Yonatan Zunger posted this video featuring Neil Armstrong’s voice on Google Plus almost 2 weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to post it here for a while. The latest xkcd cartoon finally gave me the opportunity to combine this inspirational video and Kerbal Space Program in one post.
So far the 21st century has been pretty amazing. I’m looking forward to more science!
In a few hours time Neil deGrasse Tyson will present the new series of Cosmos. We won’t see it in this part of the world for another week unfortunately. I never saw the original series and only know Carl Sagan by reputation as the only time I’ve heard him speak at length was in this 1996 Science Friday interview they rebroadcast in December. I still have it on my phone despite the fact I listened to it several weeks ago. It’s a great interview, you should listen to it too.
Thanks to Reddit here’s a short interview with a younger Neil deGrasse Tyson where he explains the influence Carl Sagan had on him and tells of first meeting him. It’s a lovely and charming story.
The Ig Nobel Prizes are given out every year to “honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then makes them think”. You may have heard of them already for rewarding prizes to, let’s say, unusual achievements. This year is no different. There was research into dung beetles, confirmation that people think they’re more attractive when they’re drunk and many other things.
Science Friday devoted almost an hour to the 2013 awards and it’s well worth listening to. The lecture and 24/7 talks at the start were excellent and I love how they enforce the time limit on speakers. Miss Sweetie Poo does a great job!