science communication – Australian Science

The Highlights of 2013

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:04:12 +0000

This year our writers churned out a host of fantastic articles, including a series of posts dedicated to women in space, written by Sharon Harnett. One of the most notable of the series was all about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman astronaut. This year was the 50th anniversary of her historic spaceflight. We also had a few great interviews, including one with Henry Reich, creator of the YouTube series Minute Physics. We’ve managed a number of achievements. We’ve helped several science writers gain exposure and reputation world wide, we’ve appeared on ABC’s Newsline, and we’ve been listed in TED’s top 10 science and technology websites.

So, in no particular order, here are ten of our favourite articles from 2013. We hope you’ll enjoy these stories. Stay curious and scientifically passionate!

A Tale of Two STEM Women by Buddhini Samarasinghe

When I first read this story, I was struck by how often we focus on happy stories like Marie Curie’s, and how the story of someone like Clara Immerwahr remains largely forgotten. She had a tremendous amount of potential, as evidenced by her being the first female to receive a Ph.D at the University of Breslau, an endeavor that is certainly not for the faint-hearted even now. One can only wonder at the ‘might-have-beens’ if she had had the same support and encouragement that Marie Curie did, if she had not married Haber, or if Haber had been a different kind of person. These examples highlight that talent alone is not enough; we need to encourage that talent by promoting equality and recognizing our own biases when it comes to women in STEM. Read more>>

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman (in science) by Amy Reichelt

Obtaining a senior academic position for any aspiring young academic is one of those uphill struggles with roads lined with self doubt, setbacks and sacrifice. Some call it the way to tenure-track, in my mind it’s one of those ill-defined paths through a potentially haunted forest inhabited with monsters, gigantic poisonous spiders and creepy people who communicate by screaming. It can be harder still to even reach that point, particularly for young women. While the number of women professors in Europe, N. America and Australia has increased over the last decade, universities still have a disproportionately small number of women in senior professorial positions. Read more>>

Spiders on Mars? No, An Australian Radio Telescope! by Elizabeth Howell

The MWA is a powerful telescope in its own right, but what is even more exciting is it will form part of a larger project in the coming years. The Square Kilometre Array will link radio telescopes on two continents — Australia and Africa — to get a fine look at the sky in radio wavelengths. MWA is just one part of this array. There will also be dish receptors in eight countries in Africa, with the core and some mid-frequency aperture arrays in South Africa’s Karoo desert. Read more>>

Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet by David Borradale

A HIV vaccine, known as SAV001-H has shown promising results in an early clinical trial, with no adverse effects reported and importantly, a significant increase reported in HIV specific antibodies in participants who received the vaccine. In this trial, 33 HIV positive participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: half into a treatment group receiving the vaccine and half into a placebo group who did not receive the vaccine. The participants were followed up at regular periods, testing safety of the vaccine and antibody response over a one year period. Read more>>

Are Australians Really Getting Dumber? by Magdeline Lum

The Australian Academy of Science has found that when it comes to science Australians are getting dumber in its latest report on science literacy. Compared to three years ago, less people in Australia know that the Earth’s orbit of the sun takes one year. Among 18-24 year olds 62% surveyed knew the correct answer, a fall from 74% three years ago. Other results would also send scientists into a tail spin of despair, with 27% of respondents saying that the earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs, though an improvement from 30% of respondents in 2010 who thought this. What does this all say? If you take the face value of the press release and the ensuing media coverage, Australians are getting dumber. Read more>>

From fables to Facebook: Why do we tell stories? by Lauren Fuge

Storytelling is one of our most fundamental communication methods, for an obvious reason: narrative helps us cognise information. Telling intelligible, coherent stories to both ourselves and others helps our brains to organise data about our lives and our world. But when we askwhy stories are so effective at helping us cognise information, the answers are surprising: it seems that somewhere in the otherwise ruthless process of natural selection, evolution has wired our brains to prefer storytelling over other forms of communication. Read more>>

Plastic’s Reach by Kelly Burnes

Plastic. Seems it has extended its reach into the farthest corners of the universe. An earliest post described how plastic has changed our lives, for better…and for worse. ADD link to earlier post. That post largely reflected on the growing problem of plastic in the oceans and the effect on plant and animal life. Now, it seems that plastic threatens our freshwater lakes now too. Read more>>

