Greetings Fans of Science, Reason, and Critical Thinking,
These continue to be trying times for those that haven't had the good fortune to grow up in areas of the planet where opportunity is plentiful. Of course the other side of that is many places on the planet are experiencing or suffering the consequences of the actions of the people in those areas of "good fortune". The picture above is one of many examples of what is most assuredly the consequence of climate change. Many would argue that climate change due to human activity isn't real and not a threat. I personally accept that we here are part of the problem and climate change may actually be more of a threat to humanity than the inability of countries, cultures, and people to get along, respect each other, and work together for the common good of all. The disruption of support of every science our taxes have supported is terrifying. Interestingly while pseudoscience might be thought of as a liberal view in the past, it seems that "anti-science" is much more based in a conservative view. Even though science has been the primary source of understanding and development of what we use in our everyday lives. Don't even get me started on vaccines! Even the "gold standard" is under attack! What does Trump’s call for ‘gold standard science’ really mean?
You may have caught the discussion earlier this week about how we will be changed by AI. It specifically hit at 'white collar' workers.
'White collar bloodbath': Will AI destroy the entry-level office job? AI is a hot topic these days. It's not a coincidence that the explOratorium is opening Adventures in AI this coming Thu that will run until September. I have been able to check some of it out as it is being installed and I think it is going to be a must see exhibition whether you love, fear, or hate AI. Take note that the white collar bloodbath article was prompted by one of the lead people at Anthrop\c and Anthop\c is the presenter of the exhibition. Here's one more take... Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath
The future looks very different from the past.
The next week does have some really interesting offerings though. Here are a few that I find intriguing...
Wonderfest: Flamingo Vortex Traps: How Physics Redefines Nature - 06/10/2025 07:00 PM
Skeptics in the Pub - 06/10/2025 07:00 PM
Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them - 06/12/2025 04:00 PM
After Dark: Adventures in AI - 06/12/2025 06:00 PM
The biology class you wished you could have taken: Kitzmiller v. Dover, 20 years later - Livestream - 06/12/2025 07:30 PM
Here are some other bits and pieces that I think various readers like you might be interested in...
Do the Plumes of Europa Carry Frozen Bacteria? I've said I settle for finding a slime mold somewhere other than earth before I die. I may have to settle for a bacteria.
What Dying Would Look Like on Every Planet Come on, you know you're curious!
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Your Ear It's that time of year!
Can You Trust Your Memories? One of many interesting talks from the World Science Festival.
That's Not Milk in Your Sea Scientists and sailors have been fascinated by milky seas for centuries but very little is actually known about this phenomena.
The art of failing forward may exemplify a key part of science and the human experience
Early visions of Mars: I wonder if this is what drives Elon?
Have a great week learning new and interesting things while keeping the doubt
herb masters
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 06/09/2025
Tuesday, 06/10/2025
AI Decodes Ancient History - The Herculaneum Scrolls - 06/10/2025 07:00 PM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Discover how cutting-edge AI technology is revolutionizing the study of ancient history. Join us for an illuminating discussion about the groundbreaking work that has helped decipher and translate fragile, burnt ancient Greek scrolls - texts once thought lost forever. Learn how advanced machine learning is unlocking secrets from the past and reshaping the future of historical research.
Wonderfest: Flamingo Vortex Traps: How Physics Redefines Nature - 06/10/2025 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Basic physics shapes the natural world. Through evolution, creatures have figured out how to use the laws of physics to make biology flourish. Flamingos generate water vortices to trap food. Various birds and fish use vortex shedding and fluid turbulence to control movement. For small animals, electrostatic forces and/or capillary forces can reign over gravity to affect the critters’ very survival. Nature is a beautiful dance of biology and physics.
Our speaker is biophysicist Victor M. Ortega Jiménez, Assistant Professor in the Integrative Biology Department at UC Berkeley. Dr. Ortega-Jiménez directs Cal’s Ornithopterus laboratory in organismal dynamics.
Skeptics in the Pub - 06/10/2025 07:00 PM
Fiddler's Green Millbrae
Enjoy an evening of socializing and feasting with fellow Bay Area folk in an Irish Pub on the Peninsula.
Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome.
Conservation Ranching - 06/10/2025 07:30 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
A huge portion of our country is held in private hands, and developing ways to incentivize those property owners to steward the land on behalf of birds and wildlife is a logical effort. And the majority of grassland birds - whose populations have declined by more than 50 percent in the last 50 years - inhabit privately owned land. National Audubon's Conservation Ranching Program partners with ranchers to protect and restore grasslands through bird-friendly land management techniques, ensuring healthy ecosystems for wildlife and communities, and keeping ranching lands open and free of development into subdivisions or vineyards.
Join Shana Risby and Grace Ferguson to learn about this important effort and how we all can support these ranchers and through them, the species that live on their ranches.
Astronomy on Tap East Bay: The CMB, Adele, and the Concept of Time! - 06/10/2025 07:30 PM
Two Pitchers Oakland Oakland
Our FREE Astronomy on Tap events feature accessible, engaging science presentations on topics ranging from planets to black holes to the beginning of the Universe. There is always lots of time to ask questions and interact with the presenters and other scientists who inevitably stick around for the beer.
