In this episode, we conclude our examination of cartography in the Roman Empire by looking at the development of itineraries and travel maps from the period of the late Antonines to the Byzantine Empire.
One of the Vicarellos Cups
Podcasts
12/16/2020
Special Episode #1: Silverado Squatters-Part 1
For many of the crew of the Scientific Odyssey, the next couple of weeks promises to be stressful with the coming US Presidential elections, a rising number of CoVID-19 cases, and many difficult decisions related to school, work, and family.
To help give folks a respite from the stormy seas ahead, we offer this episode of the podcast as a safe harbor to take refuge in when it all seems to be a bit overwhelming and it's time to furl the sails, if only for a little while.
The 200th Episode
In this anniversary celebration of our journey, we turn the canvas over to other voices to explore the intersection between inquiry in the sciences and the humanities.
04/27/2020
Episode 1.9: Understanding Conspiracy Theories
In this episode, we look at applying the tools of good critical thinking and skepticism to analyzing conspiracy theories.
04/26/2020
Episode 1.8: Barriers to Good Critical Thinking
In this episode of our series on "Science as Inquiry" we look at those things that keep people from engaging in good critical thinking practices and how to overcome them.
04/12/2020
Episode 1.7: Characteristics of Good Critical Thinking
"The fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."-Archilochus
We trace this quote from the Archaic Greek poet through the work of the philosopher Isaac Berlin to see how it applied to create good practices of critical thinking. Characteristics include having an inquiry focus, being flexible, understanding bias, practicing skepticism, using inference properly, and seeking multiple sources.
04/05/2020
Episode 1.6: Introduction to Critical Thinking
In this episode we broaden our focus to consider critical thinking in a more comprehensive way by looking at what it is, why its such a valuable habit of mind to have and what types of activities contribute to making it such a powerful process.
Episode 5.10: Surveying an Empire
One of the pillars of the Roman Republic and Empire was its ability to survey, divide, assign and tax land. In this episode of the podcast, we look at processes, people and tools that made such precise surveying possible.
Example of a Groma
03/18/2020
The Scientific Odyssey Unscripted: The CoVID-19 Global Pandemic
Wherein your Navigator discusses the CoVID-19 virus, the global pandemic, how public health and public policy response is formulated, and how to engage with the information and misinformation that's coming through various media channels.
Link to Washington Post story using simulations to illustrate effects of social distancing.
02/05/2020
Episode 5.9: All Roads Lead to Somewhere
In this episode, we trace the development of roads from their pre-historic roots (or routes) to the development of the massive arterial network of the Roman Empire.
02/02/2020
The Scientific Odyssey Unscripted: Betelgeuse-Is He Going to Blow?
Some recent media accounts have speculated that the red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion is about to explode in a cataclysmic supernova based on recent observations of the star's dimming brightness. We examine the evidence and offer a different explanation.
An infrared image of Betelgeuse superimposed on a diagram of our solar system.
12/26/2019
Episode 5.8: Heaven and Earth
In this episode, we trace the development of Hellenistic geography from the work of Polybius, through Strabo, to its conclusion with Claudius Ptolemaeus.
Strabo
Ptolemy's 2nd (Conic) Projection
Ptolemy's 3rd Projection
Episode 5.7: How Big is Our World?
In this episode we examine the development of a more empirically based geography in the Hellenistic period from the voyage of Pytheas to the map of Eratosthenes.
Pytheas
Episode 3.53: The Cassini Dynasty
For 220 years, the Cassini family was among the most powerful and influential scientific dynasties of Europe. In we look at their work and lives in the period of Louis XIV, the sun King, through the end of the Bourbon monarchy.
Episode 5.6: Ocean Around a Wine-Darkened Sea
Beginning with Homer's Iliad, we look at the development of Greek geographical models of the Earth through the Classical Period.
A rendition of the Shield of Achilles
06/10/2019
Episode 5.5: The Centered Universe
In this episode we look at cartography in the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean Basin with an eye to understanding the role and purpose of maps and mapping.
The Stone Etching of the Bedolina Map
A Schematic Representation of the Etchings Found in the Bedolina Map
The Babylonian World Map as seen in the British Museum
Babylonian World Map with Schematic Representation of Symbols
Turin Map of the Gold Mines
Schematic of the Primary Fragements of the Turin Map
Scholarly article on the Turin Papyrus by James A. Harrell
05/24/2019
Episode 5.4: Emerging from Connections
We explore the connection between maps and other cultural ideas and technologies such as language, writing and time to see how the physical artifacts arise out of abstract conceptual constructs.
