Monday, January 31, 2011

The Latest from Boing Boing

The Latest from Boing Boing

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Is There Life Out There?—The Most Thrilling Question We Can Answer

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 08:12 PM PST

spacefrontier.jpg

"Science—knowledge—only adds to the excitement, the mystery, and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts."

That's one of the first comments the late, great physicist Richard Feynman makes in a wide-ranging interview from the 1981 television documentary, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. I recommend you watch it, if you have the time. The title comes from Feynman's description of the visceral thrill that accompanies discovery, a thrill that intensifies in direct proportion with the discovery's profundity and certitude.

I was reminded of Feynman's documentary and quote one day in 2009, during a hike on a telescope-studded Chilean mountaintop with the astronomer Debra Fischer. Fischer is a planet-hunter, one of a handful of individuals around the globe who have discovered dozens of alien worlds, and who are bent on finding more planets like our own. She was using a telescope there to search for terrestrial planets around Alpha Centauri, the nearest neighboring stellar system to our own Sun.

It was a clear, sunny afternoon, with only a single condor spiraling in the sky—a good omen for telescope work, since more soaring condors would have meant hot, rising air, atmospheric disturbance, and muddy views of the night sky through the telescope. We also found an apricot tree, improbably laden with fruit in the midst of what was essentially high desert. Barely touched, the ripe apricots fell into our open hands, and as we paused and ate, we speculated on how the tree had come to be there, and how it had managed to grow and bloom and bear fruit. (The explanation turned out to involve a beneficent groundskeeper who had planted the tree and hooked up an irrigation line, but bear with me.)

You can, of course, trace such a question back to the rarefied abstraction of why there's anything at all rather than nothing whatsoever, but I prefer the more concrete consideration that, without a rocky, warm, wet planet to support a complex biosphere, neither Fischer's apricot nor Feynman's flower could have existed in the first place, let alone be savored and appreciated.

Science is filled with big questions, and astronomy and its subfields are blessed with some of the biggest. For example, where did the universe come from? How is it that its expansion is accelerating? Why is it that time only moves in one direction? These are great, worthy mysteries ... but no matter how many billions of dollars we throw at them, I'm not at all convinced that we'll be definitively answering any of them anytime soon—or that we even know how to properly address them yet.

Looking for other habitable or inhabited planets is different, partially because we already have such a well-characterized template to guide us: Earth, and its defining, life-enabling properties.

Many of our planet's most salient features—its liquid-water ocean, its atmospheric composition, and its global population of living things—appear relatively straightforward to remotely detect across the vast distances of interstellar space. That's largely why I believe that, quite possibly for the remainder of my lifetime, the most profound question that can be answered with reasonable certainty—the most pleasurable thing that can be imminently found out—is the frequency of living worlds around other stars.

I'm admittedly biased (just look at my Twitter feed—it's clear what my interests are), but my argument rests on facts: The research architectures and observational capabilities required to find Earth-like planets in our region of the galaxy, and determine whether or not some of them harbor life, are already reasonably well-defined. Public interest in (if not knowledge of) the search for alien life is high, and nearly universal. And, in comparison to tasks like finding the Higgs boson, establishing the precise nature of dark energy, or experimentally validating string theory, completing much (though not all!) of this "planetary census" simply isn't that expensive.

Imagine if we eventually discover tens, even hundreds of potentially habitable planets within a few hundred light-years of our solar system. Or, instead, imagine that we somehow find no worlds remotely suitable for life as we know it. Either result, and all those in between, would constitute a shocking revelation.

What if we are cosmically alone, on a planet as anomalously unlikely and fertile as a fruit tree flourishing in an arid wasteland, or a flower blooming in a desert? What if worlds like ours are common as grains of sand? Does the universe hum and throb with life, or does eternal silence and sterility reign outside of our small planet? The truth is, no one really knows. But that will soon change. And when it does, this knowledge can only fill our lives, our world, and our future with more excitement, mystery, and awe.

This week, NASA is releasing a new batch of discoveries from its premier planet-seeking spacecraft, Kepler. The editors at BoingBoing have kindly invited me to come aboard to blog about these discoveries, and other insights from exoplanetary research. My goal is to take you on a journey through the past, present, and future of the search for habitable exoplanets, so that you can better understand—and, potentially, even get involved in—this exhilarating scientific frontier.

