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3/14  Pi Day, School Walkout, Stephen Hawking, and more

A lot happening today!  I just wanted to post a couple of updates and thoughts...  

Before I had breakfast this morning I heard the word that Stephen Hawking had passed away.  What an amazing human being, such an incredible loss for the world.  And what an amazing coincidence for him to die on Einstein’s birthday...

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking Taught Us a Lot About How to Live (NYT)

Stephen Hawking Dies at 76; His Mind Roamed the Cosmos (NYT Obituary)

Stephen Hawking: Visionary physicist dies aged 76 (BBC)

This is the most dangerous time for our planet (Stephen Hawking 12/16)

Stephen Hawking Was Right To Worry About Our Impending Doom (io9)

Stephen Hawking’s most mind-blowing discovery: black holes can shrink:   Hawking radiation, explained by a physicist. (Vox)

Stephen Hawking’s 5 best and nerdiest pop culture cameos:  When Hawking wasn’t changing the world, he played himself on TV. He was hilarious. (Vox)

Pi Day

I always look forward to Pi Day...  friends usually send me Pi Day pictures and animated gifs...  I wore my new Pi shirt to PT today and I’ve finally updated my Pi Page :)  You can also check out my new Flickr post on Pi Day...

School Walkout

These two photos from the 17 photos from today's National School Walkout for gun control that should terrify the NRA are my favorite:

#NationalWalkoutDay on Twitter

Previous post on tumblr about gun violence

Scientists getting <3 on Twitter

#actuallivingscientist Tweets !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

#ActualLivingScientist is trending on Twitter

Recommended

Great read about one of my all time Sci-Fi favorites Dune and why  “Dune” Endures.

The Starfish Story

I heard this story the first year I taught and have never forgotten it... I just shared it with a teacher friend of mine who needed some encouragement- thought I would share it on my blog as well.....  Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said- "It made a difference for that one."

How many "starfish" do you come across in a day?

The World Wide Web vs The Internet

Get up, Stand up

Your Guide to the sprawling New anti-Trump Resistance Movement

These are some of the resources from this wonderful article along with other helpful resources I have found online.

Indivisible

A practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda... Former congressional staffers reveal best practices for making Congress listen

5 Calls

Spend 5 minutes, make 5 calls.Calling is the most effective way to influence your representative.

Resistance Manual

Open-source platform to harness the collective power of the people to resist the impact of a Trump presidency and to continue to make progress in our communities. Already, thousands of pieces of content have been contributed to the site from people all over the country, helping to keep communities informed and ready for the work ahead.

Also see

Pussyhat Project

Movement Match

#MarchforScience

#ResistTrumpTuesdays

Town Hall Project- Google Spreadsheet with upcoming events/town hall meetings of appearances made by representatives

What to do when you’re so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move

It Seems to Me:  What Young Women May Not Know

What the Fuck Just Happened Today

Week 12: Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember. (see links to previous weeks at bottom of the post)

My previous post:  Science not Silence

STEM fields all mapped out!

Physicist and science writer Dominic Walliman produces the YouTube channel Domain of Science where he shares fantastic animations that map out different STEM fields.

These videos are perfect to share with students to give them a comprehensive view with information about different types of sub-disciplines within fields and how they relate to each other.

I've embedded the Map of Mathematics video below for you but if you click on it and watch the video on YouTube you'll find the playlist which shares other videos on the topics of engineering, biology, physics, chemistry, and more.

And of course he has shared a lot of other great content on his channel. You should view, subscribe, and share ASAP!

Dominic has made the images of maps available via Flickr for educational use and you can purchase Domain of Science posters as well.

Watch on YouTube to view the whole playlist

Now it feels like Christmas is coming

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Had to update my weebly with some of my favorite quotes,  like this one:

About Education

During the UN High-Level Political Forum I attended this morning the moderator of the event shared a quote with us...

Education is the transmission of civilization.  

Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew.

Consider education not as the painful accumulation of facts and dates and reigns, not merely the necessary preparation of the individual to earn his keep in the world, but the transmission of our mental, moral, technical and aesthetic heritage as fully as possible to as many as possible, for the enlargement of man’s and woman’s understanding, control, embellishment, and enjoyment of life: the pursuit of happiness.

If men and women are fortunate, they will, before they die, gather up as much as they can of their civilized heritage and transmit it to their children.

And to their final breath they will be grateful for their inexhaustible legacy, knowing that it is our nourishing mother and our lasting life.

~The Lessons of History, by Will and Ariel Durant

David Byrne & Neil deGrasse Tyson Explain the Importance of an Arts Education (and How It Strengthens Science & Civilization)

What do you think is the purpose of education?  

Some of my thoughts on that.... I believe that my job as an educator is to inspire students to be curious, passionate, and life-long learners.  Education is more than just preparing students for the workforce.  Educators share the simple yet sacred joy of learning.   See also, My Education Philosophy page

Related Links and Information

Is Human Progress Real or An Illusion?

View PDF of timeline image

The Big History Project

UN High-Level Political Forum Side Event:

ICT-Integrated Innovative Education for Global Citizenship to Eliminate Poverty