Postcard from Spitzer: weather on 2M2228 is hot and cloudy by Kevin Orrman-Rossiter

Long distance weather reports are now a commonality. The report for 2MASSJ22282889-431026 is somewhat unusual. It forecasts wind-driven, planet-sized clouds, with the light varying in time, brightening and dimming about every 90 minutes. The clouds on 2MASSJ22282889-431026 are composed of hot grains of sand, liquid drops of iron, and other exotic compounds. Definitely not the first place to spend a summer holiday. Not that 2MASSJ22282889-431026 (or 2M2228 as it is known in The Astrophysical Journal Letters) will appear on a travel itinerary anytime soon. For 2M2228 is a brown dwarf, 39.1 light years from earth. Read more>>

The bacteria that live inside hurricanes by Charles Ebikeme

Seven miles above the Earth’s surface, where the weather is born, lies the troposphere – the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, where the clouds dance around, are bacteria that can make it rain, and are important for the formation of clouds. The atmospheric microbiome is a concept and field of study that is gaining importance. As we come to grips with a changing climate and environment, understanding more and more our Earth ecosystem remains vital. With hurricane damage in the US and elsewhere seemingly on an exponential increase in recent decades, it is important to mitigate for the worst. Read more>>

Quantum computing: Australian researchers store data on a single atom! by Markus Hammonds

Computing is also an incredibly fast moving field of technology, and research is finally taking us towards the exciting world of quantum computing! Quantum computers will work using quantum bits, or qubits for short, which are analogous to the digital bits used in computers like the one which you’re using to read this article. Recently, a team of engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has successfully demonstrated, for the first time ever, how a single atom can be act as a qubit, effectively showing the first step in building an ultra fast quantum computer. And they might just have created the best qubit ever made. Read more>>

Happy 2014 from Markus, Charles, Kevin, Kelly, and Danica!

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Voice Analysis Software – Innovative or Invasive?

Dunya — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 07:28:50 +0000

A new voice analysis software that aims to decipher your inner feelings has made a splash into the innovative technology scene, with mixed reactions. In a case of machines helping machines, a computational voice analysis software created by a startup in Tel Aviv, Israel, can actually detect emotions in a person’s voice and share that through a machine. The phrase ‘it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’ comes to mind.

What can it do?

The software is still in its early stages, but the developers say that it is able to determine whether or not a person’s happy attitude actually has frustration lying beneath it, or vice versa.

Currently, the software can detect around 400 variations of different moods. Unlike other similar software, it doesn’t use trigger words such as ‘ridiculous’ or ‘outrageous’ to do its analysis, instead its algorithm is based on the tone and frequency of a voice.

The software can also pinpoint a consumer’s personality, which can affect their purchasing habits. For example, if a person is conservative, a marketer or salesperson would want to offer them a product that is tried and tested, as opposed to an innovative person who might be more drawn to the latest products.

Image source: Ticketbis

How was it developed?

To develop the software, the emotions of over 70,000 people speaking in 30 different languages were analysed. The startup’s research was inspired by an Israeli study done in the 1990’s that looked at how babies understood and responded to the moods of adult speech prior to learning how to speak themselves.

What can it be used for?

Although there are several researchers that are developing similar products, the one created by said company, Beyond Verbal, is targetting call centres and customer service departments. By using the software, the people at the other end of the line can gain insight into a caller’s mood, intention and personality.

For example, a customer may lodge a help ticket with a call centre, and while on the phone the operator can determine whether the caller is getting agitated, is upset or is genuinely happy – despite how they might first come across. This can help the operator treat the consumer accordingly.

Going forward, the technology used in the software could potentially be used for a wide variety of situations, including within the legal system.

Why doesn’t everyone love it?
Despite the technology being undoubtedly clever, not everyone is so convinced. One key point that is raised is that the software can only determine a person’s mood at the time of that one phone call, which isn’t helpful for long-term customer relations.

The issue of privacy also comes up. Not everyone would feel comfortable knowing that they are being analysed as they speak – and if they did, would they subconsciously act different, thus skewing results?

