06.21 Sonoma County ROCKS! - Our Geology - by Thomas B. Anderson, Ph. D.

Last week, the first science café with Geology Professor Tom Anderson filled us with awe and wonder as he described the incredible geology of our own area.

What’s the buzz about Science in West Sonoma County these days? It’s science – café style – a playful and friendly scene that features a guest scientist that introduces a topic that then turns into open dialogue that all present can join in.

06.28 What Science is and What Science Ain't! - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Last Thursday evening the 28th, almost 50 people jammed into Coffee Catz living room to see ‘What Science Is and What Science Ain’t’ with Robert Porter.

It was the second Science Buzz Café in a series of twelve. This one turned into a Science Happening that ignited into a charged discussion that spilled out into the street and into the night. Last week, the first science café with Geology Professor Tom Anderson filled us with awe and wonder as he described the incredible geology of our own area. This week Robert Porter started a science conversation that turned the place into a whirlwind of ideas and debates as we began the difficult ascent toward a shared understanding and picture of what science is or is not.

Robert Porter at Science Buzz Cafe on June 28th, 2007

07.05 Science and Eugenics - by Earl Herr, MD

Earl Herr at Science Buzz Cafe on July 5th, 2007

07.12 Science and Scientism, Certainty and Certitude - by Gus diZerega, Ph.D.

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07.19 Black Holes: Digging Deeper - by Lynn Cominsky, Ph.D.

Astrophysicist Lynn Cominsky and her colleagues brought down the house at the Science Buzz Café Thursday night July 19th. For the past 5 Thursday evenings dozens of people have jammed into Coffee Catz Restaurant at Gravenstein Station for Science Buzz Café. What’s the buzz about Science in West Sonoma County these days? It’s science – café style – a playful, friendly and often controversial scene that features a guest scientist that introduces a topic that then turns into open and colorful dialogue that all present can join in.

Lynn Cominsky is the Chair of the Physics department at Sonoma State University and did a presentation based on the NASA Education and Public Outreach Program that she directs at SSU. The wonderful educational activities materials for students are based on the science behind the upcoming space mission: the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope - GLAST. As one participant said, “Finally, a fun way to shed light on a deep subject, without the big brained, long-winded explanations that scares the simple folks like me away!” With the power of plain English and an active imagination, Lynn easily engaged the coffee crowd in the astounding happenings now detectable in the universe. The GLAST telescope detects gamma rays, the highest energy light in the electromagnetic spectrum.

The Science Buzz Café, an effort to bring science to where the people are, is based on the idea that anything that affects the world as much as science should be more accessible and interesting that it is to most Americans. Polls indicated that many people opposed genetically modified foods because they contain genes! Other polls show that 25% of our population thinks the sun revolves around the earth!

07.26 Lasers: Optics and Light - Steven Anderson

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08.02 Robotics, Sculpture and the Art of Motion Control - by Bruce Shapiro, MD

Last thursday the Science Buzz Cafe presented the art and science of Bruce Shapiro. Bruce was a practicing physician before feeling the powerful call of art. His training and practice as a medical doctor led him to electronics which resulted in a fascination with computer programming and robotics, the Art of Motion Control. His interest in mathematics and programming has resulted in gorgeous 3 dimensional objects that run and automatically produce art objects which someone in the audience said reminded them of the Tibetan sand paintings, presented at the Sonoma County museum a few years ago. A skeptic in the audience then asked the ever popular question, "But is it art?". Bruce said it was to him and furthermore was like writing music for an instrument which he was simultaneously building. If you see his work you will agree that is a good answer.

Bruce just recently moved to Sonoma County from Minnesota. He is a long-time friend of Sonoma County Sculpture Ned Kahn and the two of them presented some of their work in the Sebastopol Center for the Arts just few months ago. Bruce made explicit an interest in a sort of "Holy Trinity" of science, art and education, things high on the priorities of us who present the Science Cafe. Good job, Bruce!

Sisyphus I

Visit Bruce Shapiro's Website

08.09 The Evolution of Plate Tectonics - by Terry Wright, Ph.D.

Geologist Terry Wright spoke to the Science Buzz Cafe Thursday night to a packed house. His stimulating talk was about the evolution of plate tectonic theory, a recent development in our understanding of how mountains form, how the continents got to be where they are and What's With All These Earthquakes. It was not until 1969 that geologists, including most of the curmudgeons and holdouts, came to agree with the modern understanding of just how dynamic the earth is. People had long noticed that the coastlines of Europe and North America, as well as the coasts of Africa and South America looked like they had once been jammed together. "Just coincidence", exclaimed the skeptics. Where is the evidence and where is the mechanism to drive whole continents around like leaves in a pond?

But as modern science and technology permitted new instrument techniques such as the surveying of the bottoms of oceans (which revealed massive undersea mountain ranges traversing the whole planet), heat measurements of the ocean bottoms (which showed massive heat flowing from the sea bottom mountains) and symmetrical magnetic stripes running in bands parallel to the ocean mountains, was the whole outrageous picture finally accepted. The mid-ocean ridges were hot spots where lava was continually oozing from the bowels of the earth, pushing outward to form new sea bottom, and "memorizing" the prevailing magnetic field of the time, which is known to occasionally reverse north and south poles. Where does the other entire ocean floor disappear? Massive plates crash into other massive plates causing one to slide under the other, pushing up mountain ranges and treating us on the left coast to earthquakes as the plates bump and grind and shimmy. It is all very sexy.

