Science Circle

Earth Hour
2023-03-25 21:00 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | SC East Meeting Spot
Earth Hour
A yearly SC East event, where we discuss Earth Hour, it’s concept, spread awareness, and talk about ways that we can make a difference beyond the hour.

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What can we Learn from Going Back to the Moon?
2023-03-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
“What can we Learn from Going Back to the Moon?”
By: Phil Youngblood

—This is part of an ongoing celebration of The Science Circle’s 15th Anniversary.

There were more missions to the Moon last year than there were in the last decade and a half. Plus, there are at least 12 countries with funded Moon missions under development and more that are proposed. Of these, 4 countries are planning crewed missions and 2 have plans to build a Moon base within a decade. In addition, there are non-governmental entities involved in more than just providing parts.

Why the renewed interest in the Moon?
What missions are planned and why?
—Join us to learn and talk about the exciting new projects that have a potential to directly impact your lives and the lives of the next generations.

CALLING ALL EDUCATORS!
What can we learn from going back to the Moon?
Why are space agencies so interested in education?
What types of pedagogies, andragogies, and learning styles can the SC Moon Base Project support?
—Join us to discuss how we can use this project as a source for many diverse presentations and to create engaging activities for SC members and beyond.

Mathematics Club
2023-03-22 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-03-15 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-03-08 17:00 - 18:00 | Maths Club

Classical Concert
2023-03-19 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-03-12 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-03-05 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-02-26 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-02-19 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-02-12 07:00 - 08:00, 2023-02-05 07:00 - 08:00 | The Lighthouse Café

Pets
2023-03-18 21:00 - 22:00 | SC East Meeting Spot
Pets
Animal companions are a transient aspect of our lives. Pets come in all shapes and sizes, in the world we live in, there’s so many possibilities! We invite you to join us in a discussion of the weird and wonderful animals you have had, and what your country allows!

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Knowledge Creation
2023-03-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Knowledge Creation

Professor Devi Jankowicz (Christi Maeterlinck) will examine two distinct ways of making sense of experience: the positivist model that works so successfully for the physical and biological sciences, and the constructivist approach to which many social scientists are turning as being more suited to some of the research questions they handle. The attractions of regarding laypeople as scientists making sense of experience; and scientists as people who make sense of their research questions in the same way will be explored.

VWBPE: Too Hot! Too Dry! Too Wet!
2023-03-17 15:00 - 16:00 | Fire & Flood
Too hot! Too dry! Too wet! A natural cycle of cleansing and renewal turned extreme: excruciating drought, fire maelstrom, mega-flood. Thousand-year events happen year upon year, global disasters with heartbreaking consequences. If old normal is gone, what can we expect? What can we do?
An immersive experience with Linda M. Kelley, BA

Celebrating Women
2023-03-11 21:00 - 22:00 | SC East Meeting Spot
Celebrating Women
We will be observing international women’s day by inviting you to join us and talk about women who inspire you and how they inspire you, whether they be loved ones, strangers, celebrities, or fictional!

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BB: JWST and Astronomy
2023-03-11 10:00 - 11:00 | The Lighthouse Café
Please join us at the Science Circle to talk about the latest observations by JWST and about astronomy in general. Exo-planets, distant early galaxies, the “crisis” in cosmology, dark matter and more. Please see the resources provided by the Science Circle to help prepare yourself to participate.
Distant Early Galaxies
Exo-Planets
Crisis in Cosmology
Primer on Dark Matter for a popular audience

Natural Language Processing
2023-03-04 21:00 - 22:00 | Auditorium
Natural Language Processing
I nearly copied an abstract generated by ChatGPT… I told it to write an abstract for this presentation in the style of Bugs Bunny, then I put it in a word-cloud in my poster 😊.
ERHEM!… Although much of my work over the recent years has involved deep learning in the context of computer vision, I’ve come to realize that some of the most impactful advances in the field (such as the vision transformer architecture) are inspired by developments in Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP algorithms allow computers to extract meaning from text to perform tasks like sentiment analysis, translation and text generation.
In this presentation I hope to share the insights I’ve gained in studying how computers process text and understand language. I’ll discuss some of the algorithms in artificial intelligence catered to challenges in language processing and generation, and the implications these developments have on our lives.
A presentation by Karthik Prathaban.