With all new technology comes doubts and concerns. For every positive there is someone pointing out the negatives.

Further reading:

1. To infinity and Beyond Verbal: The Web app revolutionizing the science of voice analysis. Available at http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/exploring-beyond-verbal-the-technology-of-emotions-analytics/

2. Beyond Verbal secures $2.8M, detects human emotions and character through voice recognition. Available at http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/09/beyond-verbal-secures-2-8m-detects-human-emotions-and-character-through-voice-recognition/

3. Could voice analysis software give away lying CEOS? New system picks up tiny ‘tells’ which could warn investors of fraud. Available at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2096153/Could-voice-analysis-software-away-lying-CEOS-Harvard-researchers-test-warn-investors-fraud-ahead.html

Featured image source: Stanford University

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National Science Week: Memes, blogs and videos: how social media has transformed the way we communicate science

Sharon — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 07:42:54 +0000

On Friday night I was lucky enough to be able to attend National Science Week’s Event ‘Memes, blogs and videos: how social media has transformed the way we communicate science‘ in Canberra. The event was a panel discussion between some of the most prominent and influential social media science communicators around the globe. The panel included:

Phil Plait – (AKA @BadAstronomer) an astronomer, writer and popular science blogger, Elise Andrew – Creator of I Fucking Love Science on Facebook; Henry Reich – Creator of MinutePhysics and MinuteEarth YouTube channels; Mitchell Moffit & Gregory Brown – Creators of AsapSCIENCE YouTube channel; Destin Sandlin – Creater of SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel; and Chris Cassella – Managing Director of Science Alert.

It really was a stellar ‘cast’ who have a combined social media reach of well over 100 million people per week. So what did these ‘giants’ of social media have to say about science communication? Well they said a lot, so I can only cover the highlights here. For a start – they all agreed – anyone can be a ‘science communicator’. You don’t have to be a scientist, or journalist or writer to be an effective science communicator, you just need to have a passion for science, and the time and ability to pass that information onto others. So what do the panel members think makes their science communication successful, and what can they suggest to someone interested in science communication?

Let’s start with Phil Plait, astronomer, author and science blogger who thinks that ‘all science is entertaining’! Phil selects topics for his blog based on what he’s excited by, not so much on what he thinks others want to see. Phil explained that his philosophy is that if he’s excited about it, other people will be excited about it. He recognises that people are often interested in the scary stuff, so he wrote ‘Death from the Skies’, where he talks about all the stuff that could kill us; blackholes, magnetic flares, supernovas, and killer asteroids. He recommends putting your own spin on a topic, if every one else is talking about it, you need differentiate yourself from everyone else.

Phil Plait (Image courtesy of www.badastronomer.com)

In contrast to Phil, Elise Andrews, creator of the enormously popular I Fucking Love Science Facebook page, really didn’t start off with an idea of ‘doing’ social media. Elise manages a page with 6.4 million followers on her own, and admits that the task takes up all of her time. Elise’s tip is to use the Facebook scheduling function, which helps dramatically with maintaining content in a global 24 hour information cycle. She stressed that the viral nature of social media means that it’s one of the few ways we have to get the message of science and science communication in front of people who wouldn’t normally seek out science-related material. When asked about the contentious name of her page, Elise responded ‘the name of your page is important, you need a name you can’t not look at!’

Minute Physics creator Henry Reich has a background in physics, so that’s why he focuses on physics – he understands it and he wants others to understand it. Henry believes that traditional teaching of physics/science is classical and boring to most people, which is a shame, because right now current physics is focused on really cool stuff like the big bang, string theory, quantum theory, etc. When deciding on a topic Henry tries to focus on the cool stuff, he then tries to explain it in a way that is simple and fun – but remains true to the science. Minute Physics videos are restricted to a minute or two – that makes Henry focus on what is important and condenses the message – there’s no room for extraneous material or ‘fluff’, and that keeps the attention of the viewer.