Some rights reserved by NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Welcome new guest blogger, Lee Billings!

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 08:42 PM PST

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Last fall, everybody was talking about Gliese 581g—a newly discovered exoplanet, far from our own solar system, which seemed like it might be capable of supporting Life As We Know It. Media madness ensued. But, amid all the haters and hypers, I found "G Is For Goldilocks", an article written for Seed Magazine by science journalist Lee Billings.

Billings' article went beyond the headlines, describing how far-flung exoplanets are found, to begin with, and explaining the impact red dwarf stars—like Gliese 581—might have on the formation of the planets that orbit them.

It was a great, and enlightening, read. Just the kind of science journalism I like. Now, for the next two weeks, Lee will bring that style and substance to BoingBoing, blogging about exoplanets and the search for life in the Universe. In particular, he'll be filling you in on the inside scoop about newly released data from NASA's Kepler mission—an exoplanet-spotting spacecraft, looking for more places that could be "just right" for Life.

This should be an exciting two weeks. Welcome, Lee!

Bryan Lewis Saunders' 15+ years of drug-induced self-portraits

Posted: 31 Jan 2011 12:47 AM PST

brian-lewis-saunders.jpg Images: Bryan Lewis Saunders self-portraits on crystal meth (left) and huffed gasoline (right).

Cord Jefferson at Good posted a cool piece on artist Bryan Lewis Saunders. Since 1995, Bryan has created about 8,000 self-portraits, one each day, some of them while under the influence of various chemicals. He believes this has caused brain damage, so he says he now does that series while under medical supervision. Bryan does a lot of other work that mixes creativity with self-experimentation, so check out his site! (Thanks, Calpernia!)

Slideshow: This Is Your Artistic Brain on Drugs

Bryan Lewis Saunders: Self-Portraits

Tom Banwell: rayguns and steampunk and gasmasks (build-notes included!)

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 05:16 PM PST


Leatherworker Tom Banwell makes amazing masks, costumes, and mad inventions with a steampunk bent. I own one of his rayguns and it's one of my favorites. His blog has really thorough build notes on his projects, as well as many examples of his lovely, lovely work.

Tom Banwell (Thanks, Stacey Ransom!)

(Image: Topher Adam)

 


Egypt Lies I Read on Twitter: Debunking Rumors and Misinformation on the #Jan25 Uprising

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 03:52 PM PST

mubsign.jpg Photo by Arabist, via TwitPic

In Egypt, six days of massive demonstrations against the government look set to continue.

Two days ago, the country's president of 30 years sacked his government. Yesterday, he named a new one - and for the first time during his reign, picked a vice president. Today, protesters continue to rally, calling for Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Like during Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" just a few weeks earlier, there's been an outpouring of support and interest on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere. But, inevitably, with all the cheerleaders and nay-saying being bandied about, so too is a slew of ... less than reliable tweets.

For example:

Hearing UNCONFIRMED info that the Egyptian Army getting ready to announce President Hosni Mubarak is stepping down. #Egypt #Jan25

OR the more nuanced version:

Ben Wedeman @bencnn reported on air just now #Mubarak is preparing to step down, quoting sources inside regime #Egypt #Jan25

Well, needless to say, we're still waiting for that to happen... but here's what the New York Times Lede blog published Wedeman actually saying:

A source familiar with the thinking of Egypt's ruling party told him that the decision to appoint Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief, vice president on Saturday "may well be as a preparatory step for a transition of power, for the resignation of President Mubarak, and to ensure that there is somebody in control, that there is a system of transition of power from Mubarak to his vice president in the event, and this is very possible, that the president does in one form or another step down from power."

Evidently very different than what got passed around.

Here's another misrepresentation: A photo of an Arabic document (which has since been taken offline) has been widely retweeted today with the following caption:

New photo: Document details how plain-clothed police should loot as "ordinary citizens" in Egypt

I'll be honest, my Arabic isn't perfect. But from what friends tell me, it makes no direct reference to looting. It does however, encourage security forces to go about in civilian attire and harass protesters.


All the same, the nuances matter.


Similar to what happened amidst a sea of Twitter activism during the Iran Election in 2009, there's been a number of Twitter users setting their location to Egypt - when they're clearly not there - as a sign of solidarity. In effect though, that makes it rather difficult for casual readers to make sense of what information is actually coming from people on the ground.


