DarÂwinÂmaÂnia (as The New York Times dubbed it) is about to begin. DurÂing the next year, we will celÂeÂbrate DarÂwin’s 200th birthÂday and the 150th anniverÂsary of the OriÂgin of Species (downÂload zip audio here) and the disÂcovÂery of natÂurÂal selecÂtion. It’s pretÂty much a givÂen that the minuÂtiÂae of DarÂwin’s life will get thorÂoughÂly reexÂamÂined. So I figÂured why not get ahead of the curve and give you this — DarÂwin’s writÂing room. It’s proÂvidÂed courÂtesy of the Guardian Book SecÂtion, which lets you take a peek at the writÂings rooms of VirÂginia Woolf, Lord Byron, RudÂyard Kipling, MarÂtin Amis and many othÂer imporÂtant writÂers. (You can also visÂit our piece from last year for more room phoÂtos.)
Find Any Song Online and Share. Now.
Tinysong.com offers a serÂvice that’s rather impresÂsive. You go to their homeÂpage, search for a song, and then you can lisÂten to it online and share it with a friend (via a speÂcialÂly creÂatÂed url). Just how it all works (copyÂright includÂed), and just how deep the colÂlecÂtion actuÂalÂly goes, I am not totalÂly sure. But, the varÂiÂous tests that I threw at it sugÂgest that there’s a fair amount of depth there.
Top 10 TEDTalks (and Do Schools Today Kill Creativity?)
Late in the week, TEDTalks named its top ten videos. Whether this is a quanÂtiÂtaÂtive or qualÂiÂtaÂtive judgÂment, I am not sure. On the list, you’ll find Al Gore talkÂing about how to avert a cliÂmate criÂsis, David GalÂlo showÂing amazÂing underÂwaÂter creaÂtures, and Ken RobinÂson describÂing why schools kill creÂativÂiÂty (we’ve postÂed that one below). Again the full list is here.
Stephen Hawking’s Explosive New Theory
ArtiÂcle begins: “Prof Stephen HawkÂing has come up with a new idea to explain why the Big Bang of creÂation led to the vast cosÂmos that we can see today. Astronomers can deduce that the earÂly uniÂverse expandÂed at a mind-bogÂgling rate because regions sepÂaÂratÂed by vast disÂtances have simÂiÂlar backÂground temÂperÂaÂtures. They have proÂposed a process of rapid expanÂsion of neighÂbourÂing regions, with simÂiÂlar cosÂmic propÂerÂties, to explain this growth spurt which they call inflaÂtion. But that left a deepÂer mysÂtery: why did inflaÂtion occur in the first place?” The rest here.
Superstring Theory Explained Dynamically
“In clear, nonÂtechÂniÂcal lanÂguage, string theÂoÂrist BriÂan Greene explains how our underÂstandÂing of the uniÂverse has evolved from EinÂstein’s notions of gravÂiÂty and space-time to superÂstring theÂoÂry, where minusÂcule strands of enerÂgy vibratÂing in 11 dimenÂsions creÂate every parÂtiÂcle and force in the uniÂverse.” If you want to get deepÂer into Greene’s work on string theÂoÂry, I would recÂomÂmend referÂring back to this preÂviÂous post.
This dynamÂic preÂsenÂtaÂtion was made at the TED conÂferÂence. (PS You may also want to see BoingÂBoÂing’s new post: Top 10 TedTalks.)
No Ice at the North Pole
The chance of ice disÂapÂpearÂing this sumÂmer? 50/50. WorÂriÂsome, I’d say.
The Gas Mileage Illusion (and the Future of Electric Cars)
GivÂen the sudÂden nationÂal obsesÂsion with the price of oil & gas, it seems worth flagÂging this bit of video put togethÂer by two proÂfesÂsors from Duke UniÂverÂsiÂty. Some may find their perÂspecÂtive on gas mileage rather obviÂous, othÂers not. Either way, it can’t hurt to get their point across.
SepÂaÂrateÂly, here’s a quick piece on the state of elecÂtric cars and when they may be ready for prime time. You’ll learn here about the TesÂla RoadÂster, a high-perÂforÂmance elecÂtric sports car, that goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 secÂonds and gets the equivÂaÂlent of 256 miles per galÂlon. PretÂty impresÂsive, even if it costs $109k.
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