A clip from Minute Physics: Albert Einstein, The size and existence of atoms (Source: Minute Physics)

AsapSCIENCE creators Mitchell and Gregory, who also have a YouTube channel agree that the traditional way of teaching science can be seen as boring and dry. They believe the message in traditional classroom learning is ‘goal focused’ rather than focusing on the details of the science. So when they pick a topic, they ask a question like ‘Why do we age?’ rather than starting with detailed descriptions of cell division and DNA replication, etc.. This makes the message more relatable, rather than what often happens in a classroom setting with it being very dry and overwhelming. Incorporating entertainment is a vital part of effectively communicating the message – it helps to overcome the reputation of science as being dry and boring, and overly serious.

The third member of the panel that has his own YouTube channel is Destin Sandlin, creator of Smarter Every Day. Although Destin has an engineering background – B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering – he takes the approach that he’s just an average guy who is trying to figure something out that he doesn’t know. This allows him to take his viewers on a journey from unknowing to discovery to knowing. In crafting his videos he looks for the “Aha!” moment – the point at which you go from not-knowing to knowing how something works or what caused it to happen. Destin’s videos are progressive – each one starts off with simple concepts, gets progressively harder, until it spikes with a serious point, before it reaches its conclusion. He believes that each video needs to cater for all levels of viewer and should have something interesting for everyone.

Lastly, Science Alert Managing Director Chris Cassella, says that Science Alert started as a website promoting Australian science, since Australian scientific accomplishments are under-represented in the media and community awareness. Chris started to use Facebook to drive traffic to the website, although things didn’t quite work out that way. The Facebook page didn’t drive much traffic to the website, but there was fantastic engagement on Facebook – he then realised that Facebook itself was a better delivery medium. He recommends that sites mix up the serious science content with humorous memes, jokes, etc which breaks up the stream and helps keep people engaged.

During the Q&A session at the end of the panel, an audience member asked the panel for their advice to scientists on what they can do to help assist science popularisers to get the message out about new research. The immediate and very strong message from all panelists was, “publish your results in open access journals!” So often, they would love to link to new research, but linking to a paywalled paper or article creates a deluge of complaints from their audience – so they can’t do it.

So there’s a lot of information to take away from this group of committed science enthusiasts and communicators, but here’s a few tips:

– Be passionate about the science you love, whether it’s biology, physics, astronomy or chemistry – if you’re passionate about it, your enthusiasm will be passed on to your listeners/viewers.

– The advent of social media and platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube means that you no longer need to have a lot of money or resources to be an effective science communicator, you can start with a laptop and internet connection and you’re on your way.

– You don’t need top notch equipment, ‘Hollywood’ style special effects or eye-wateringly expensive graphics to produce your own YouTube videos.

– Make sure you get your science facts right, but if you make a mistake, correct it, be transparent about it, and move on.

If you’d like to see more of the panelists check out these links for further tour dates during National Science Week: Phil Plait, IFLS Live, and National Science Week.

Cite this article:
Harnett S (2013-08-12 07:42:54). National Science Week: Memes, blogs and videos: how social media has transformed the way we communicate science. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/national-science-week-memes-blogs-and-videos-how-social-media-has-transformed-the-way-we-communicate-science/

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Are Australians Really Getting Dumber?

Magdeline.L — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 00:00:27 +0000

The Australian Academy of Science has found that when it comes to science Australians are getting dumber in its latest report on science literacy. Compared to three years ago, less people in Australia know that the Earth’s orbit of the sun takes one year. Among 18-24 year olds 62% surveyed knew the correct answer, a fall from 74% three years ago. Other results would also send scientists into a tail spin of despair, with 27% of respondents saying that the earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs, though an improvement from 30% of respondents in 2010 who thought this.

What does this all say? If you take the face value of the press release and the ensuing media coverage, Australians are getting dumber. I’m a scientist who dedicates a significant proportion of time to science outreach activities and announcements like this get sent my way. They get sent my way not because I moonlight as a science journalist but because people genuinely want to know what I think and feel about such a survey. I suspect what they really want to know is whether I feel I have wasted my time.

Here is my honest answer: There ought to be no panicking and nor should there be any despair of the results. This survey does not reflect science literacy in Australia.

This survey is asks these six questions of people:

How long does it take for the Earth to go around the Sun?
Is the following statement true or false? The earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs.
What percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered by water?
What percentage of the Earth’s water is fresh water?
Do you think that evolution is occurring?
Do you think that humans are influencing the evolution of other species?