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Project Moon Base
2023-03-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
PROJECT MOON BASE
Let’s bring the life on the moon to Second Life! You heard about the origin of Project Moon Base on Feb 18 – now it’s time to hear the plan and join in making it real. Team Lead Tab Scott (Terry Beaubois) and eight other Science Circle members will present initial ideas in the areas of science, education, ethics, and organizational psychology along with needs in scripting, construction, outreach and ‘inreach.’ Tap into your imagination, find your enthusiasm, join one of these teams or suggest another one, and take part in the pursuit of what promises to be a mind-expanding and rewarding activity.

Mathematics Club
2023-03-01 17:00 - 18:00 | Maths Club
“Please have a drawing compass, a straightedge (e.g., ruler) with pencil and paper at hand on which to jot notes or create geometric constructions and logic tables“

Moonbase Brainstorm Session
2023-02-25 21:00 - 22:00 | Science Circle East Cabin
Moonbase Brainstorm Session
Following our introduction last week of the Moonbase Project the Science Circle is undertaking, we want to hear from you!
we invite you to join us for this 9pm brainstorming session, where you can share your ideas for what you want to see, and subjects you would like us to address/cover!

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An Astrophysical and Geological Analysis of the Middlesboro, Kentucky, USA Asteroid Crater
2023-02-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
An Astrophysical and Geological Analysis of the Middlesboro, Kentucky, USA Asteroid Crater
The town of Middlesboro, Kentucky, USA is located within an Asteroid Crater that formed sometime in the last 300 Million years ago. I visited the crater to collect samples and take pictures of the rock outcrops within the crater during the Spring of 2022. Based on the diameter of the crater (3.67 miles), Dr. George Djorgovski at Caltech (CuriousGeorge on SL) estimated that the size of an asteroid with density of 3 g/mL may have been 0.5 miles in diameter. A geological study of asteroids that have struck Kentucky suggests that the density may have been about 6 g/mL and that a size of 0.25 may be more accurate. This study has implications for studying not only craters on the surface of the Earth, but also for doing mining on asteroid terrains in a future Mars colony.
By Dr. William Schmachtenberg – Dae Miami

Dr. William Schmachtenberg

Previous lectures on film

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Mathematics Club & Moon Base(9pm session)
2023-02-18 21:00 - 22:00 | Auditorium
Mathematics Club & Moon Base(9pm session)
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Mathematics Club & Moon Base
2023-02-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
In honor and celebration of Science Circle’s 15th Anniversary, we present two new projects for your edification and delight.
From 10:00 – 10:30 AM, Robert Hendrix (Tagline Resident) will discuss the THE MATHEMATICS CLUB, a project that offers ‘a regular meeting of the curious.’ Tag will present the who, what, where, and why of this new Club and encourage us all to participate. He promises discovery more than instruction and exploration more than lectures.
From 10:30 – 11:00 AM, Natalie Foster (Sumo Itano) will offer a brief description of PROJECT MOON BASE: what is it, why is it, and what do we hope it will be. Think of this as a preview – just like at the movies! — of the 10 AM presentation on 04 March that will include brief talks from nine SC members. Several of us have been thinking about this opportunity and want to open the discussion and participation to all members and share our enthusiasm.