This month, we have two speakers lined up: Dr. Huei Sears (Rutgers University) who will tell us all about the connections between the Cosmic Microwave Background and the award-winning singer, Adele. Then, we’ll have Prof. Raffaella Margutti (UC Berkeley) speaking on the concept of time and how astronomers view it.
Wednesday, 06/11/2025
The hitchhiker’s guide to bacterial transport: Viable airborne microbes across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea - Livestream - 06/11/2025 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
The atmosphere plays a fundamental role in the transport of bio-aerosols across the oceans, and yet it is understudied as a microbial habitat and ecological vector. Specifically, little is known about the environmental and biological factors that govern bacterial viability (survival) during transport and once deposited in the surface oceans. Here, I will present some of our recent work that investigates the role and spatial distribution of viable prokaryotes in dust aerosols and in freshly emitted sea-spray aerosols across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Speaker: Eyal Rahav, Ben-Gurion University, Israel
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Butterfly Walk in the Garden - 06/11/2025 02:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden Berkeley
Join our butterfly docent specialist Sally Levinson and Andy Liu for a guided walk through the Garden in search of butterflies, as you learn about their plant relationships and amazing life cycle.
Fee includes admission to the garden
Register at weblink.
Integrating New Tools and Approaches into an Environmental Monitoring Program in California - Livestream - 06/11/2025 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
Join us for the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory Seminar Series, featuring speakers from within the marine sciences community and beyond.
Speaker: Bushra Khan, UC Davis
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Peninsula Gem & Geology Society Meeting - 06/11/2025 07:00 PM
Peninsula Gem and Geology Society Los Altos
Hybrid meeting featuring a presentation by Arizona mineral dealer Evan Jones, about his father, the late Bob Jones. Bob Jones's contribution to mineral field collecting and mineralogy was immense, including his monthly columns in the magazine Rock and Gem.
Thursday, 06/12/2025
Webinar: An Updated Look at Utility Wildfire Risk and Mitigation - 06/12/2025 12:00 PM
Stanford Energy
As wildfires become an increasing threat across the United States, it's crucial for electric utilities to create plans to mitigate the risk of their infrastructure sparking disaster. Join us for our upcoming webinar featuring insights from Stanford researchers and industry experts.
Panelists: Eric Macomber - Wildfire Legal Fellow, Climate and Energy Policy Program, Ann E. Redhal - Commissioner, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Mark Toney - Executive Director, TURN (The Utility Reform Network), Riaz Mohammed - Wildfire Regularory Policy Specialist, Xcel Energy
SETI Live: Could Aliens See Us? - Livestream - 06/12/2025 02:30 PM
SETI Live
What Will Earth Look Like in 1000 Years? Will humanity collapse, thrive, or colonize the stars - and could alien civilizations detect us? Learn how technosignatures like atmospheric pollution (yes, even nitrogen dioxide!) could help us find - or hide from - civilizations across the galaxy.
Join senior planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra, astrobiologist and lead author of a groundbreaking study exploring 10 possible futures for Earth’s technosphere.
Whether you’re into space exploration, science fiction, or the future of humanity, this interview dives deep into the cosmic implications of our technological choices. Watch on Facebook or Youtube
Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them - 06/12/2025 04:00 PM
Skeptical Inquirer
Pseudoscience has been with us for a very long time and has taken many forms throughout the years, from the easily disproved to the wildly speculative, wishful thinking to straight-up hucksterism. Humanity’s fascination with pseudoscience is incredibly persistent and even today attracts passionate supporters to all kinds of nonsensical ideas. But why?
Join us for a Skeptical Inquirer Presents live stream with Nate Pedersen, the coauthor (with Lydia Kang, MD) of Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them. The book is a wild mix of history, pop culture, and good old fashioned science, and Pedersen will discuss what he’s learned about why people insist on believing in things such as Bigfoot, astrology, and the existence of aliens.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
NightLife - 06/12/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
When the lights dim, the museum comes alive at Night Life. With live DJs, hand-crafted drinks, glowing lights, and 60,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.
Plus, you can: Explore our two newest exhibits, Dino Days and Unseen Oceans: Step inside the iconic Shake House earthquake simulator and our four-story Osher Rainforest. Venture into our aquarium exhibit Venom. Bask in the glow of one of the largest living indoor coral reef displays in the world: our 212,000-gallon Philippine Coral Reef habitat. Take in the interstellar views from the Living Roof and then grab a bite from the Academy Café.
After Dark: Adventures in AI - 06/12/2025 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
One of the summer’s most illuminating and entertaining exhibitions opens at After Dark! Leap into the wild new world of artificial intelligence with Adventures in AI, featuring surprising exhibits, playful art, and interactive programs. Understand how AI really works and explore its real-world science and research. Whether you’re an AI expert or a total newcomer, this brand-new exhibition will have something for you to dive into.