The results of the answers of these six questions is what science literacy in Australia is measured against by the Australian Academy of Science. These questions are an exercise in recall. Some facts are bigger than others and are covered with more significance in the Australian Science Curriculum that is currently being rolled out across the nation. A curriculum I would like to point out that is formed from the basis of previous curricula from the states and territories of Australia. It is freely available to anyone who would like to see what some are demanding more science content in but not stating specifics as to what. More focus is not a sufficient demand.

As a scientist sitting here typing this article, I could not tell you what percentage of the Earth’s water is fresh water. I certainly hope no one expects me to know this fact. I have memories of teachers stating the number but I can’t recall it. Instead what I do remember from those lessons is that fresh water is rare and that it is precious and that it should not be wasted. Which is the more important science lesson?

I will go further and make a confession as a chemist. I cannot recall the first 20 elements of the Periodic Table. I know that hydrogen and helium are the first two elements and that’s where my recall is. However, place me in a chemistry lab, I can perform all manner of inorganic and wet chemical analysis. I know chemistry so well that I can tutor the subject so well that a C-grade student can become an A-grade student who no longer needs tutoring. I am not just imparting chemical knowledge but also the skills of lifelong learning and an appreciation for the reasons behind chemical relationships.

Science is so much more than recalling factoids. The only use factoid recall will ever have is winning a quiz. It won’t even guarantee you an A in an examination. The vast majority of reporting of results of this quiz has widened the divide between the scientific community and everyone else. Going on the attack labelling Australians for not only being illiterate in science but also assuming that they did nothing to improve the results three years since the last survey is not being inclusive in the lead up to National Science Week. It is frustrating to witness this communication gaffe.

I doubt many scientists or even Nobel Science Laureates could score 100% in the survey questions without any assistance. Does this diminish their ability as a scientist? Would you dare to question their interest and curiosity of science? I don’t think anyone would.

What is science? I have heard it described as a common sense approach to finding out why things work. It is also about discovering new understandings of accepted scientific understanding. It is about communicating with other people interested in the same part of the world that you are. It is about being able to gather information and use evidence to form a hypothesis for testing. It is also about telling the world about why you see the way something is based on the evidence in front of you. It is also an ability to accept new ideas when the evidence presents itself. It is also a skill to recognise when something is not what you thought it was.

Science is so many things. The practicing of observing events objectively and requiring evidence to form a conclusion is something that takes place in every science classroom in Australia. This underpins so many areas in life that require analysis. In this election year, I hope that eligible voters in Australia remember the skills of observation and reasoning from science lessons rather than factoids. It is the former that will allow them to discuss policies and make decisions.

It is time that the Australian public is given credit where credit is due. I spend time reading the comments left on news articles dealing with contentious issues like vaccination and climate change. Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence, there are people that will argue against conventional knowledge under the guises of skepticism or conscientious objection. Time and time again there are Australians who are non-scientists engaging with the discussion to explain what the scientific evidence means.

Additionally there are numerous citizen science projects dotted around the nation with armies of volunteers who don’t hold a science degree collecting and processing data for scientists to analyse. Take the time to talk to these volunteers and you will find that they are an incredible asset to Australia. They know the finer details of their local environment and add so much value to the numbers being collected.

The survey by the Australian Academy of Science does not highlight these sorts of activity and does a disservice announcing Australians to be dumber. When it comes to science literacy discussion in Australia I would like to see something more than press releases on six question survey that tests memory recall. My description of science makes it hard to measure and define because science is a combination of particular skills and understanding and the application of them. It is time that due respect be given to this and change measurement methods to reflect this if we want meaningful data about Australian science literacy.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scjn/

Cite this article:
Lum M (2013-07-23 00:00:27). Are Australians Really Getting Dumber?. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/australia-2/are-australians-really-getting-dumber/

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Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:45:28 +0000

Greetings one and all, and a very happy science Sunday to you! This week’s generally been quite interesting. We’ve had good news, bad news, a little heated discussion… All the kind of things which keep the science community vibrant and interesting. As for specifically what that news was, well. Please do read on…

First up this week, sad news. After exemplary service ever since its launch in 2009 and a mission extension last year, the Kepler telescope has finally broken down. Kepler spots transiting exoplanets by staring unblinkingly at the same patch of sky, and in order to do that it needs to keep very still. Sadly, two of its four gyroscopes are out of action, meaning that Kepler may be shutting down for good.

