Comments on: Street Corner Science with Leon Lederman http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:05:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Street Corner Science with Leon Lederman Pt.1 | ScienCentral http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42305 Street Corner Science with Leon Lederman Pt.1 | ScienCentral Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:05:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42305 [...] UPDATE: “Street Corner Science” has been featured at the popular pysics blog Cosmic Variance! Check it out here. [...] […] UPDATE: “Street Corner Science” has been featured at the popular pysics blog Cosmic Variance! Check it out here. […]

]]> By: Street Corner Science with Leon Lederman - Part 2 | ScienCentral http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42306 Street Corner Science with Leon Lederman - Part 2 | ScienCentral Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:02:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42306 [...] UPDATE: “Street Corner Science” has been featured at the popular pysics blog Cosmic Variance! Check it out here! [...] […] UPDATE: “Street Corner Science” has been featured at the popular pysics blog Cosmic Variance! Check it out here! […]

]]> By: TomC http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42309 TomC Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:41:21 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42309 Tom_Fishman - Understood. And that was a small, uncharitable nit-pick; I think the project is great. Tom_Fishman - Understood. And that was a small, uncharitable nit-pick; I think the project is great.

]]> By: Aramael http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42304 Aramael Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:49:09 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42304 That was beautiful. In Australia -- where I have not lived for a decade, but this is what I remember -- we have this radio show where Dr Karl answers random science questions from people who call in. Karl is a smart guy, but here's the thing: a lot of people could answer the same questions, anybody with a good education in fact. I think it's incumbent on anybody in the reality side of the equation to be prepared to do that. Not just on a radio show, but in real life. I recently made a colleague of mine rethink his position on the legalisation of drugs. That's lovely, but I would be even more satisfied to turn a creationist. Aramael "non-sequiteur" Musitello. That was beautiful. In Australia — where I have not lived for a decade, but this is what I remember — we have this radio show where Dr Karl answers random science questions from people who call in.

Karl is a smart guy, but here’s the thing: a lot of people could answer the same questions, anybody with a good education in fact. I think it’s incumbent on anybody in the reality side of the equation to be prepared to do that. Not just on a radio show, but in real life.

I recently made a colleague of mine rethink his position on the legalisation of drugs. That’s lovely, but I would be even more satisfied to turn a creationist.

Aramael “non-sequiteur” Musitello.

]]> By: Tom_Fishman http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42303 Tom_Fishman Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:26:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42303 [Disclosure: I helped produce this segment, and work for ScienCentral.] TomC- I totally understand where you're coming from regarding the depth of Dr. Lederman's response. This was an experimental project for us, and one of the ways we'll try to improve it moving forward is to give the scientists more time to formulate their responses, and maybe to feature fewer, more in-depth interactions in each piece. In the end though, it will be up to the participating scientist to decide how deep an answer he or she feels is appropriate. Sean's comment on being able to sensibly ask about what was before the big bang also raises an interesting issue for us: how will we handle it when a scientist says something that is not agreed upon by the community? For now, I'm going to include Sean's comment and link in the comments to that post on our site, but we'll have to deal with it more directly in the future. Thanks for the feedback! [Disclosure: I helped produce this segment, and work for ScienCentral.]

TomC- I totally understand where you’re coming from regarding the depth of Dr. Lederman’s response. This was an experimental project for us, and one of the ways we’ll try to improve it moving forward is to give the scientists more time to formulate their responses, and maybe to feature fewer, more in-depth interactions in each piece. In the end though, it will be up to the participating scientist to decide how deep an answer he or she feels is appropriate.

Sean’s comment on being able to sensibly ask about what was before the big bang also raises an interesting issue for us: how will we handle it when a scientist says something that is not agreed upon by the community? For now, I’m going to include Sean’s comment and link in the comments to that post on our site, but we’ll have to deal with it more directly in the future.

Thanks for the feedback!

]]> By: Luis Sanchez http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42302 Luis Sanchez Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:08:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42302 Wow! This is such a cool idea, it seems so surreal (and exciting) that you can just walk by and find a nobel prize physicist ready to answer your questions, this seems to me just the <i>right</i> kind of outreach, since other things (like publishing in scientific american) seem to be aimed at people that is already interested in science. Kudos to Lederman for his courageous attempt! I will try to suggest something similar to my mexican colleages (although I fear it won't have a warm reception). Wow! This is such a cool idea, it seems so surreal (and exciting) that you can just walk by and find a nobel prize physicist ready to answer your questions, this seems to me just the right kind of outreach, since other things (like publishing in scientific american) seem to be aimed at people that is already interested in science.

Kudos to Lederman for his courageous attempt! I will try to suggest something similar to my mexican colleages (although I fear it won’t have a warm reception).

]]> By: Thomas http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42301 Thomas Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:52:41 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42301 Sean, Thanks for the answer and the link! Sean,

Thanks for the answer and the link!

]]> By: Sean http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42300 Sean Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:43:21 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42300 Thomas, the oft-heard statement that "it makes no sense to ask what was before the Big Bang" is not at all true, as far as we know; see here: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/04/27/how-did-the-universe-start/ Thomas, the oft-heard statement that “it makes no sense to ask what was before the Big Bang” is not at all true, as far as we know; see here:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/04/27/how-did-the-universe-start/

]]> By: Thomas http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42299 Thomas Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:33:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42299 It's great that Lederman agreed to do this I wish we had street corner science in France..I'll submit the idea at my lab. One question though: I've heard several physicists (including Witten, and now Lederman in this video) explaining something like: "It makes no sense to ask what was before the Big bang, because one cannot define time at this sigularity and thus the very notion of "before" is meaningless." Very well. This sounds right. So does this mean that it makes no sense either to ask what was after the big bang either? Suddenly this does not sound ok at all. It’s great that Lederman agreed to do this I wish we had street corner science in France..I’ll submit the idea at my lab.

One question though:

I’ve heard several physicists (including Witten, and now Lederman in this video) explaining something like: “It makes no sense to ask what was before the Big bang, because one cannot define time at this sigularity and thus the very notion of “before” is meaningless.”

Very well. This sounds right.

So does this mean that it makes no sense either to ask what was after the big bang either? Suddenly this does not sound ok at all.

]]> By: TomC http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42298 TomC Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:24:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/08/26/street-corner-science-with-leon-lederman/#comment-42298 It's totally unfair of me to criticize Lederman's performance (which, as #1 points out, took a lot of guts), but I'm going to anyway: He totally ducked the first questioner's follow-up, namely "Where does it (the strong force) come from?" There's a concise and correct answer to this question, and while it would inevitably lead to further difficult questions ("gluons?"), that's not a valid reason for avoiding it. It’s totally unfair of me to criticize Lederman’s performance (which, as #1 points out, took a lot of guts), but I’m going to anyway: He totally ducked the first questioner’s follow-up, namely “Where does it (the strong force) come from?” There’s a concise and correct answer to this question, and while it would inevitably lead to further difficult questions (”gluons?”), that’s not a valid reason for avoiding it.

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