Author: Daniel

Shortly predating the discovery of gravitational waves, Adams briefly explains why it matters that we were able to detect the very, very faint echoes of the Big Bang.

Allan Adams: The discovery that could rewrite physics

This news was a big deal recently and Adams tells us why.

Interestingly, we found the gravitational waves because we were exploring the universe in a completely different way. Instead of trying to “see” things like our telescopes do, we were “listening”. This technique will allows us to discover new things about the universe that we would otherwise never be able to know.

Allan Adams: What the discovery of gravitational waves means

Some key points about talking to strangers:

• It helps us build a sense of connectedness
• Liberation comes from connecting to individuals
• Strangers often “get” us simply because we do not expect them to read our minds and so we explain the details to them
• We can safely open up to people with whom we will have no further interactions with
• There is joy in “fleeting intimacy” 

Kio Stark: Why you should talk to strangers

It is funny to hear someone lecture other people on talking to strangers. Funny to me because my parents have done this my whole life, and so I have too. Just as Stark encourages connectivity with strangers, I can also attest to learning some wonderful fascinating things about people and the world by talking to strangers.

Beyond just dinosaur hunting, Lacovara shares how his dinosaur hunting helped him realize how small and unique our place in existence is.

Kenneth Lacovara: Hunting for dinosaurs showed me our place in the universe

“Learning about the natural world is one thing; learning from the natural world — that’s the switch,” Benyus says. She shares many experiences she has had in teaching engineers to learn from nature.

She asks:

1. How does life create things? (Life does not “heat, beat and treat”)
2. How does life make the most of things? (Life gives information to matter)
3. How does life make things disappear in a system? (Because life deals with systems, not things)

Janine Benyus: Biomimicry’s surprising lessons from nature’s engineers