Kepler’s Planet-Hunting Mission May Be Over

“Frankly, I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve got all this data, that we have been so successful, that we have found so many thousands of planetary candidates,

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-05-19 07:45:28). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-31/
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The post Weekly Science Picks appeared first on Australian Science.

All You Need is a Minute to Learn Physics

Magdeline.L — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:35:04 +0000

Really.

Well okay, maybe a little more than a minute. Three minutes tops. Well okay, maybe five minutes and throw in an appreciation of watching cartoons and Youtube videos. That’s it.

I was skeptical when I stumbled on Henry Reich’s MinutePhysics Youtube channel one night. How could anyone explain light, The Big Bang or relativity in just minutes and be understood? I decided to watch one in the expectation that I would be sent to sleep. It was well past midnight. In the end, I didn’t go to sleep until after I had watched every MinutePhysics video in existence. I was hooked. It all started with an explanation of what fire is.

I come across people who have not heard of MinutePhysics so here I am telling everyone on the internet. Each of Henry’s videos is well researched and easy to understand. It is firmly on the list of Youtube channels that I have subscribed to.

Henry Reich

Henry creates every MinutePhysics stop motion video himself. He draws, narrates and edits the entire thing. This is because while Henry has a Masters in Physics from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics he had also pursued filmmaking as a hobby. After the masters was finished, Henry pursued filmmaking more seriously and discovered that Youtube isn’t just about cute cat videos.

“After I finished my masters at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, I took some time to work in film/video and ended up working for the youtube channel “Freddiew” where I learned that you could actually make videos intentionally for youtube,” says Henry.

“I’ve also always enjoyed explaining complicated things, so it seemed like it might be fun to try making some videos to explain complicated physics to the public.”

This is what Henry does and he does it well. Nothing seems too small or too big to tackle. He reads every personal message that is sent to him on Youtube and Facebook and does his best to respond. When asked on how he judges a video to be successful, it is not the number of views or whether it has gone viral. The answer Henry gives is humble and reflective.

“I know a video is successful when a middle schooler and the Nobel Laureate who did the research I’m explaining both tell me how much they liked the video.”

Henry doesn’t just make videos on physics found in textbooks and highlights how they do influence our everyday lives whether we think about it or not. He also makes videos on physics discoveries as they happen. One great example of this was when the Higgs Boson discovery was announced. He made a three part video series found its way onto New Scientist, Huffington Post, and NBC.

This is the first video in the Higgs Boson series.

Henry’s enthusiasm for theoretical physics is evident in his videos as he unpacks ideas and concepts for his audience and it is infectious. The videos spawn endless conversation on his Youtube and Facebook pages. After more than a year working on MinutePhysics, Henry has teamed up with other scientists creating MinuteEarth, a Youtube channel bringing together biology, geology, ecology, anthropology, and more.

So if you have a minute, you can learn just about anything.

Cite this article:
Lum M (2013-05-08 06:35:04). All You Need is a Minute to Learn Physics. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/interviews/all-you-need-is-a-minute-to-learn-physics/
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The post All You Need is a Minute to Learn Physics appeared first on Australian Science.

Do animals have minds?

Kevin Orrman-Rossiter — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 02:00:07 +0000

Animal Wise: the thoughts and emotions of our fellow creatures, by Virginia Morell, Black Inc. Books, 2013.

Laughing rats, name-calling wild parrots, archer-fish with a sense of humour, and educated ants; the naturalist Charles Darwin would have loved this book. The philosopher Rene Descartes would equally have found it deeply troubling. Both with good reason.

In Descartes’ dualist philosophy the mind and body are two separate entities. There is the material body and the immaterial mind or soul. The latter linking humans to the mind of God, making us, in his philosophy, different to animals. Descartes famously reasoned animals are composed only of material substances and therefore have no capacity to reason. More importantly for how we see animals, Descartes wrote that a human person, such as you or I, is something distinct from that person’s body. Therefore an animal, being material only, could in this way of thinking, never have a mind – never have a concept of “I”.