Not to be satisfied with mere sex, Terry then illustrated the mechanics of the process with - candy bars and Oreo cookies. Oddly, no one smoked afterwards, although a spot of cabernet he provided was a welcome touch.

08.16 Prime Numbers: The Marvel, The Mystery - by Fred Sommer

Last Thursday the Science Buzz Cafe talk was given by Fred Sommer and the topic was "Prime Numbers - the Mystery and the Marvel". He did a fine job of explaining step-by step what they are, how they are useful in everyday modern life and why they fascinate with that sense of urgency that some natural puzzles grip us with. Courageous as he is, he even set out to give a mathematical proof from the days of ancient Greeks, proof that there are an infinite "number" of primes. Even after all these centuries, some people still are not entirely clear. He set out to prove it all right, but I think I saw a couple of people in the audience grimace and cross themselves. This may or may not have had anything to do with his comment that 108 is his favorite number, the number of doo-dads on a rosary. Moreover, 108 is not even prime, it is sub-prime.

Nevertheless, not everyone crossed themselves at the mathematics presented and for you Special Forces types who want more I am including a little mathematical workout forwarded to me by a friend in Bangkok and originating in New Scientist Magazine. WARNING: this magazine uses the primitive British spelling of words that really do not need complicating. However, the comment mid-paper about the "dark matter of numbers" and quantum geometry is quite pithy.

Fred Sommer at Science Buzz Cafe on August 16th, 2007

Fred Sommer & Robert Porter at Science Buzz Cafe on August 16th, 2007

08.23 Nice Stars & Supernovae - by Craig Van Horn

Last Thursday the Science Buzz Cafe talk was given by Craig Van Horn and the topic was “Nice Stars and Supernovae”. I apologize for promising Craig Van Horn demonstrating a super-nova by having his head explode, although his Hubble shot of "This Is Your Brain on Scientific Notation", aka the Crab Nebula, was almost as good. I was misinformed. But he did give a stellar performance that kept the audience near starry-eyed (not glassy-eyed) by his explanation of stellar chemistry and physics as he discussed novas, novae, supernovae, superdupernovae and Wow-That-Really-Makes-My-Eyes-Water-novae. His denouement, which put peoples' minds at ease that his favorite supernova would not turn earth into plasma, was much appreciated. Next year Craig is going to return with why energy "discovery" scams make money or at least headlines. I'll get back to you.

Craig Van Horn at Science Buzz Cafe on August 23th, 2007

08.30 Renewable Energy and Sculpture - by Ned Kahn

This past Thursday night found a crowded Science Buzz Cafe waiting to learn what new madness Ned Kahn had unleashed on the world. The crowd was not disappointed.

Ned gave, as always, a slide show punctuated by his sardonic, sly and self-effacing wit that illustrated his latest examples of why the science world's loss is art's gain. Science was not big enough for him so he got out of town with a 10 year side-trip at the Exploratorium. His colossal works of art incorporate scientific principals that result in startling and entertaining sculptures. However, they also advance a public awareness of environmental and ecological "green" uses of ambient energy that the usual preaching cannot elicit. His amusing stories often hinge on what he says were his "plan B" ideas being selected when someone else’s ideas would not work. Giant tornadoes of fog and even fire, walls of shimmering reflectors oscillating in the wind (check out his work on the AT&T building downtown) and now he is proposing a huge project for the San Francisco Bus Terminal which is sure to make the buses finally run properly.

Ned Kahn at Science Buzz Cafe on August 30, 2007

09.06 The Frog Who Discovered Electricity - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Thursday night, September 6, found Robert Porter addressing the topic all Sonoma County awaited: The Frog That Discovered Electricity. Given the rather puzzling title, he said he was surprised that people showed up, but show up they did and the show did go on. And on.

Right off, he admitted the title was misleading in that it was neither amphibian nor Frenchman who discovered that form of mysterious energy we commonly call electricity. Porter described a series of feeble attempts at explaining that Mysterious Something that makes for life as we know it. Over and over the mystery pivoted on some form of electricity as primitive science explained away one mystery by proposing another. The frog in the title was a dissected laboratory model, which unexpectedly twitched, jumped and did The Frog when two types of metal contacted the victim, which had long been dead. Frankenstein's Monster would have been so proud. As is usually the case in science, observation prompted new theory and then new experiments and so on until the present understanding of both electricity and living tissues resulted. In addition to gruesome lab work, he commented on the near-paranormal abilities of electric eels to produce lethal voltages and those of sharks to sense exquisitely tiny electric fields in prey and even rocks.

Robert Porter at Science Buzz Cafe on September 6th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe, September 6th, 2007

Dakota tried the biofeedback device at Science Buzz Cafe, September 6th, 2007

Weld checked the biofeedback device at Science Buzz Cafe, September 6th, 2007

But if you want to know what really happened that night, here's the true story:

Robert Porter gave a cheesy introduction to the role electricity plays in living things. He started his talk by introducing a great green fuzzy that croaked out "Old MacDonald's Farm", or so Porter said. He pointed out that the stuffed frog represented the role played in discovering the mysterious role of electricity (as well as being powered by an internal battery; the toy, not the living Swamp Thing). Some creatures detect their prey with electric radar and then kill them with powerful electric shocks. At the opposite extreme from electrocution are sharks with their numerous teeth, and so sensitive to the electric fields their prey produce those fields are measured in billionths of a volt per centimeter. Ah, wonderful life. So exquisite, so astonishing, so delicious.