A Sample Compass Rose
05/08/2019
Episode 5.3: Dead Reckoning
In this episode, we discuss the development and use of basic navigational tools and how they lead to map knowledge in ancient cultures.
03/25/2019
Episode 5.2: Defining Space
Wherein we look at mapping as a human activity and begin our exploration of the evidence of the earliest maps known.
Rock Art from Southern Turkey
03/15/2019
Episode 3.52: Interview with Dr. Todd Timberlake
In this episode, we interview Dr. Todd Timberlake about his forthcoming book, "Finding Our Place in the Solar System: A Scientific View of the Copernican Revolution." The book is published by Cambridge University Press and will be available on March 28th, 2019.
Dr. Timberlake's educational materials cane found at: https://sites.berry.edu/ttimberlake/teaching/copernican-revolution/
02/25/2019
Episode 5.1: Uncharted Waters
Wherein we prepare to once again slip our lines in search of new knowledge. We discuss the effects of modern technologies and what is gained and lost in their use.
01/21/2019
Episode 4.7: William Whewell-A Victorian Debate
In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain. In this episode we discuss the the various pictures of doing science from Bacon's experimental philosophy through Whewell's "Discover's Induction".
John Stuart Mill
12/27/2018
Episode 4.6.1: Supplemental-William Whewell on the General Bearing of the Great Exhibition
Our 2018 Christmas episode: In 1851, Dr. William Whewell gave the inaugural lecture of a series reflecting on the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. This is a reading of that lecture.
Crystal Palace of the Great Exhibition
Interior of Crystal Palace
William Whewell, Master of Trinity College
12/10/2018
Episode 4.6: William Whewell-A Potent Life Forgotten
An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.
A link to "The Complete Collection of the English Poems which have Obtained the Chancellor's Medal at Cambridge University" in which one can find Whewell's "Boadicea"
12/09/2018
Episode 4.5: William Whewell-Leaving Home
A look at the early life of the scholar and natural philosopher William Whewell. We all look at the dynamics of what it's like to be a first generation college student through the poetry of Edward Whitelock and the experiences of the podcast producer.
11/30/2018
Episode 4.4: Out of the Doldrums
Wherein the Navigator discusses the state of the podcast going forward.
11/28/2018
Episode 4.3: Probability and Pragmatism
In this episode we consider additional solutions to the Problem of Induction include those which rest on determining the certainty of inductively acquired knowledge.
08/03/2018
Episode 4.2: Hypothetically Speaking
In this episode we consider several possible solutions to Hume's Problem of Induction including William Whewell's description of scientific inquiry, the hypothetico-deductive methods and Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.
William Whewell
07/16/2018
Episode 4.1: The Problem of Induction
In our new Science and Certainty mini-series, we take a look at what is known as the Problem of Induction in the junction between epistemology and philosophy of science. We review what induction is and then look at various historical statements of the problem culminating with the work of Scottish philosopher, David Hume.
Scottish philosopher David Hume
07/02/2018
Episode 3.51: Epilogue, Finding Our Place
Wherein we reach the end of our journey.
06/26/2018
Episode 3.50.12: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, War and Peace
In our final episode of the biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at the last twenty years of his life in the United States. We consider his conversations with the mathematician Kurt Godel, the letters to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that helped initiate what would become the Manhattan Project, his post-war efforts to promote peace and his principled defiance of McCarthyism.
Iconic Halsman Photograph: "No, with man there will always be war."
06/10/2018
Episode 3.50.11: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Coming to America
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey, we delve more deeply into Einstein's religious views and recap the months up to his emigration to the United States to take a position at the Institute of Advanced Study.
Albert Einsein, Charlie Chaplin, and Elsa Einstein
06/01/2018
Episode 3.50.10: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Politics and Exile
In 1930, Albert Einstein wrote,
“I believe that the most important mission of the state is to protect the individual and to make it possible for him to develop into a creative personality.”
This concise statement of his political philosophy would guide his actions through much of the 1920's and early 30's as he used his fame and celebrity to advance causes important to him.
In this episode, we'll examine those actions and causes.
05/24/2018
Episode 3.50.9: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Entanglement
In the words of physicist John Wheeler,
“In all the history of human thought, there is no greater dialogue than that which took place over the years between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein about the meaning of the quantum.”
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey we explore the relationship between the two men that began through journal articles on light quantum and the atom, was further entwined through Nobel Prizes awarded together and continued through debates shared in letters, papers and at scientific meetings.