Ages 18+
Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines Project - Livestream - 06/12/2025 07:00 PM
Marin Audubon Society
Marilyn Latta will share information about living shorelines efforts in San Francisco Bay, including design and monitoring data from the San Rafael Living Shorelines Project, a mix of oyster reefs and eelgrass bed plantings in a multi-objective and experimental living shorelines design. Marilyn will share updates on how this and other pilot projects are providing lessons learned and best practices in support of the Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines in San Francisco Bay Project.
Speaker: Speaker: Marilyn Latta - California State Coastal Conservancy
Register at weblink
The biology class you wished you could have taken: Kitzmiller v. Dover, 20 years later - Livestream - 06/12/2025 07:30 PM
Bay Area Skeptics
2025 is 100 years after the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, and 20 years after the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover court case, in which I participated while working at the National Center for Science Education. The Kitzmiller case included extensive expert testimony on the science of evolution, and the historical development of “intelligent design” and related antievolution efforts. While the case made in 2005 holds up very well, there have been interesting developments in both areas that I will review. These include work on the evolutionary origins of the bacterial flagellum done in a phylogenetic context, and work applying phylogenetic methods to trace the copying history of antievolutionist legislation. I will also reflect on lessons we learned during the case and how they remain relevant today.
Speaker: Nick Matzke, University of Aukland, NZ
Friday, 06/13/2025
Galaxy evolution and star formation explored with simulations and big data - 06/13/2025 07:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Loebman
Tickets go on sale April 16, 2025 at Noon PDT. Limit 4 per customer.
Saturday, 06/14/2025
Adventures in AI Festival - 06/14/2025 10:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Leap into the wild new world of artificial intelligence with Adventures in AI! Whether you’re an AI expert or a total newcomer, this brand-new exhibition will have something for you to dive into, plus additional weekend programs for all-day fun. Join us for a clever reversal of the Turing Test, meet a life-sized, AI-enabled robot, and discover other surprising and delightful exhibits for all ages on the science, art, and humanity of AI.
Family Nature Adventures: Bird Watching - Discover Local Feathered Friends! - 06/14/2025 10:30 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Take flight into the fascinating world of birds! Learn how to identify local birds by their unique appearances and calls. Gain tips and tricks for becoming a skilled birdwatcher. Bring your own binoculars or use our child-sized pairs as you embark on a forest stroll, spotting and observing birds in their natural habitat. Connect with nature and uncover the beauty of the avian world on this fun and educational adventure.
Imaging exoplanets & building new instruments to explore space - SOLD OUT - 06/14/2025 07:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Speaker: Steph Sallum, UC Santa Cruz
Sunday, 06/15/2025
Adventures in AI Festival - 06/15/2025 10:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Leap into the wild new world of artificial intelligence with Adventures in AI! Whether you’re an AI expert or a total newcomer, this brand-new exhibition will have something for you to dive into, plus additional weekend programs for all-day fun. Join us for a clever reversal of the Turing Test, meet a life-sized, AI-enabled robot, and discover other surprising and delightful exhibits for all ages on the science, art, and humanity of AI.
Tuesday, 06/17/2025
Cyber Resilience Corps Report Launch Webinar - Livestream - 06/17/2025 10:00 AM
Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
Wednesday, 06/18/2025
Managing Commercial Spyware Through Export Controls - Livestream - 06/18/2025 10:00 AM
UC Berkeley
Rethinking Our (Deep-Sea)World - Livestream - 06/18/2025 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Understanding how diverse and productive freshwater habitats contribute to species resilience in the Anthropocene - Livestream - 06/18/2025 03:00 PM
Bodega Marine Laboratory
Birdy Hour: Beautiful California Biodiversity, Understanding and Protecting It - Livestream - 06/18/2025 05:30 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Exciting Results with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers San Francisco
Cleaner Stormwater, Cleaner Bay - Livestream - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
City of Sunnyvale
Digital Storage And Memory for the Earth and Beyond - 06/18/2025 07:00 PM
Valley Research Park Mountain View
Thursday, 06/19/2025
Lunch Break Science - Livestream - 06/19/2025 11:00 AM
The Leakey Foundation
Resilience-Oriented Distributed Generation Siting and Sizing Considering Energy Vulnerability - Livestream - 06/19/2025 12:00 PM
Stanford Energy
History on Tap: Steinbeck, Ricketts, & the Sea of Cortez - 06/19/2025 05:30 PM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
NightLife - 06/19/2025 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Nerd Nite SF #152: Juneteenth Celebration! - 06/19/2025 07:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
Friday, 06/20/2025
Stewardship Saturday: Experiencing Fish Kitchen - 06/20/2025 11:30 AM
Marine Mammal Center Sausalito
In Town Star Party - 06/20/2025 09:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Saturday, 06/21/2025
BubbleFest - 06/21/2025 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
TechFest - 06/21/2025 10:00 AM
Computer History Museum Mountain View
Starry Nights Star Party - 06/21/2025 09:30 PM
Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space Preserve Morgan hill
Sunday, 06/22/2025
BubbleFest - 06/22/2025 10:00 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Raptor Encounter in Coyote Valley - 06/22/2025 09:30 PM
Laguna Seca San Jose
Monday, 06/23/2025
Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use - 06/23/2025 10:00 AM
UC Berkeley Extension Berkeley