09.13 How Big is Infinity? Mathematical Surprises - by Roger House

Friday the 13th fell on a Thursday this month as Roger House dispatched the monster subject of infinity in a fashion that Harry Potter would have envied. Many people have avoided mathematics in their previous lives and therefore had not had the pleasure of such mind melding or mild melting thought processes as different "sizes" of infinity. Many such folk came away from Roger's disquisition feeling proud of themselves for having appreciated the aroma, nay, even the bouquet of mathematics, even if they did not fully taste the body, the sugars and tannins of the topic. Many were surprised that such thought has been given to the idea of infinity that whole bodies of technique and terminology have been developed.

Roger began by considering the problem of ordinary counting and thereby introduced the counting numbers, or natural numbers, and quickly convinced everyone that these critters march on and on forever, i.e., to infinity, beyond counting. He went on from there to discuss the rational numbers, formed from ratios, and they went to infinity. Then came the irrational numbers. These numbers cannot be formed from any ratio, the very essence of madness! Well, OK, you just had to be there. However, several in his audience said they did not grasp all the details but now have an appreciation of why mathematicians are the way they are. It has been said that the development of mathematics is like the development of enology. In the beginning there was just grapes. Nevertheless, after several centuries of being carried away, mathematicians and winemakers have developed a product that some cannot live without and some are glad it is there. Way over there.

Roger House at Science Buzz Cafe on September 13, 2007

09.20 Birds of Sonoma County - by Peter LaVeque, Ph.D.

On September 20, Peter LaVeque gave a fascinating talk to the Science Buzz Cafe crowd about the birds of Sonoma County. He told fascinating and intimate details about the creatures that seem almost unbelievable to those of us who are not so familiar with the private lives of the birds.

Peter said his fascination began while watching the water birds around his childhood home in Vallejo. After teaching for a full career, he seems to have slipped into another wherein he can indulge his whims as an ornithologist. His stories about birds that were perched on the edge of extinction but came back with the help of humans, the very species who had threatened them in the first place, included California Condors and pelicans.

However, perhaps the bird that got the most attention in the Cafe society was the Vaux Swift. Swift indeed, for this little bird, relative of the hummingbird and weighing a fraction of an ounce, flies at 100 miles per hour for 900 miles at a stretch in migration. Peter estimates 6000 of them are currently occupying a chimney in Healdsburg. Since they subsist on insects, we owe them a debt of gratitude that we are not neck-deep in bugs.

Peter LaVeque at Science Buzz Cafe on September 20th, 2007

09.27 East - West: Medicine & Science - by Dr. Hao Liu, O.M.D.

Review:

Our bodies follow the rhythm of Mother Nature; they grow, expand, collect & retreat, as the four seasons dictate. So should we schedule the tuning of our bodies in concert with the four seasons. This concept could be a worthwhile practice to take home.

Dr. Hao Liu, O.M.D., was introduced as the 8th generation practitioner of Chinese medicine since his ancestor served the emperors of Ching Dynasty. At age 5, he was able to subscribe Chinese herbs to cure his grandmother’s mild illness. According to Shao-ying Chen, Hao’s announcer, he fixed a yoga practitioner’s spinal alignment problem with few sessions of acupuncture treatment, instead of the lengthy, painful, and time consuming process a standard physical therapy would require.

Using a live demonstration, Hao showed the basic process a Chinese medicine doctor uses to inspect and diagnose his patient: by observing the appearance of the physical, asking the right questions, and feeling the pulse. Hao explained that some basic daily habit adjustments, such as nutritional intake or sleeping schedule, could drastically improve one’s health. Weld, one of Café’s all time faithful attendees, recommended a book about Chinese medicine: The Web that Has no Weaver, by Ted Kaptchuk

Robert Porter introducing Hao Liu, September 27th, 2007

Hao Liu reading the health condition of a Cafe attendee, September 27th, 2007

Weld sharing the book info. of "The Web That Has No Weaver", September 27th, 2007

Preview:

This week, 27 September, will bring us Dr. Hao Liu to discuss the different concepts of science and medicine in the East and the West. We are all aware of the recent explosion in understanding of the body and disease that has resulted in the application of science, molecular biology in particular, to attempts to bring about a new age of health to us, if only we did not insist upon killing ourselves with hideous dietary obsessions. Nevertheless, we forget that a very sophisticated approach to healing has existed in Asia for many centuries before western science was hatched.

Chinese medicine employs concepts unfamiliar to western science. In California, especially some of these Asian concepts are becoming as familiar as "the little purple pill" of in-your-face and down-your-throat drug pushing on television. Yin-Yang is a concept of a sort of dynamic symmetry of opposite but necessary elements that pervade Asian medicine. Each requires the other in this dance of hot-cold, up-down, male-female that is a part of all life. Another system unlike any in our science is the five elementals: fire, wood, earth, water and metal, reminiscent of the old Greek fire-water-air-earth paradigm. In addition, of course there is Qi, that basic life force that surges through living things, a little like elan vital of earlier times in science or the Greek fifth elemental, the quintessential. Dr. Hao Liu will be able to explain the similarities and differences of these systems that attempt to answer that age-old and profound philosophical question, "Doctor, can't you make it better?"

