High Science

Energy is one of those words that is used all the time but is rarely understood. This week High Science tackles energy, work, and power. Although these words are often used interchangeably, they have distinct physical meanings. Joining us are two new guests, Fredrick and Chenz, who have little scientific knowledge. John attempts to teach a bunch of (allegedly) stoned people about energy and hilarity ensues. Tangents range from Duck Hunt to betting on the temperature of lava as High Science probes deeper into the nature of the universe. Fredrick ends the episode with a quote that we feel gets at the heart of what we are trying to do here at High Science: "That was awesome. I feel two different ways... I feel a little stupider and a little smarter all that the same time."

Send us episode requests, feedback, questions, and comments! We love getting fan mail!

Twitter: @highscience2017

Email: [email protected]

Genetics is the study of heredity and how traits are passed from parent to offspring. From wrinkly peas to colorblindness, High Science explores genetics and explains why your friend's ear lobes are attached to his head while yours dangle free. We start with Gregor Mendel and classical genetics which explains things like eye color and ear wax wetness (seriously). We then discuss DNA, sex-linked traits, asexual vs sexual reproduction, and epigenetics. Ever wonder how flatworms reproduce? If so, this is the episode for you!

Send us episode requests, feedback, questions, and comments! We love getting fan mail!

Twitter: @highscience2017

Email: [email protected]

Education is a beautiful thing... which is why we need to hardcore fix it. High Science explores the shortcomings of our education system and possible ways to make improvements. Ideas such as gamification and constructivism are explored and our own educational experiences are hilariously recalled. Education is stuck in the outdated paradigm of retaining and regurgitating information. We must move to help people critically process information and creatively solve the problems of tomorrow. "Educations is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."

Send us episode requests, feedback, questions, and/or pictures of Kendrick

Twitter: @highscience2017

Email: [email protected]

Your body is made up of *trillions* of little membrane-bound blobs of goop. Those goop balls work together to make the meat machine you control every single day. High Science explores the human body and how these little biological machines we call cells work together to make you you.

High Science tackles the mind-bending idea of infinity. We go back 2500 years to Zeno's paradoxes and we zoom ahead to potential future math-less alien robots. Physics needs the concept of infinity in order to work. The area of a circle formula couldn't be found without infinity. This abstract concept is critical to our understanding of the universe and ourselves. At the very least, it shows us how good we are at confusing ourselves.

*High Science is temporarily moving to a biweekly schedule*

Philosophy episode! High Science has an existential meltdown as they discuss the core principles of existentialism and explore the ideas of this movement's most influential thinkers.

Show Notes:

Existentialism - Best viewed as a movement and not philosophical system or a set of doctrines

“It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains” - Thomas H. Huxley

Existential Crisis - Things that used to seem like common sense reveals itself as uncanny, up to chance, contingent, and relative

Why do we live here instead of there?

Why are we doing this job instead of that job?

Why are we with this partner?

Why are we following this set of social norms?

There are more options the we ever imagined. We are freer than we thought.

Deluding ourselves with what “had to be”

This realization tends to induce much anxiety - hence “crisis”

Tends to accompany a heightened awareness of death

A sense of urgency to reexamine life but the clock is running out

We have many choices, but we will forever be deficient on information and will never be able to make a decision with ultimate wisdom or certainty

Forced to decide but always uncertain that we have done so adequately

Plotting a course in the dark without adequate reason or insight

a sense of disorientation, confusion, or dread in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.

So what do we do about it?

“[Existentialism] is an attitude that recognizes the unresolvable confusion of the human world, yet resists the all-too-human temptation to resolve the confusion by grasping toward whatever appears or can be made to appear firm or familiar… The existential attitude begins with a disoriented individual facing a confused world that he [or she] cannot accept.” - Robert Soloman

Concepts

Despite strong differences in thinking, the existentialist thinkers share some commonalities

Note: existentialist thinkers were mostly grouped well after they completed their works

Philosophical thinking should begin with the human subject and not merely thought itself.

Humans feel, act, live, exist. This should factor into thought on our meaning and how to live a good life

Primary value seems to be authenticity

the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, desires, spirit, or character, despite external pressures

Starting point is the existential crisis

Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.

Existence precedes essence

Essentialism dominated before existentialism

Essentialism - The essence (nature) of something is more fundamental than its existence (the mere fact of its being)

Existentialism flips this, an individual’s existence comes before and preconceived categories or labels. The actual life of the individual is their true essence.

