TED.com

Physicist Freeman Dyson suggests that we start looking for life on the moons of Jupiter and out past Neptune, in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. He talks about what such life would be like -- and how we might find it. (Recorded February 2003 in Monterey, California. Duration: 19:11.)

Watch Freeman Dyson's 2003 talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.

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