I'm posting my favorite space clip, starring astronaut Chris Hadfield channeling David Bowie as he sings Bowie's iconoclastic song Space Oddity. Not only is Space Oddity an exquisite piece of music, framing Bowie's compassion and intrinsic sense of humanity, the song was also iconoclastic, capturing the emotional charge of a generation as we left planet Earth for the first time. Chris Hadfield has always had a great sense of showmanship, whether he's conducting experiments in space, visually illuminating physics, imparting wisdom through his amazing book An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, or singing a song that everyone secretly wanted to see performed in space! The man knows how to swagger, so as astronauts go, kind of a rock star. After attending the premiere of the film Gravity, Hadfield tweeted: “Good morning! Gravity was fun last night. Fantastic visuals, relentless, Sandra Bullock was great. I’d fly with her.” When asked about his own tour of duty, Hadfield said, “Fortunately, the five months that I spent on the space station went way … [Read more...] about Astronaut Chris Hadfield sings Space Oddity
Archives for 2013
Space Craziness with Astronaut Chris Hadfield
I am going to miss the amazing videos from Commander Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut who streamed his odd missives from the International Space Station with an earthiness that was both hilarious and informative. Many of his videos are practical demonstrations about the reality of our physical bodies meeting a gravity-free environment like space. Watching these videos will change your perspective of gravity. Hadfield's experiments create a visceral understanding of the fact that everything we do from moving to eating and everything we experience around us is in a complex dance with gravity. Our very existence depends on gravity. What better way to show it than to wring out a wash cloth in space? Hadfield demonstrates crying in space: Chris carries out student experiment by wringing out a wash cloth in space then waxes philosphical: Chris talks about "space vision" and testing eyeballs in space: Hadfield talks to William Shatner AKA Captain James T. Kirk: … [Read more...] about Space Craziness with Astronaut Chris Hadfield
Simulation Theory: Is God a Computer Programmer?
Computers and the Internet have changed the way we conceive of the universe. Complex systems, algorithms, programming, pixels, data-mining, viral propagation and virtual realities are new additions to the vocabulary of modern thought. These concepts have migrated to books, films and TV and to the single most powerful way we create models of our universe, scientific hypothesis. Welcome to The Simulation Theory, because without computers, this theory couldn't exist. If you've seen The Matrix, you already know a lot about this theory. Neo is trapped in an extremely compelling artificial reality. He wakes up in the real world which is nowhere near as seductive or addictive as the illusory Matrix. The theory was first proposed by the futurist Hans Moravec (Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University) and was elaborated on in a paper by Professor Nick Bostrom (Oxford University) who theorized we could all be living in a simulation. But Bostrom doesn't stop there. He goes on to say it is likely we are already in a simulation being run by a “post human” … [Read more...] about Simulation Theory: Is God a Computer Programmer?