10.04 Water: Thinking Like a Water Shed - by Brock Dolman, Water Institute

Renowned speaker Brock Dolman gave a talk about "Thinking like a Watershed" that was very well received, indeed. It seems that this is a subject dear to everyone’s heart, spleen, liver and all the rest. He showed maps of how Sonoma County has formed itself geologically into regions that determine how the rain falls and where it goes. He had much to say about how so much of our rain and pumped water is wasted and the disasters that await us if we continue to ignore some very simple precepts. These have been very successfully and simply instituted in other states that we like to imagine are "behind us" in matters ecological. Only a tiny portion of water on this planet is unpolluted drinking water and they ain't making it any more. Global warming, or "climate change" as our administration likes to say, is going to be THE hot topic as water scarcity makes oil seem uninteresting. Especially interesting to many of us who thought we were hip to the workings of the environment were how much the health of our land depends on nutrients brought inland from the sea in the bodies of fish. Now that we have killed off these fish, their absence will haunt us. These complex, subtle and intertwined matters are not immediately grasped by minds of elected or appointed officials who have other things on their plates, like reelection and reappointment. Think water, folks; Truthful water. I think Dolman wants us to vote water, as well.

Brock Dolman at SBC, October 4th, 2007

Brock Dolman & Earl at SBC, October 4th, 2007

Brock Dolman & Andre at SBC, October 4th, 2007

Water Institute
www.oaecwater.org

Brock Dolman

Preview:

BROCK DOLMAN is the Director of OAEC’s WATER Institute and the director of OAEC's Permaculture Program. Living up to his specialized generalist nature, and rekindling the dwindling art of the peripatetic natural historian, his experience ranges from the study of wildlife biology, native California botany and watershed ecology, to the practice of habitat restoration, education about regenerative human settlement design, ethno-ecology, and ecological literacy activism towards societal transformation.

10.11 "Terroir"ism in the Vineyard: Geology, Soils & Wine Quality - by Terry Wright, Ph.D.

Review:

On Thursday October 11, 2007, Terry Wright was his usual entertaining, illuminating and scintillating self and the wine samples certainly did not hurt. This was a return engagement for Professor Wright, who likes to be called Bwana Wright after his recent return from Africa.

His talk this time was about "Terroir" ism in the vineyards. Terry explained some of the complexities of the French term terroir, in short how the myriad of interlocking influences of weather, geology, soil chemistry and drainage produce much of the difference in vin ordinaire and that really good stuff that goes for, well, more than does the Charles Shaw many of us drink. World traveler that he is, he was still able to focus on the various terroirs of Sonoma County with geological maps showing the various wine growing regions of the county with geological diagrams to match.

Dr. Wright decided to forgo the usual persiflage of the Q and A portion of these talk and instead offer side-by-side tastings of Pinot Noirs from three distinct regions of Sonoma County. I always admired a politician who could buy votes with a little grease for the palm and now I hold Terry in high regard for influencing my voting pattern with Pinot Noir.

Science Buzz Cafe # 17 with Terry Wright, Ph. D., as he lavishes the crowd with his
liquid intelligence., October 11th, 2007

Dr. Robert E. Porter, aka 'Scientist in Residence', introduces the presenter for the evening.
Where is that Giraffe going? October 11th, 2007

Terry Wright, PH. D. stands alone and is second to none as Avatar of Sonoma Geology.
October 11th, 2007

Preview:

Terry will guide us through the multitude of factors involved in Terroir, the link between the geological environment of Sonoma County and its world-class wines. Aspects of mineral types, chemistry, soil physics, and climate of our environment are all related to wine quality. A Terroir tasting of selected local wines illustrates this connection. Bring your favorite burgundy tasting glass, there will be some glasses provided.

10.18 Bigfoot & Friends: The Role of Anecdote in Science - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Review:

This past Thursday night at the Ol' Science Buzz Cafe Robert Porter addressed the topic, "Bigfoot and Friends: the Role of Anecdote in Science". Porter took the position that we are a story-telling species and we get our propensity for communication honestly, from our primate dna. He cited recent research indicating the widespread primate behavior of hand gestures, which seems to many scientists to be the forerunner of the verbal communication of which we are so justifiably famous and proud.

He pointed out the many devices we humans have employed to pass along our culture to our fellow humans, from rhymes to building structures to Facebook. However, he further takes the position that science itself is a form of story-telling, and the finesse of science is in part intended to separate the wheat of reliable data from the chaff of gossip. He gave examples of anecdote eventually incorporated into the body of scientific knowledge as well as supposed scientific knowledge, which turned out to be only gossip.

After the break, Julian Blair demonstrated how tricky it is to verify an anecdotal folk-cure for inflammation in the form of gin-soaked raisins. The crowd generally agreed that science can be a royal pain in the nether regions and that gossip is much more fun and easier to come by.

Science Buzz Cafe # 18 with Robert Porter, Ph. D., October 18th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 18 with Robert Porter, Ph. D. and Julian Blair, October 18th, 2007

Preview:

This week Robert Porter will give a talk titled, "Bigfoot and Friends, the Role of Anecdote in Science". This presentation represents a bit of a departure from the usual cafes. Everyone seems to have an anecdote about events not generally accepted as scientific gospel but which have a real punch for the person telling the story. Anecdote has a checkered history in science, sometimes being accepted into the history books after much snide disregard initially. On the other hand, there is another checkerboard of scientific "fact" eventually realized to be bogus, perpetrated through incompetence or charlatanism.

Therefore, this evening will make room for more discussion than usual. In addition, Porter will share the floor with several guest speakers who have been asked to speak for 5 minutes about some aspect of this general topic. A caveat: if any of these speakers offers you anything to drink, just decline.