Episode 3.50.8: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Price of Fame
05/19/2018
Episode 3.50.7: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Best and Worst of Times
Episode 3.50.6: Supplemental-Einstein's Angels
This week we look at the period of Albert Einstein's life from 1905-1913 as he moved from one position to another on his rise among the European physics community
04/12/2018
Episode 3.50.5: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Most Miraculous Year-Special Relativity
In the second half of 1905, Albert Einstein published tow papers that refined humanity's understanding of space and time as well as the relationship between mass and energy. In this episode, we examine the factors that led to these discoveries.
Einstein at the Swiss Patent Office
03/31/2018
Episode 3.50.4: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Most Miraculous Year-Light and Atoms
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five papers that changed the course of physics and the modern world. In this episode, we look at the first three of those works including his paper on the photoelectric effect, his derivation of Avogardo's number and his analysis of Brownian motion that more or less proved the existence of atoms.
The Olympia Academy
03/17/2018
Episode 3.50.3: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Bourgeois Bohemian-Part 2
In this second part of our examination of Einstein's life before the Miracle Year of 1905, we examine the period between his graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic and his being hired at the Swiss patent office. We discuss his scientific work as well as his relationship with Mileva Maric and the issues surround that.
Milena and Albert Einstein
More Information About Science Cafes:
03/05/2018
Episode 3.50.2: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Bourgeois Bohemian-Part 1
In 1896, Albert Einstein enrolled in the teacher preparation program for physics and mathematics at the Zurich Polytechnic. We look at the events that brought him to that point and what transpired while he was a student there, including the beginning of his romantic relationship with Mileva Maric.
Albert Einstein at age 19
02/05/2018
Episode 3.50.1: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Fine Young Swabian
In this first episode of our biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at his childhood growing up in Munich and the various influences that would shape him in many ways.
Albert Einstein in 1894
01/31/2018
Episode 3.49.3: Supplemental-Eddington And Chandrasekhar
In this episode, we look at the dispute between British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and Indian prodigy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar over white dwarf objects and the fate of higher mass stars.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
01/29/2018
Episode 3.49.2: Supplemental-Arthur Stanley Eddington, The Seeker's Journey
For A. S. Eddington, the most important thing a thinking person could do, whether they be a scientist or a person of faith, was to follow a path of inquiry that sought to uncover new insights and new truths.
In this episode, we look at how this value influenced Eddington's work in stellar structure and relativity. Additionally, we look at how his other valence values such as internationalism influenced his actions during the Great War.
A. S. Eddington
12/11/2017
Episode 3.49.1: Supplemental-Arthur Stanley Eddington, Science and Faith
In this episode we consider the question of whether a person can be both religious and a scientist by looking at the early life of the British astrophysicist and lifelong Quaker, Arthur Stanley Eddington.
Arthur Stanley Eddington
Owen's College, University of Manchester
Dalton Hall, University of Manchester
11/30/2017
Episode 3.49: The Present Puzzle
In our final narrative episode of this series, we encounter the last piece of the cosmological puzzle-dark energy. We look at the way in which is was discovered and what it means for the ultimate fate of our universe. In this, The final piece of the λ-CDM model of the universe is put in place
Path of a 3 Solar Mass Star on the HR Diagram
11/22/2017
Episode 3.48: Matters Dark and Mysterious
This week we look at the work of Vera Rubin and Fritz Zwicky that led to the idea that roughly 85% of the matter in the universe can't be detected except by the gravitational influence on the matter we can see. We also consider alternative explanations such as MOND theories as well as consider candidates for dark matter including WHIM, MACHOs and WIMPs (including axions). Finally, examine the evidence in favor of dark matter being a new type of matter using what can be thought of as a "complex inference from best explanation" argument.
Vera Rubin
Rotation Curves from Several Spiral Galaxies (Figure from Rubin, Ford, and Thonnard (1978), Ap. J. Lett., 225, L107.)
Fritz Zwicky
11/17/2017
Episode 3.47: Very Big Questions About Really Small Things
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, several problems arose with the Big Bang Theory's attempt to explain certain aspects of the early universe. In 1979, Alan Guth worked out a solution to those known as the Inflationary Model that added a new layer of understanding of the physical processes that governed the earliest moments of the cosmos.
Alan Guth
11/13/2017
Episode 3.46: Lurking in the Background
Wherein we discuss the detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.
Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias
COBE Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Data
11/06/2017
Episode 3.45: The Stuff of Stars
This week we look at the work of a number of astrophysicists including Cecilia Payne, Arthur Eddington, Hans Bethe and Charles Critchfield, and Fred Hoyle and Willie Fowler to better understand how the elements are made within the cores of stars.
Special introduction by Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy and the Beyond the Big Screen podcasts.
Steven Guerra's A to Z History Page
Fred Hoyle