Laci Green explains it all in her own amazing way. Warning, there is some Gangnam Style involved ...
Best quote: "We need to create college environments and culture that support women in the sciences in the same way that the men are supported". I can't count the amount of women that have told me that they've felt bullied and talked down to as they've supported their scientific goals.
From verifying hunches to discovering entirely new organisms, I typically think of science as doing the impossible. NASA has had a long history of this, and they recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of successfully sending a probe to another planet. Up to this point, planets were only observed through telescopes and abstract mathematical equations. This makes it especially hard to observe planets such as Venus, which is consistently covered with clouds. Sending a probe to beam back images as well as atmospheric information helped us to further understand our neighbor as well as our own planet, as the high temperatures of Venus are potentially due to global warming on Venus.
For more information and an audio story, check out the NPR article here.
NASA/JPL/CalTech
Watch the video below and marvel about how everything we know is a small part of the larger universe. For more info, check out the animation studio ORDER and read Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.
Programming is important to me because it provides way to break down and solve a problem - any problem - in a methodical way. We've used computer programs to help defeat disease, put classes online, and enjoy digital entertainment. And it's all thanks to pioneers such as Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the first computer programmer.
Ada worked with the famous inventor Charles Babbage on the theory behind his not-yet mechanical computer. She wrote an algorithm for a numerical computation technique. She was also the first person that we know of to see computers as tools to be used beyond number crunching - namely, music. She mentioned that the math behind music notes made it apt for a computer to handle.
You don't need to be a techie to learn the basics of programming, since it provides a great approach to problem solving. Many schools, offline and online, offer the basics. Check out codeacademy.com for starters.
Some kids build nice things. Other kids build dangerous things. But they're still building - same skills that can be used for good! Join my dog Leia and I as we take another stroll down Forbidden Drive in the Germantown area of Philly and talk about tech that we were forbidden to use.