10.25 Future Energy Systems - by Duncan Gray

Review:

This past Thursday, Oct 25, brought us Duncan Gray discussing Energy Systems of the Future. In discussing energy, which is at once one of the most fundamental concepts in science and one of the hardest to define intuitively, Duncan attempted to make clear the wide range of energies from natural sources as well as the difficulties with harnessing this important commodity. Duncan is clearly a great fan of solar energy. However, having said this we should realize that energy from oil, gas, coal, wind, waves, slaves and animals are all forms of solar energy. However, the devil is in the details and the challenge is how to eat our cake and still have it: How to get energy in a convenient form that is economical and will not destroy our planet or our peace of mind. I once heard a physics professor say that ours is a class I civilization, one that uses the energy of its planet. Type II would use the energy of its sun. Type III, on the other hand, would use the energy of its galaxy. I raised my hand and asked, but what about type IV? "And what energy would such a civilization use?" I thought a type IV would use no energy. I don't recall his exact remark but a year later he began to teach a course about physics and extraterrestrial civilizations. But meanwhile . . . .

Science Buzz Cafe # 19 with Duncan Gray, October 25th, 2007

Preview:

This coming Thursday night brings us Duncan Gray to talk about Energy Systems of the Future. He will explain the realities and magnitudes of the dimensions of Energy and Power and where our future needs will most likely be met. He will discuss the pros and cons (the professionals and confidence men) and why they find it so lucrative to work the energy field. He will explain in painful detail how each exciting new technology functions and will then continue the tradition originated by geologist Terry Wright: he will pass out samples.

11.01 The Science of Yin & Yang - by Lynda E. LeMole, Executive Director of United Plant Savers

Review:

Speaker: Lynda E. LeMole, Executive Director of United Plant Savers

www.unitedplantsavers.org

Last week we had a charming visitation from the plant world. Lynda LeMole, executive director of United Plant Savers came to set us straight about the precarious condition of so many medicinal herbs here in North America. In a society where huge profits are reaped from merely advertising "The Little Purple Pill" without once saying what the little pill might do for you (my doctor simply had a bowl of them set out at Halloween with the jelly beans) we have come to regard medicinal herbs with suspicion and even disdain.

But the array of herbs which are thought (with good reason) to have medicinal properties is dwindling from a variety of causes. Sometimes they are merely over-harvested, as with plants that are too good, or they may vanish because their niche is so interdependent with other vanished plants. However, Ms. LeMole did a fine job of outlining the task at hand and the good work performed already.

Many pharmaceuticals derive directly from plants or are inspired by them. If Lynda and her gang of Plant Savers and their plant saviors are successful the day could come went peddlers of mugwort drive Jaguars and the pharmaceutical firms are holding bake sales to keep the lights on. But don't wait up.

Preview:

Lynda LeMole comes to us on November 1 to talk about the Science of Yin and Yang. Science, in its relentless pursuit to boil the complexities of the world down to its irreducible fundamentals (all the while seeming to make it less accessible with its fancy schmancy talk) has long contemplated pairs of opposites: mass and energy. Time and space. Electricity and magnetism. Girls and boys. The mind seems to crave schemes that can sort out our observations and experiences of life only to find that we have produced a new system that makes the uninitiated look askance when confronted with terms and concepts that don't seem simple. An interviewer, Edward R Morrow, once asked J Robert Oppenheimer about the rumor that he wrote Sanskrit poetry. Yes, he confessed that he did. Morrow said he could not grok this because, "Science attempts to take the obscure and make it clear, while POETRY! . . ." Perhaps Lynda will succeed where Oppie could not.

11.08 Emergent Order: Science in Economics and Ecology - by Gus diZerega, Ph.D.

Review:

Last week the unflappable Professor Gus declaimed, exclaimed, excoriated and defoliated while addressing the topic of Emergent Order. Some were tempted to skip Gus' talk because it was too intellectually deep and there were not enough pictures of fairies with those of his birds and fish. Actually, the science of emergent order does deal with topics that were formally the purview of metaphysics while explaining the peculiar behavior of beings and particles that seem to have minds
that we cannot account for. Like you, dear reader. If atoms do not have color, why do large groups of them seem so colorful? And why don't the properties of hydrogen and oxygen predict that water will be wet? This science began in the social sciences but, like everything else cool, was stolen by the physical sciences.

Science Buzz Cafe # 21 with Gus diZerega, Ph.D., November 8th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 21 with Gus diZerega, Ph.D., November 8th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 21 with Robert Porter, Ph.D., November 8th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 21 with Gus diZerega, Ph.D., November 8th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 21 with Gus diZerega, Ph.D., November 8th, 2007

Preview:

What do ecosystems and science, the web and market economies, schools of fish and slime molds all have in common? If you think that market economies and slime molds have everything in common then you are WRONG; they are emergent orders. What do Yellowstone wolves and Pacific salmon, Google and banks all have in common? Wolves and banks? Are you joking? No, again. The correct answer is the kind of role they play in different emergent orders. Why is central economic planning a failure? Why is the Invisible Hand of the Market soooo much like the Big Finger? Why do democracies not fight other democracies? If you say why should they when that is what they pay us for, again, the answer concerns emergent orders. Find out why. Come this Thursday night to hear Prof. Gus diZerega, who has come from the dark side to illuminate the dark recesses of this arcane field. He has promised to keep a straight face. Straightish, anyway.

