science education - how much is essential?

It was cloudy and I was unable to watch, but the 7^th marked the earliest sunset in this part of New Jersey at 4:29pm.  There is still the hope of witnessing the latest sunrise on January 5^th at 7:21am.  It turns out these dates depend strongly on where you live.

 

Neither of these occur on the Winter Solstice, which will take place at 6:12am on December 21^st this year.  The Winter Solstice marks the point in the our orbit at which the Sun appears at the lowest altitude in the sky - in the Northern Hemisphere.  Everyone is aware of the solstices and many cultures have celebrations to mark the event, but few seem to be aware that, for most locations on the planet, the earliest sunset and latest sunrise don't occur on the Winter Solstice.

 

You can sort this out yourself with a bit a spherical trigonometry - I remember being fascinated when I discovered this as a 13 year old and pretty much learning the trig so I could sort it out for myself.  There are two components that are critical - the Earth's tilt and our elliptical orbit.   In December we are rushing towards the Sun and will be at perihelion - our closest approach - on January 1^st close to midnight (about 5am universal time).   Our aphelion will take place on July 5^th this year.  People are very surprised that we are at our closest approach in early January and furthest out near the 4th of July - you can easily measure this with a camera with a bit of care and I did that when I was 14 pretty much on my own.¹

 

I won't go into detail on exactly why these dates vary as it is a lot of fun to sort it out for yourself and not very difficult - just a bit of spherical trigonometry and some raw information on the Earth's orbit.  A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon I should think.

 

The world is filled with interesting little "puzzles" and a boatload of clues if you just observe Nature.  The whole notion of science is just that - observe and question Nature in an orderly fashion for a deeper understanding of what is going on.  It has nothing to do with "facts" that are printed in books and are memorized for a test.  It has nothing to do with being able to calculate problems (although that is an essential skill) - it is just the art of the question and being open to surprise in the answer.

 

What surprises is most people seem to view science as unapproachable and many reject its findings out of hand.  It isn't in search of answers to give us new approaches for reasoning with the materials we have at our disposal, but a wonderful byproduct - and a major drive for doing science - has been the application of these discoveries.  It has fundamentally driven civilization and I would claim the scientific method to be one of a handful of discoveries by people that have done the most to bring change to all of us.²

 

A puzzle I can't understand or deal with is why so many people reject science and/or claim it and math are somehow "difficult" - after all, children are born with a natural curiosity and are filled with questions.  Why is it that so many become a-curious?  Why is it that this seems to vary somewhat by culture?  

 

 

Is this something that needs to be addressed - the fact that only a small percentage of the population is scientifically literate in a sea of those who almost seem proud of having problems with math and science?   With many fundamental questions about what we should do as a society having deep connections with science and math is it essential for our people to be better educated?   People with a science background tend to excel at math, critical thinking and logic and, I believe, can be a potent force in the corporate world.  For example, with all the talk of "big data" (ouch - what an awful phrase) these days it would be more than a bit useful to be able to know when and how to ask questions as there are an enormous number of poorly conceived projects.  

 

And this applies to many other areas of "change" we face.

 

I'm convinced that one problem is science and math education.  There are many wonderful teachers out there, but probably more bad ones and poorly conceived programs with terrible curricula.  There have been more than a few great proposals for change, but little traction.³  I'm fascinated by the subject and have probably too many opinions, so ping me if you want to enter into a discussion - I'd welcome the chance to learn your ideas as well as test mine.⁴

 

I'll stop here (other than the recipe section), but take a look at these two short videos. They say in a few minutes what would take me tens of pages to write.  I have some differences with the specifics of the videos, but not the general direction...

 

 

 

 

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¹ The apparent diameters of the Sun at perihelion and aphelion differ by about three percent - our planet receives about seven percent more solar energy in early January than it does in early July.  This seems to surprise people, but thinking about climate and weather involves the oceans, atmosphere and land - each with their own fascinating properties.

² A great topic if you are with a group of interesting people is to ask what others believe are the most important agents of change throughout human history.

³ Some great things have been done.  CL Strong's Amateur Scientist column in Scientific American had a fundamental impact on science education in the US in the 50s and 60s, Carl Sagan's popularization of astronomy inspired many, and we now have several excellent popularizers.  But integration of these into k16 education assumes a "professional" track and excludes almost everyone else.

⁴ Writing and then abandoning a layperson's book on energy was a fantastic learning experience.  A bit painful, but it has improved my speaking and I think I have a much better sense of better communication and learning channels - certainly not good enough, but greatly improved!

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Recipe corner

 

Ginger is the spice of the season for me.  Here are a couple of recipes I've made recently.  The first is a very basic, but excellent gingerbread (with an interesting variation shown) and the second has a bit more punch.

 

Basic Gingerbread

 

Note that a variation for a gingerbread upside down cake is also given.  For regular gingerbread, just ignore anything that is between the < bras and kets >

 

Ingredients

° 280g (2 1/4) cups all-purpose flour

° 2 teaspoons baking soda

° 2 teaspoons ground ginger

° 1 teaspoon cinnamon

° 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

° 1/8 teaspoon ground mace

° 1/4 teaspoon salt

° 113g (1/2 cup) butter 

° 100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

° 1 large egg

° 170g (1/2 cup) dark molasses

° 245g (1 cup) buttermilk (the regular fat works better than low fat)

 

<Ingredients Pineapple Layer

° 100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

° 76g (1/3 cup) butter

° 75g (2/3 cup) pecan halves or pieces (optional)

° 1 20-ounce can of pineapple rings (you will use about half of the can)

° maraschino cherries for the center of each pineapple ring >

Technique

° Preheat the oven to 350° F

° Butter or pam a 10-inch springform pan or a 9 x 9-inch square pan.

<° If you are making this in a skillet, heat and stir the brown sugar and butter together over medium heat until the butter is melted, the sugar is dissolved, and a slurry is formed.  Set aside.  If you are going to bake the dessert in a baking pan, make the slurry in a small saucepan and transfer the slurry to a baking pan.

°Sprinkle pecans in the slurry.  Place six or seven pineapple rings in the slurry.  Add maraschino cherries in the center of each ring.>

° Mix the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, mace, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

° Cream the butter with the brown sugar. Add the egg and beat until light and airy. Add the molasses. 

° Starting with the flour mixture, add the flour and buttermilk to the creamed mixture in three or four additions beating just until combined with the mixer on lowest speed. Do not over mix.

° Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. The top should spring back when lightly touched and toothpick or skewer should come out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.

° Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan on a rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream if you like (adding a pinch of salt to the heavy cream as you whip it makes a *huge* difference in taste)