Most important consideration for individuals is that they are individuals—independently acting and responsible, conscious beings

Human beings, through their own consciousness, create their own values and determine a meaning to their life

 

The Absurd

 

There is no meaning in the world beyond what meaning we give it.

This meaninglessness also encompasses the amorality or "unfairness" of the world.

Did you know you can hear space-time wobble? Jay and Sam return after conducting more research and we talk about their work and all things science. Jay is doing chemistry research concerning core components of hash oils and e-liquids. Sam is doing biophysics research concerning the protein channels that bring nutrients to the lens of your eye. Some of our topics include nuclear accidents, Rick and Morty, interferometry, and protein folding video games.

It's time to talk about some of the more exotic ideas of physics. High Science tackles dark matter, dark energy,  and antimatter. In this episode we explore the edge of our current understanding of the universe.

Topics Discussed:

Dark Matter

How it was discovered: galaxies didn't rotate as we expected them to

Fritz Zwicky: Theorized dark matter and called people spherical bastards

Ideas about what dark matter could be:

WIMPs - Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

MACHOs - Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects

Axions - Slow moving, weakly interacting particles

Kaluza-Klein Particles: There's a 5th dimension curled in on itself (???)

Gravitinos - Arises from super-symmetry

Antimatter

Fundamental particles with opposite electric charge (the anti electron is the positron)

Paul Dirac theorized antimatter and it was later observed

Anti-hydrogen was created!

The issue with experimenting with antimatter: if it touches ordinary matter in annihilates and releases a bunch of energy

A quick rundown on quantum field theory

Tangent about black holes

Dark Energy

Ordinary matter makes up 5% of the universe, dark matter makes up 25% of the universe, dark energy makes up 70% of the universe!!!

The universe is expanding and the culprit is dark energy

The cosmological constant: Einstein's self proclaimed "biggest blunder" ended up being super useful for us

The fundamental paradigm shifts of science

The geometry of the universe

Tangent about lead, the age of the earth, and half-lives

The mystery of antimatter: where is it all? Why is everything made of ordinary matter?

Jake the Astronomer returns to High Science to discuss the research he's conducting along with his favorite scientific concepts. Jake is studying the Alcubierre solution to Einstein's field equations in general relativity. This solution implies that we can potentially create a spacecraft that could achieve faster than light travel by contracting space-time in front of the craft and expanding space-time behind it. Jake is studying the implications of this type of travel and determining if there is an energy signature for the Alcubierre drive. If there is a signature and we find it, that means that something is achieving faster than light travel. Crazy stuff. We also spend some time discussing the big bang, microwaves, philosophy of math, and Genghis Khan.

Last week the 2017 Nobel Prizes were announced! This inspired High Science to not only discuss this year's winners but to also explore the fascinating history of the prize. A man reading his own obituary in the newspaper led directly to the establishment of the most prestigious scientific award. The stories of notable past winners are also told and their respective fields are explained. We finish off with an embarrassing story of John and James getting way too high on edibles.

Topics Discussed:

Mermaids: Top half or bottom half?

Shout out to the first person to email us!

History of Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize

Nobel Prizes 2017

Physics: Awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish, and Kip S. Thorne "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".

Medicine / Physiology: Awarded to Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm".

Chemistry: Awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution".

Literature: Kazuo Ishiguro

Peace: ICAN - International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear accidents: all the times we almost nuked ourselves (THERE WERE 32 CLOSE CALLS!!!)

The time a scientist dissolved two Nobel Prizes to protect them from Nazis

Notable past winners of the prize

Big Al (Albert Einstein) won for his work on the photoelectric effect

Marie Curie was the first person to win TWICE in two DIFFERENT fields!

Physics: Discovering radioactivity

Chemistry: Discovering Radium and Polonium

Quick lesson on radioactivity

Watson, Crick, and Wilkins for determining the double helix shape of DNA

Watson and Crick may have taken some ideas from Rosalind Franklin

Sir Alexander Fleming for discovering Penicillin: the first antibiotic

Warner Heisenberg for his work on the quantum uncertainty principle

Malala Yousafzai: youngest winner of the peace prize

Quick story about David Hahn: The radioactive boy scout

The story of when James and John had edibles