11.15 Sebastopol CSI: Crime Science - by Dennis E. Colthurst, Forensic Investigator

Review:

Thursday night just passed brought us Dennis Colthurst, forensic investigator for the Sebastopol Police Department. The turnout was surprisingly large, given the number of known felons in the audience that night. Perhaps they wanted to get a few tips on how to avoid the long arm of the law. Moreover, Dennis did not disappoint. He talked about not only the ins and outs of fingerprinting and other aspects of forensic science but also the ups and downs of the psychological aspects of law
enforcement. For example, he gave his view that justice was served when OJ Simpson was set free because the jury pronounced him innocent - in our system the jury's say decides what justice is. But he was quick to ask the audience a rhetorical question, "But how many people believed he was innocent?" Our resident wag quickly piped up, "Twelve!"

Colthurst not only gave an overview of the science and technology of the many tools available to law enforcement but how young most of it is (except fingerprinting, which is over a century old.) He talked about how much of this innovation originated in California. He asked why that is. I guessed because we need it keep an eye on all the politicians, but he says no, its all the science industry here. In
addition, the government agency most responsible for these technical advances is NASA. When asked how many of the audience had never seen an episode of "CSI" on television about half raised their hands. So how can Sebastopudlians be so hip and still be so well informed?

Science Buzz Cafe # 22 with Dennis E. Colthurst, November 15th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 22 with Dennis E. Colthurst, November 15th, 2007

Preview:

Sebastopol CSI! This coming Thursday, November 15, the Science Buzz Cafe will bring you an arresting speaker in the form of Dennis Colthurst, Forensic investigator for the Sebastopol Police Department. While his specialty is fingerprint science over at the old cop shop, he assures us we need not wipe our cups clean after our evening at Coffee Cats. The CSI series on television is a bighit but the fantasy that is the staple of the show, for example, machines that one feeds with a hair
follicle and 10 minutes later out pops the guys DNA complete with color photo and the perp's fingerprints, is not available to Sebastopol. Yet. However, you still need to worry about the microphone and transmitter in your smoke detector.

11.29 Is Science Religion? - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Review:

Last Thursday the 29th of November found a large crowd to listen to and participate in a discussion about the theme, "Is Science a Religion?" It turns out that this seemingly obscure theme found a lot of resonance in the crowd. Reverend Doctor Billy Bob Porter and Father Doctor Gustavius DeZeriga ranted and raved but many in the crowd were disappointed that no snake handling was provided, contrary to the billing. The position of the speakers seems to have been that there is nothing wrong with religion except when it comes to proving it, unlike science where proving it is one of its appeals. On the other hand faith is a big plus in religion but taking something on faith in science will likely bring you a scowl and a nasty, "Show Your Work!" This sort of admonition might be expected to displease the Deity and be followed by, "I DID! SEE GENESIS!"

Science Buzz Cafe # 23 with Robert Porter, Ph.D., November 29th, 2007

Preview:

Speaking of turkeys, November 29 brings us back with a talk titled, "Is Science a Religion?" by the Reverend Doctor Billy Bob Porter. Reverend Billy Bob will attempt to part the sea of confusion that is drowning this age-old question and attempt to convert lots of souls to his own religion which is based upon the second coming of Ronald Reagan. Come for the sermon, stay for the snake handling. And yes, we will have a conversation about Science and its impact upon Humanity. Now and for the Future.

12.06 Symmetry: A Bridge Between Art & Science - by Daniel Osmer

Review

This past Thursday Daniel Osmer, normally introducing the Buzz speakers, was himself the speaker. He addressed a topic of long interest to him. He attempted to find a link between between art and science by considering the concept of symmetry. While artists such as Picasso and Escher spring to mind at the mention of symmetry, most non-scientists are less familiar with how quickly the intuitive beauty of the idea becomes hideously abstract as science becomes more mathematical (i.e., physics).

As the audience filtered in to Coffee Catz, they were treated to large scrolls of black paper that the viewer took at first to be Dead Sea scrolls or perhaps Babylonian recipes for making beer. Closer inspection revealed the script to be something resembling English! See photos below.

symmetry: BRIDGE BETWEEN ART & SCIENCE

Three broken Symmetries resulted in the Four Fundamental Forces. Mathematical symmetry plays a fundamental role in both relativity and quantum theory. Sir Isaac Newton is the only scientist to discover essential symmetry concepts in both mathematics and physics. The original universe was a billion times more massive but the near-symmetrical production of matter and anti-matter almost destroyed the whole shebang. The physicist always seeks beauty in the equations. Look carefully. See it?

Algebra translated as Restoration: Mathematicians stumbled upon the concept of Symmetry during the search for a solution to an impossible formula – the 5th power of the unknown – the Quintic equation. Mathematics as a second language. Normally Greek?

Below: The story begins between two rivers (Mesopotamia) where scribes in Babylon solve for the unknown in a word equation. The icosahedron (one of the 5 regular polygons, not the constipated ones)
fascinated the Pythagoreans and was used by the great mathematician, Felix Klein, who used it to create a geometry that Einstein used to support his theory of general relativity.

Science Buzz Cafe # 24 with Daniel Osmer, December 6th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 24 with Daniel Osmer, December 6th, 2007

Science Buzz Cafe # 24 with Daniel Osmer, December 6th, 2007

Preview

The last presentation of the Fall Science Series of Science Buzz Cafe is this Thursday night December 6. SBC host Daniel Osmer will be highlighting the stories of the heroes and heroines of Science and Art - past and present, near and far. Using the theme of symmetry he will take us on a quick tour of the history of an impossible equation that will take us from scribes in Babylon to research physicists at CERN. Bring popcorn. Science Buzz Cafe will begin its third series of 12 Science Buzz Cafe's for the winter that runs through March 13, 2008. On Thursday, December 13 Ed Bauman, Ph.D. of Bauman College, will talk about Emerging Research in Nutrition and Aging. Karen Frindell, Ph.D. will have the last presentation for the year on December 20, 2008 when she presents on the topic of Nanotechnology. We gather once again on January 10, 2008 for Robert Porter, Ph. D. and the Music of the Spheres: The Physics of Music.