15th Anniversary
2023-02-15 | Auditorium
2008 – 2023

Darwin Day, Heroes of Evolution: Svante Pääbo
2023-02-12 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium
Darwin Day
Heroes of Evolution: Svante Pääbo

By Dr. Stephen L. Gasior
Abstract: Much of science is about pushing the boundaries of technology to build the future. However, in some cases the frontiers of technical achievement are used to unlock the secrets of the past. In the area of paleobiology, no one exemplifies this more than Svante Pääbo. Pääbo is a Swedish molecular biologist who developed DNA analytical techniques to sequence ancient DNA. He was able to illuminate the genomes of extinct species like the mammoth, sloth, and ancient human cousins the Neanderthals. Along the way, he discovered a new species of hominin, the Denisovans. The greatest surprise was that signatures of Neanderthal and Denisovan genes are found in humans. Understanding the genetic history, comparative genomics, and evolutionary impact of humans along with their extinct cousins has led to several interesting conclusions about genes that impact the human condition and health. For this reason, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2022 for his work. This talk gives an overview of Svante Pääbo’s career and impact in paleobiology.

Svante PääboMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Re-purposing Human Talent
2023-02-11 21:00 - 22:00 | Science Circle East Cabin
Re-purposing Human Talent
AI art and chatGPT may be another example of humans losing business/work to a machine…. OR IS IT?
Today we’ll be discussing ways in which we can coexist with these applications. How can we re-purpose our talents with work in tandem with AI?

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Virtual Institutions from the Perspectives of a Geographer and Biologist
2023-02-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Virtual Institutions from the Perspectives of a Geographer and Biologist
People tend to think of geography at any given time as little more than static points, lines, and areas on a map. Geography involves understanding the spatial processes that define the map, including the flow and flux of people and ideas against the backdrop of space and time. The concept of diffusion helps to inform the evolution of a map’s human geography.
Thoughts on biology, in light of evolutionary theory, would tend to run opposite as organisms in constant flux. However, within biology, species tend to adapt to a particular place over long spans of time to be able to adapt specifically and branch out from ancestors. The concept of diffusion also guides the biologist’s understanding of the formation of new species.
We propose to use our disciplinary understandings of diffusion to demonstrate how conceptual collaboration is possible within Science Circle. Our goal is to contextualize and to validate groups like the Science Circle in today’s 3-D online settings and globalizing world through the use of a simple concept like diffusion; and, in so doing, to contemplate the meaning of a physical-world concept such as diffusion to a virtual-world setting. We build on this goal by asking broader questions like what are the advantages of a virtual-world Science Circle over a similar actual-world organization? How is Science Circle a model for the future? We tackle these questions as the Science Circle achieves its 15th year of illuminating minds (not facelights) within Second Life. And, we will guide an open-ended discussion in which everyone may participate.

A joint presentation & discussion by Stephen L. Gasior, Ph.D. and Merrill Johnson, Ph.D.

Combating Negative Thinking
2023-02-04 21:00 - 22:00 | Science Circle East Cabin
COMBATING NEGATIVE THINKING
The human brain seems to favor negative experiences, memories, and thought over positive ones, why? Is this an evolutionary lesson or a societal one? How do we balance negative thoughts with positive ones? Do you have any advice on those who may struggle with it?

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Information Revolution! The First 50 Years of the Internet
2023-02-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Information Revolution! The First 50 Years of the Internet

By: Phil Youngblood, PhD
With the exception of the printing press, the way information was shared and stored two hundred years ago had not changed much over the preceding two thousand years. Then a series of discoveries and electrical inventions helped to connect businesses and individuals in new ways and enabled some to broadcast messages to anyone able to pick up their transmissions.
Still, even within my lifetime, with the exception of television broadcasts, information sharing was largely local or delayed or restrained to printed sources like it had been for hundreds of years. When I was born, there were no practical computers at all, let alone a computer that an individual could own. Even if there were, there was no way to connect them because there was no Internet, in fact no computer networks at all.
About 50 years ago (60 years, if you count the origins), all that began to change with the development of rules about how electricity could represent language and abstract objects, paired with the invention of transistors and their micro-miniaturization, advancements in transmission media and connectivity protocols, and the concept that connecting people around the world was too big of an idea to be possessed by any one nation or company.

Come learn about the first 50 years of the Internet, how it began as an idea, how it was realized, who owns it, who controls the technology, and the applications that we use to connect us to the world in both constructive and destructive ways that could never have been imagined decades ago.
A presentation by Dr. Phil Youngblood

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Previous lectures on film

Podcast

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