And then of course, there's this hit piece, with hundreds of retweets:

mapeg.jpg


This is #Epic, Fox News has no idea where Egypt is on a map: http://plixi.com/p/73294801 #jan25 #egypt #US


Just one problem: this image was circulated two years ago, and who knows if it was real or Photoshopped in the first place.


Have you seen other lies, untruths, misconceptions? Please share in the comments.

HealCam: a ChatRoulette for health

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 12:01 AM PST


HealCam is a ChatRoulette variant that invites you to select a disease, medical condition, or health issue (Crohn's, back pain, pregnancy, bipolar disorder, allergies, HIV, etc) and connects you with someone else who shares your problems, so you can share notes. Sounds like a helpful way to find tips and commiseration when you need it.

HealCam

 


Bolt and fastener chart: what's that dingus called?

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 11:49 PM PST


Bolt Depot's "Fastener Type Chart" is exactly what I need so as not to sound like a total idiot when I come up with some interesting project requiring a certain type of fitting and hie myself to the DIY shop to try to explain what I need to the clerk. More practically, it also gives you the right search terms to use to find the dingus you need.

Fastener Type Chart (via Make)

 


How China censors Egypt news, and why the story is so sensitive in China

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 10:32 AM PST

xh-egypt.jpg

At Global Voices Advocacy, Oiwan Lam has a piece up about the censoring of terms and news related to the Egypt uprising, inside China.

As our readers confirmed in comments on a previous BB post, Oiwan reports that that the word "Egypt" has been blocked from search in major social media websites, and Chinese state media outlets have been downplaying the news.

On Xinhua news' front page, above, Egypt news is absent but the term "Egypt New Government" (circled in green above) appears as a popular/trending term.

The filtering of search result and the blocking of search term “Egypt” in social media websites is to prevent certain interpretation of the political situation in Egypt. The scenes of Tanks moving into the city center, the confrontation between the people and the soldiers are very likely to recall Chinese people's memory of the June 4 incident back in 1989 and the criticism of the authoritarian government in Egypt can easily turn into a political allegory in China. The propaganda department certainly has to issue censorship alert to web-portal and social media websites, where opinions can spread rapidly and become mainstream public discourses in a few hour time.

Nevertheless, micro-bloggers still find their way to get around censorship and bridge the news. Many bloggers keep updating the political situation in Egypt by translating and transcribing the Al Jazeera TV news reports and other overseas media outlets. Wang Xiaoshan is among one of the key news curators. And even though the term “Egypt” is blocked from keyword search, info-activists can always create a separate user account to spread the information, like this livecast of Egypt unrest in Sina Weibo..

China: Bridging news on Egypt (Global Voices Advocacy, via Ethan Zuckerman)

Adrian Lamo owes Glenn Greenwald a beer

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 04:54 PM PST

After reporting leaker Bradley Manning to the authorities, Adrian Lamo bet interviewer Glenn Greenwald a beer that he wouldn't do more than 6 months inside. As of today, Manning has been jailed in Quantico for six months. The lack of an actual trial and conviction notwithstanding, I think Mr. Lamo just lost that bet!

Update: Following Egypt events live on Twitter, video, liveblogs

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 03:00 PM PST

[Video Link] Waseem Wagdi, an Egyptian living in London talks about recent events in Egypt during a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy, London.

A reminder of online resources for Boing Boing readers who are following the significant and fast-moving events in Egypt today. I'm keeping several browser tabs open for these three liveblogs: The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, and New York Times.

Here are three helpful Twitter lists, some of which focus on people reporting on the ground in Egypt, others also include smart analytical voices currently based elsewhere: New York Times, NPR, and Washington Post.

Al Jazeera English is kicking all other US-language TV news networks' asses on coverage of this event. AJE is not available on most US cable networks, but you can ask your provider to carry it here. The network's bureau in Cairo was shut down earlier today, but their coverage of Egypt events continues. You can watch the Al Jazeera live stream online, though I've found that to be very unstable and crashy, especially during peak traffic moments. I'm hearing good things about this Livestation mobile app. AJE's YouTube channel is here, frequently updated.

"55% of our Al Jazeera English web traffic is from the US and Canada tonight," says Al Jazeera's Mohamed Nanabhay just now.

Additional resources welcome in the comments.