12.13 Nutrition & Aging: Emerging Research - by Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

Review

This past Thursday night brought us Ed Bauman to talk about nutrition and aging. Dr. Bauman found a keenly interested audience and not all were in the throws of geezerhood. I suspect Ed is widely known to provide humor and entertainment with his updates on recent discoveries behind the ironic curtain, the quest for that perfect balance of enjoying one's life without killing oneself. He presented his data with a very matter-of-fact delivery, even though much of it presumed at least a moderate interest in nutrition, or at least some personal involvement with the fate of one's carcass. We did learn that, “Health is about peace in the cell”. Some feared he would deliver a sermon about the fate of those who would sully the holy temple by having a good time while on planet earth. "Eat more roots and bark!" He did not. On the other hand, the words of Granny echoed in my ear, "Health food doesn't make you live longer; it just seems longer," as we left Coffee Catz and headed out into the night in search of something alcoholic. Oh do try the Mescal; the worm is organic.

Ed Bauman at Science Buzz Cafe on December 13th, 2007

Ed Bauman at Science Buzz Cafe on December 13th, 2007

Preview

Ed Bauman, Ph.D.
Director: Bauman College: Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts

We are all aging, even as we read this. The question of the evening is can we slow the process of aging with optimal nutrition? If so, how do we account for individuality? Recent findings on how nutrition affects gene expression will be discussed as well as ways to identify key elements of biochemical individuality that influence quality and quantity of life. Join us for an evening that will provide a healthy dose of sizzling food for thought.

12.20 Better Living: Through Nanotechnology - by Karen Frindell, Ph.D.

Review

Doctor Karen Frindell of Santa Rosa Junior College Chemistry Department gave 2007 at Science Buzz Cafe a fine bye-bye with her topic, "Better Living through Nanotechnology". Karen is a very accomplished speaker addressing a topic many in the audience were initially unsure about. Her slide show started with a nod to physicist Richard Feynman who is generally given credit for coming up with the idea in a talk he titled, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom." He outlined what would be the core ideas for a then-nonexistent field. Oddly enough, this was in 1959, the year the first patent was issued for the introduction to the practical Lilliputian, the integrated circuit.

Her slides then took a quick tour of practical, or at least existing, nanotechnology. Some of these devices were weird looking, resembling living critters and about the size of some bacteria. Some things were gorgeous; they assembled themselves and even lighted up, things that the inventor called micro-origami. And of course Karen showed some her own work in the field of nanotechnology, things she was understandably excited about. But to be honest (ok, here it goes), she is excited about most things she describes, which is probably why she is such a popular and skilled professor. And she plays the banjo in a local band. Pass it on.

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. sharing some of her knowledge and original research on Nanotechnology at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Or perhaps our machines imitate or resemble biological processes?

Karen Frindell, Ph.D. and Robert Porter, Ph.D. at Science Buzz Cafe on December 20th, 2007

Preview

Come December 20 Chemistry professor Karen Frindell will stand before the Science Buzz crowd who are not out Christmas shopping and address the Big Talk about Small Things, nanotechnology. What exactly is Nanotechnology, besides a buzzword that has been gaining hype since the nineties? Do tiny materials and devices really have the ability to solve problems in areas such as modern medicine and green energy? Can they really improve our lives when incorporated into everyday consumer products? And, more importantly, how can we build them or even see them if they are so small? And why don't things behave predictably, when they get to be so tiny? This talk will attempt to provide a background for a discussion of these questions, and hopefully generate new ones!

2008.01.10 Music of the Spheres: The Physics of Music - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Review:

Robert Porter delivered the last talk about "Music of the Spheres: The Physics of Music". His style of delivery has been described as rambling, ambling, discursive, turgid, dense, opaque, plutonic, confusing and silly. Moreover, these are his words. His audience has described it as Tejano. But in spite of technical difficulties in the demonstrations, the show did go on. And on. He said the concept of the Music of the Spheres was the early thinkers' attempt to find an order in the behavior of the planets that hinted at influences on earth. The mathematical relationships they saw in orbital relationships seemed very like the order that Pythagoras found in musical intervals of stringed instruments. But Porter thinks the rhythms we hear in heartbeats is more down to earth. And you don't have to wait for the sun to go down to appreciate them if you have a willing friend.

Preview:

After a couple of weeks of welcome break Robert Porter will get the proverbial ball rolling again with a discussion of spherical objects in his talk titled, “Music of the Spheres: The Physics of Music”. Many people’s associations with physics makes them wince. Almost as many people grimace at the mention of physics as will lighten up at a discussion of music. Porter will attempt to soothe the savage breast of bad memories of physics classes gone haywire by appealing to the universally interesting topic of music. A great deal of music can in fact be understood through this science; music as a Trojan horse, as it were. Wine will not be served. But on the up side, Dr. Porter will not play his favorite CD’s of Spike Jones and the City Slickers.

2008.01.17 Darwin & Buddha - by Charlie Fisher, Ph.D.

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2008.01.24 Symmetry - by Daniel Osmer & Robert Porter, Ph.D.