This stance was extended by the behaviorist paradigms of the mid 20th century associated with the psychologist B F Skinner.

Darwin on the other hand thought differently. He was a natural philosopher who got up out of his armchair and voyaged the world, most notably aboard the Beagle. Darwin attributed emotions to many animals and even argued that earthworms are cognitive beings. In his classic The Descent of Man he argued, most persuasively, that we and the other animals differ in our mental powers by degree, not in kind.

Today the discussion is no different, researchers still debate not only advanced claims of intelligence in animals but also how to test whether their abilities reflect human-like cognition.

This brings me to what I liked so much about this book.

Each chapter focuses on an animal in a particular observational or experimental setting. Virginia Morell introduces us to the scientist and the animals, explaining the studies, the results and some of the trials and triumphs along the way to building an understanding of what the scientists find. The animal and settings we may already have a prejudice about; captive dolphins, elephant memories, chimpanzees and language, dogs and humans, are very carefully presented to ensure that the most compelling results are well presented. The more novel animals, ants and fish for example, are also carefully presented, their novelty makes for an easier presentation. For example I had no preconceived ideas regarding the ability of ants to teach – with no mental hurdle of my to overcome – that chapter was very illuminating. The examples and researchers chosen for these chapters succinctly illustrate what we have learnt about the emotions and intelligence of these animals.

Yes I did say chosen. It does not pretend, nor claim to be, encyclopaedic, academic nor ‘balanced’ presentation of the entire field. This is a lively, non-fiction tour of the cutting edge of animal cognitive science. Virginia Morell translates the scientific jargon of the field into words that all can engage with.

Each chapter is a separate story, reflecting that some of the chapters were adapted from previously published articles from 2008 to 2012. These are neatly book-ended with chapter that frame these quite succinctly. This I think is a strength of the book. Each chapter, each story, is self-contained that you can read it, look at the references and ponder what the researchers and Virginia are conveying to you. Not only do you get an appreciation of the scientific significance of the various studies – you get that rare glimpse into the scientific process and personality that is often missed in science communication writing.

For example, consider the archer-fish and neuroscientist Stefan Schuster. I learnt that Stefan has spent more than forty years investigating how fish think and make decisions. I learnt that the idea of seeing life from the mind of a fish was something that grabbed him as a child. Stefan’s story is more than just his careful experimentation on fish behaviour. Along the way he has made key discoveries about the sophisticated mental abilities of the archer-fish. The archer-fish is well-named for it is the sharpshooter of the piscine world.

In the chapter discussing his work I learnt that Schuster owes his success to curiosity, fun and serendipity – as well as careful experimentation. Schuster and his students had discovered that archer-fish learnt how to shoot at difficult and novel targets by watching another skilled fish perform the task. That means they had taken the viewpoint of the other fish. Did they copy or imitate? Let the philosophers debate the definitions. What the archerfish do involves cognition. Although we don’t understand the relationship between cognition and sentience, scientists know that one informs the other.

Each chapter is replete with great stories, good science and probing philosophy. Morell displays her ability to write engagingly for a general audience, while presenting the science at a suitably intriguing level. If you view animals the same after reading this book – then give it a second read – it will be worth it.

I’ll leave the last words to the late Douglas Adams:

Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars and so on – while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same reasons.

Cite this article:
Orrman-Rossiter K (2013-04-19 02:00:07). Do animals have minds?. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/science-2/do-animals-have-minds/
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Best of Australian Science: February 2013

Danica Radovanovic — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:40:25 +0000

February brought many exciting events, visits, conferences, interviews, and a bevy of intriguing articles written by Australian Science writers/authors. It is time to recapitulate that enthusiasm here and share with you highlights from the month in the fields of science, education, internet technologies, space, and among others.

If you are interested in science blogging and contributing to Australian Science – contact us and check out the Editor’s note.

Until next Australian Science month review, stay curious, and geeky, scientifically and artistically passionate. I hope you’ll enjoy these stories.