Reason responds to Ayn Rand going on the dole

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 10:55 AM PST

I'm on friendly terms with quite a few of the fine folks at Reason magazine, and we share similar opinions on the importance of civil liberties. This morning Tim Cavanaugh, a Reason columnist and Hit & Run contributor wrote a good response to my post on Friday (which was basically a link, excerpt, and some added snark to Michael Ford's post over at HuffPost).
aynrandgrave.jpgUnless it's revealed that Rand didn't pay income tax or Social Security "investments" during her working life, I'm not seeing the hypocrisy here. You don't have the legal right to opt out of income tax. You also can't avoid paying into the Social Security pyramid unless you are a government worker (a piece of hypocrisy that is far more widespread and of much greater moment than the hijinx of an old lady three decades dead). Some commenters are making the case that Rand used her married name "Ann O'Connor" and thus must have been up to something sneaky, since she was using an assumed name. But wasn't "Ayn Rand" the assumed name? Presumably the O'Connor name was the one under which taxes and FICA were taken from her in the first place. It would be a scandal for more than libertarians if that were not the case, but details of Rand's life are as opaque to outsiders as the circumstances of L. Ron Hubbard's death.

Stephens notes that the other two founding broads of libertarianism - Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel Paterson - went to considerable lengths to avoid taking charity from Uncle Sam. (It's harder to turn down Social Security than you think.) I'd be happy if this dustup resulted in a boost for either of those two over Rand, whose unquestioning dittoheads I can never get along with: A while back I ran into some Ayn Rand Institute folks, and our conversation - no exaggeration - began with my saying Anthem was a pretty shady book and within three minutes had reached the inevitable conclusion that I would propagandize for the Nazis if the pay was right because my life has no meaning. They really are like that!

Here's something that I haven't been able to find out. Did Ayn Rand take her social welfare payments under the name of Ann O'Connor (as stated in the HuffPost piece I linked to, and which one person told me is her legal name) or Ayn O'Connor (as it appears on her grave marker)? What was her legal name? If that could be cleared up, then we'd know whether or not she was trying to hide the fact that she was getting Social Security and Medicare payments.

By the way, Cavanaugh says he finds Rand to be "quite charming, in an eccentric-maiden-aunt kind of way, and points to this 1979 Phil Donahue interview: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5.)

Rand On the Dole

AnarchistU Toronto: free school classes for February

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 12:06 AM PST

Toronto's AnarchistU, a web-organized free school, is about to start its February term. Prospective students and instructors work together to refine a syllabus on a wiki, and then meet for a series of classes, lectures and workshops. It's been going for several years and gets better every year.
AnarchistU brings together those who want to share their passion and interest in something and those who want to learn about it. We try to build free education that works against the traditional power hierachies of institutions and teacher/student relationships.
Anarchist U: A riot for the mind (Thanks, Possum!)
 


Beowulf sock pattern

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 11:45 PM PST


Sanguine Gryphon's selling this wicked knitting pattern to make a pair of socks bearing a reproduction of the introductory text in the oldest surviving manuscript of Beowulf. The design is by Gryphon Perkins, and costs $5. Needless to say, ZOMG WANT.
Hwaet! Listen! Thus begins the immortal tale of the hero Beowulf, the bard summoning the attention of his audience. And so begin these socks, which give the text of the first page of the surviving manuscript, a copy dating to around 1000 CE. The writing flows from one sock to the other, so that you may read it uninterrupted. Wondering what it sounds like? Check out Benjamin Bagby's amazing performance. (On a goofy side note, while I was working on these socks my four year old daughter picked up the word and now, whenever she wants to get my attention, she says, "Hwaet, Mommy, hwaet!")
Hwaet! (via Neatorama)
 


Wonderland cutlery with magnifying glasses in the handles

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 04:40 AM PST


Tina Tsang's wonderful Wonderland Cutlery comes complete with little magnifying glasses in the handles, and delightfully eccentric silhouettes. Of course, they're bizarrely expensive (£43.50 per piece!), but that's life through the looking glass for you.

Wonderland Cutlery (Thanks, Alice!)

 


Michael Swanwick's demonic Great Humongous Snow Pile

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 05:35 AM PST


Snowbound science fiction writer Michael Swanwick sure knows how to creatively dispose of his excess white stuff! "It's night. I'm done shoveling. I can go indoors and relax by the wood stove. Knowing that the snow is outdoors, plotting against me."

The Great Humongous Snow Pile in the Back Yard

 


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