Spider Star
The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
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"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
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-- Publishers Weekly"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
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The Importance of Science in our Lives
June 6th, 2008
Brian Green has an op-ed in the New York Times speaking about the personal importance of science in our lives. It is a good article, and meaningful, in my opinion. Science has enabled you to read this post, but it has also done so much more. Reflect on that.
Sometimes I feel like I’m a lucky bastard who gets paid to play full time. But that’s not true. The value of science isn’t in the dollars or the results. It’s in the quest, and the understanding.
I’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of government money making incremental advances in understanding quasars. To what end? To every end. This is the quest, to understand the universe, for the world. Some one should be figuring this stuff out, and it costs what it costs. It’s about more than making a living or the American Dream. It’s about understanding who we are and our place in the universe.
I care about this. It is important. It does matter. And it costs what it costs. We need to know in a meaningful way, true things, and this is the way. Let’s all enjoy it.
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I agree that science is a worthy pursuit and that “Some one should be figuring this stuff out, and it costs what it costs. It’s about more than making a living or the American Dream”, of course.
But: “It’s about understanding who we are and our place in the universe”? Hmm. That honestly sounds a bit grandiose to me. Perhaps I’m misreading what you meant, but it sounds like you’re talking about philosophical/spiritual issues, which ultimately I’m not sure such science addresses. E.g. what is the meaning of life, what should I be doing, how do I solve various ethical dilemmas, how do I grow spiritually, how do I balance a quest for inner growth with improving the world and helping other people, etc. That sort of philosophical wisdom seems quite different from science, and it’s not clear to me what relevance more knowledge about science has to such “big questions”. At least in my observation, there’s no particular correlation between scientific knowledge and this sort of spiritual wisdom and inner peace, or whatever one wants to call it.
Or to put it more simply and directly: was Buddha hindered by the primitive knowledge of science in India several millennia ago compared to today’s wealth of scientific knowledge?
Perhaps this would be a fruitful subject for a future essay by you.
I think Buddha was hindered. I’m probably being more literal than you think, Russ, but that literalness has deep implications. I’m talking about things like understanding that the sun is a star like the others, knowing what they’re made out of, where they come from and where they go. How planets form around them, and how life evolves on those planets. How close apart are atoms, and how far apart stars. How old those atoms are, and how they were formed, and how they in turn make up ourselves. That’s enlightenment, baby.
And you’re right. Fleshing that out would be an an interesting exercise.
i agree that science is important to our live, because it gives meaning in our live. Without science we can’t understand how Earth is beautiful, in which gives us such informations we want to know. In Science there are different branches in which shows the true knowledge in science..
so science is important to us people and in our lives.
These are the branhes of scince:
Biology
the study of all living organisms
Paleontology
the study of fossil remians of plants and animals
Physics
the study o f forms of energy, matter and motion
Conservation
the study of natural resources which focuses on their wise and careful use.
Chemistry
the study of substances, what they are made of, and how they change and combine
Microbiology
the study of living things too small to be seen without any equipment
Zoology
the study of the division of biology that studies animals
Ecology
the study of organisms and their relationship to the environment
Embryology
the study of the development of eggs
Climatology
the study of an area’s weather over time
Meteorology
the study of the atmosphere
Astronomy
the study of the planets and other celestial bodies
Geology
the study of rocks and the changing of the earth
Archeology
the study of ancient civilizations by studying things that were left behind such as artifacts and tools
Oceanography
the study of oceans, what they touch abd what they contain
Genetics
the study of heredity
These are the branhes of scince:
Biology
the study of all living organisms
Paleontology
the study of fossil remians of plants and animals
Physics
the study o f forms of energy, matter and motion
Conservation
the study of natural resources which focuses on their wise and careful use.
Chemistry
the study of substances, what they are made of, and how they change and combine
Microbiology
the study of living things too small to be seen without any equipment
Zoology
the study of the division of biology that studies animals
Ecology
the study of organisms and their relationship to the environment
Embryology
the study of the development of eggs
Climatology
the study of an area’s weather over time
Meteorology
the study of the atmosphere
Astronomy
the study of the planets and other celestial bodies
Geology
the study of rocks and the changing of the earth
Archeology
the study of ancient civilizations by studying things that were left behind such as artifacts and tools
Oceanography
the study of oceans, what they touch abd what they contain
Genetics
the study of heredity
f
Enumerate the branches of Science:
Aerodynamics: the study of the motion of gas on objects and the forces created
Anatomy: the study of the structure and organization of living things
Anthropology: the study of human cultures both past and present
Archaeology: the study of the material remains of cultures
Astronomy: the study of celestial objects in the universe
Astrophysics: the study of the physics of the universe
Bacteriology: the study of bacteria in relation to disease
Biochemistry: the study of the organic chemistry of compounds and processes occurring in organisms
Biophysics: the application of theories and methods of the physical sciences to questions of biology
Biology: the science that studies living organisms
Botany: the scientific study of plant life
Chemical Engineering: the application of science, mathematics, and economics to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms
Chemistry: the science of matter and its interactions with energy and itself
Climatology: the study of climates and investigations of its phenomena and causes
Computer Science: the systematic study of computing systems and computation
Ecology: the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment
Electronics: science and technology of electronic phenomena
Engineering: the practical application of science to commerce or industry
Entomology: the study of insects
Environmental Science: the science of the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment
Forestry: the science of studying and managing forests and plantations, and related natural resources
Genetics: the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms
Geology: the science of the Earth, its structure, and history
Marine Biology: the study of animal and plant life within saltwater ecosystems
Mathematics: a science dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement
Medicine: the science concerned with maintaining health and restoring it by treating disease
Meteorology: study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting
Microbiology: the study of microorganisms, including viruses, prokaryotes and simple eukaryotes
Mineralogy: the study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals
Molecular Biology: the study of biology at a molecular level
Nuclear Physics: the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom
Neurology: the branch of medicine dealing with the nervous system and its disorders
Oceanography: study of the earth’s oceans and their interlinked ecosystems and chemical and physical processes
Organic Chemistry: the branch of chemistry dedicated to the study of the structures, synthesis, and reactions of carbon-containing compounds
Ornithology: the study of birds
Paleontology: the study of life-forms existing in former geological time periods
Petrology: the geological and chemical study of rocks
Physics: the study of the behavior and properties of matter
Physiology: the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms
Radiology: the branch of medicine dealing with the applications of radiant energy, including x-rays and radioisotopes
Seismology: the study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth
Taxonomy: the science of classification of animals and plants
Thermodynamics: the physics of energy, heat, work, entropy and the spontaneity of processes
Zoology: the study of animals
Definition of Science and Technology:
Science-a systematized body of knowledge acquired as various processes such as observation, inference, making of hypothesis, experimentation, and formulation of conclusion of generalization.
Technology-applied science principles in discoveries made.
hi!
yeah! i agree to what celleca blanca valdez say about the importance of science!!!…
and to others i also appreciate what you have shared about it
thanku very much..
i learn something about u guys have shared hehehe…
and also to ray salinas.. heheheh
u know ray salinas i have a friend who had a sur name like u.. Salinas…
give at least 3 importance of science.
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Ya i believe in all u guyz are talking about coz u no life is all about science.Even God almighty is also a sciensite back in the beginin’ is created light so science is of great importance in our life.
really without science our life is like a HELL
yeah! i agree to what celleca blanca valdez say about the importance of science!!!… and to others i also appreciate what you have shared about it thanku very much.. i learn something about u guys have shared hehehe…
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[…]The Importance of Science in our Lives[…]…