Last week a pedestrian bridge opened in Norway. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be of much interest anywhere else, but this bridge drew media attention from all over the world, because of its designer: Leonardo da Vinci. The artist behind the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper was a true Renaissance man (in fact, the original Renaissance …
Category: Science Columns
Challenge Bibendum
Will we be driving gasoline-powered cars 10 or 20 years from now? Judging by the 2001 Michelin Challenge Bibendum, some of us will, but many won’t. The Challenge Bibendum (Bibendum is the real name of the made-of-tires Michelin Man) offers manufacturers an opportunity to demonstrate alternative-fuel vehicles in real-world conditions. This year’s challenge drew 27 …
E-books
Here’s a conversation starter for you. “So, do you think e-books will replace p-books?” Of course, you may have to first define your terms. An e-book is an “electronic book,” a book in a computer file format so it can be read on an electronic device, while a p-book is, of course, what you call …
The Ig Nobel Prizes of 2001
Each year, the Nobel Prize Committee in Sweden honors outstanding scientific research from around the world. And each year, just before the Nobel Prizes are awarded, the IgNobel Prize Committee in Cambridge, Massachusetts, awards the IgNobel Prizes to honor people whose achievements “cannot or should not be reproduced.” The IgNobels, sponsored by the scientific humor …
Telesurgery
It sounds like something out of science fiction: surgeons in North America removing the gall bladder of a 68-year-old woman in France using a remote-controlled robot. But that’s exactly what happened earlier this month, ushering in an exciting new era of telesurgery that holds promise of saving lives all over Earth–and even off of it. …
The Pentagon
In everyday usage, “The Pentagon” is shorthand for the U.S. military command, so we sometimes forget that it is an actual building. Last week’s terrorist attacks on the U.S. reminded us all too forcefully that it is, in fact, really just an office building–albeit one of the largest in the world, one in which 23,000 …
Sharks
It’s that time of the year again. The weather is turning cooler, the leaves are changing color, Canadians are leafing through travel brochures featuring sandy beaches, blue water, and warm sunshine. Except… …except, there’s been a lot of news about shark attacks coming from those very same sunny beaches. Some could be excused for wondering …
Volcanoes revisited
Last month, Sicily’s Mount Etna erupted for two weeks, providing television viewers with spectacular pictures but really doing very little damage. But that’s not always the case with volcanoes. After all, the most violent explosion on Earth in modern times wasn’t a nuclear blast–it was the eruption of Krakatoa, which blew apart in 1883. The …
Nanotechnology 2001
The recent announcement that the University of Alberta has landed a $120 million nanotechnology research facility was mostly reported as an example of how the federal Liberals are trying to woo Albertans. Surprisingly little was said about nanotechnology itself (one commentator, in fact, referred to it simply as “nanotechnology–whatever that is.”) Allow me to rectify …
Multitasking
Multitasking–doing several tasks simultaneously–sounds like a time management expert’s dream. What could be more efficient than, say, driving to work while talking to your secretary about the day’s meetings, or writing a report and dictating a letter while also catching the latest stock quotes on TV? There’s just one problem–new studies show multitasking doesn’t work. …
Con-Version XVIII
I spent the past weekend deeply involved in discussions ranging from whether the Harry Potter books teach witchcraft to children to whether technology can save the world. In between, I participated in the improvisational writing of a short story, sang songs by J. R. R. Tolkein, and photographed Dirk Benedict, former star of Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team. …
Lie detectors
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a machine that could tell you when someone is lying? Some people believe that there is. It’s called a “polygraph”–popularly known as a “lie detector”–and it’s been in the news lately, both in Washington and in Regina. Other people, however, will tell you that the polygraph is a fraud, no …
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