Review:

Last week Daniel Osmer and Robert Porter did a two-part medicine show that was more or less impromptu because the scheduled speaker was called away. The scheduled topic was yin-yang in science so R & D quickly produced a talk about Symmetry, which was portrayed to be relevant to yin-yang. Osmer referred back to the talk he gave on symmetry a few weeks ago and Porter focused on the effects of symmetry in electricity: magnetic and electric fields, and positive and negative polarities in electric charge.

Daniel showed a well-done Nova video about CERN, the huge particle accelerator in Europe. This trillion-volt monster examines the symmetries of sub-nuclear phenomena by smashing them into ever-tinier bits, which are pretty tiny to begin with, eh? Porter showed a less dramatic but still entertaining video about a very simple machine that generates "ten or twenty kilovolts" from mere dripping water. The audience was fascinated until they found out that Porter would not reveal how it works. But he escaped without harm. "Soreheads", he said as he headed for a bar.

2008.01.31 ZERO WASTE: Theory of Resource Usage - by Paul Palmer, Ph.D.

Preview:

On Thursday January 31, Dr. Paul Palmer will speak to us about his concept of Zero Waste. His message could bring an element of controversy to the Buzz audience. As you know, we love a good scientific controversy. His idea is that recycling and other modern attempts to manage a deteriorating environment are demonstrated to be failures and we need something radically different if the Planet Earth of the future will be human-friendly. The program he is promoting he calls Zero Waste. This might be controversial because some will say it is unattainable. Others will say it is obvious. Those in the middle will hopefully say it is just right. In countries such as Germany, these ideas would not be seen as outrageous because their approach to consumerism is much advanced over ours. Even China has passed environmental laws far more advanced than ours.

Paul is no love child who would solve the world's problems with good vibrations. He wants us to see that all products and processes of the very near future (i.e., before we have killed ourselves off) are designed to be endlessly recycled and reprocessed. Some would find this unattainable. Yet, that is what nature always decrees. But nature does it in a manner that destroys the planet, as WE want it to be if our role in the process is not altered. On planet Earth everything and every body is recycled. Eventually.

2008.02.07 The Maker Store: Come Play With Us! - by Steve Muscarelli

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2008.02.21 The Human Genome - Doug Wilcox with Meredith Porter

Review:

Doug Wilcox got us deep into the material with a PowerPoint presentation while Meredith Porter fielded a barrage of questions with ease and intelligence. It was all about the Human Genome. It is a really big topic even though it takes electron beams or x-rays to even see them. Scientists had known since the 1800's that DNA had something to do with heredity but what? The trouble with really good science is that the truth is usually much weirder than anyone dares imagine. But Crick and Watson, rumored to be abetted by recreational chemicals, dared to imagine that the engine of inheritance was a little (really little) double stair case or corkscrew of deoxyribonucleic acid. Its friends just call it DNA. It was an elegant solution that brought with it an automatic solution to another puzzle besides its structure: how your mom and dad got together and managed the DNA twist on a very crowded dance floor and gave the world YOU! Without this insight, we would not know details about humans leaving Africa so long ago and spreading around the globe. Yup, we are all of us born in the U.S.A. really African-Americans. Nor would we know just how many are locked up for good in prisons before some clever folks proved they could not have done the crime, all due to DNA testing. Nor would we know about the Epi-Genome, which shows finally, how that booze or cigarettes your mom quaffed could pass strange diseases down for many generations.

The evening ended with a video of Craig Venter who would qualify as a maverick genius by any standard. He warmed up his career by building a fire under the Human Genome Project and hastened its completion by several fold. Now he is building bacteria from scratch intended to make gasoline when the home-made bacteria are given carbon dioxide and sunlight. All from genes discovered in the world's oceans. Are you worried yet?

2008.02.28 Meteorology: Weather You Like It or Not! - by Paul Nicholson

Preview:

On Feb 28, normally well known only because it is the last of a scrawny month, we will honor February's ambition to become a full-grown month by talking about the weather but, of course, without doing anything about it. Paul Nicholson is going to present a talk about meteorology. But what the devil does weather have to do with studying meteors? We don't want the audience to embarrass our guest speaker by seeming ignorant so we will tell you. The word meteorology means study of things that are high in the sky. Get it? OK. Nothing to do with stoned pilots. So this could pertain to the H Bomb-like "event" over Tunguska, Siberia in 1908, which terrified anyone who was lucky enough to live through it. Or it might pertain to the iridium-laden gift from the gods that came very special delivery about 65 million years ago. It was a gift because with all those brutish dinosaurs out of the way our little mouse like ancestors got to grow up to be brutish homo sapiens. These happenings would be like the study of the effects of monster volcanoes that caused such serious air pollution the earth warmed up dramatically. Or chilled the planet so most things died off. Take your pick.

But the word meteorology has come to be restricted to the comings and goings of air masses and their accompanying effects of air pressure and humidity. When Pinatubo in the Philippines blew her stack a few years ago, it cooled our atmosphere worldwide about .5 degrees C. Enough to affect many activities favored by Homo sapiens. Think food. When all airlines were grounded in the U.S. after 9-11 the skies, clear of airline vapor trails, caused our climate to warm up for a few days. Weather becomes more real to the average Bay Area Denizen if one takes advantage of the hills around the bay to watch the majestic movements of fog and other clouds as all this moisture pours in the Golden Gate. This is courtesy of the interaction of the Pacific High and the Coriolis Force, which Paul will tell us all about on Thursday.

2008.03.06 Major Events in Evolution: Human kind, too? - by Peter LaVeque, Ph.D.

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2008.03.13 Ambient Power: Untapped Renewable Energy - by Robert Porter, Ph.D.

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