Women in Space – Valentina Tereshkova by Sharon Harnett

This article is the first in a series of articles in which I will profile every woman astronaut, cosmonaut and taikonaut who has been into space. The last time I checked 58 women have travelled into space, by the end of this year there may be a few more! We’re going to start this series at the beginning – with Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. Read more>>

Could the next generation of electronics be made with graphene? by Markus Hammonds

One of the biggest potentials for graphene, however, is in electronics. As graphite (a naturally occurring mineral), carbon is semiconductive. Due to the way carbon atoms are arranged in this hexagonal pattern, it leaves some electrons free to move across the material in a way not entirely unlike the way the motion of free electrons allows metals to be conductive. However, pure graphite isn’t really very conductive. Read more>>

Australia’s National Science Agency – Focused on the Future by Kelly Burnes

Wanting to learn more about this group’s work and impact, I reached out toDr Stefan Hajkowicz, the Theme Leader for CSIRO Futures. This is our digital conversation about science, education, energy, and what Australia must do to secure its future.

To our readers, if you have not done so already, check out the CSIRO Futures website for reports and projects to learn more. You’ll find some thought-provoking, fascinating topics guaranteed to make you put your strategic thinking cap on and get lost in a world of ‘what-ifs’. Read more>>

Australian Science travelled to Canberra for the linux.conf.au (Linux Conference Australia) at the beginning of the month that brought plenty of interesting keynote speakers. For Open Source fans and advocates, don’t miss to read and listen to the interviews as well as the wrap up of the conference: Linux.conf.au 2013: ‘Nerdvana’ in Canberra. Interview transcripts are available with each article.

Radia Perlman at LCA 2013 by Jessica Smith

Later in the week, I had the pleasure of heading off to lunch with Radia and a small group of fellow delegates during a break in technical sessions. She is engaging and thoughtful, and concerned as much with solutions for societal issues as solutions for thorny networking challenges. Radia is eternally self-effacing, and repeatedly claimed that she had “never done anything difficult

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Connecting the Quantum Dots

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:01:24 +0000

Last week, after I spent a couple of days in Brest, Brittany at a ESF, EU workshop/seminar brainstorming with other internet and scientific researchers on interesting topics related to internet science and innovation, I got myself back to Paris. I visited a French national institute with an international reputation for scientific excellence – ESPCI (École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles) and the CNRS department of Physics, Quantum Foundations – a group dedicated to research on quantum effects in materials. Also, I took the opportunity to meet up with two Australian Science writers who reside in Paris: Rayna, and Charles.

ESPCI Paris Tech stands for Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution (a French “Grande École d’ingénieurs”). Founded in 1882, ESPCI is a major institution of higher education – an internationally renowned research center, gathering leading scientific innovators like Nobel Prize laureates Pierre and Marie Curie, Paul Langevin, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, and Georges Charpak.

ESPCI ParisTech

At ESPCI, I met with Arjen Dijksman, a physicist and researcher interested in tiny semiconductive nanoparticles, known as “quantum dots

Cite this article:
Radovanovic D (2013-02-22 00:01:24). Connecting the Quantum Dots. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 05, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/science-2/connecting-quantum-dots/
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Best of Australian Science: November 2012

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:01:18 +0000

It’s the last day of November, my research project is getting into its final stage, and here I’m wrapping up this exciting month with plenty of wonderful science and technology stories, events, and new sci-blogging contributors. We have new female bloggers joining the Australian Science knowledge and sci-blogging community. The initiative I had in mind couple of weeks ago, to invite and encourage girls and women in science, technology, and education, is coming to fruition. We started a Women in Science section, encouraging young female scientists and bloggers to write, interact, and get their ideas and voice heard.

Also, we started the new initiative called Education Thursdays (hashtag #EducationThursdays) where teachers and curriculum leaders at different levels of education blog and write about their experiences and share their ideas on gender issues in science, STEM, participation, and engagement. I invite here, both students and teachers/educators, if interested, to write and join our team and, each Thursday, contribute and share with others.

Take a look at the wonderful stories and articles on neuroscience, space, genetics, biology, environment, astrobiology, cosmic evolution, physics, quantum mechanics, education, publishing, and technology. The best of Australian Science for November 2012:

Tasting colours and seeing sound: Synaesthesia by Lauren Fuge

“One hears a sound but recollects a hue, invisible the hands that touch your heartstrings,

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