Category: CERN/LHC

We Are Made of Coded Qu-whatum Stuff?!

By Maria Anna van Driel

Have you ever had this experience? You are having a chat with someone and they are telling you something about a topic they are very interested in or, they know a huge amount about, and it seems that you are following along with ease.  Then, out of the blue, you realize you kind of lost the thread of what they are saying. You are just standing there, lost in time, realizing that you have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.

Click here to read the full article via Medium.com

I’m a science journalist, editor, magazine owner and radio host who is working, since 2014, with scientists and citizen scientists who are covering a myriad scientific areas. And so, I have been on both sides of this kind of interaction. I have both been the one explaining very complicated material to people and, I have been on the receiving end of lots of very intense scientific discussions.

And, every now and then, this kind of breakdown in communication happens. During these moments, I have noticed something interesting, which is that, when a people stopped understanding, they feel slightly guilty about not following the stuff that is fired at them.  But, if you think about it, this is completely silly. It is the wrong way around because at that point in time, there is literally nothing you can do to understand it better.  

No, it is not that people, who are on the receiving end of the conversation, are not able to look over the edge of a sandbox because they lack the educational background knowledge, it is because they are constantly tripping over the complex and technical terms  that are so liberally strewn about during explaining scientific research.

Sure, I have experience many moments in where I had to interrupt a scientist because I could not follow him/her anymore. But I found that the only way to…um, well, ‘survive’ the complexity given was having the courage to politely stop the person who was explaining, say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying,” and then go back and start off from where I had lost the thread.

And, yes, it does take a bit of courage to do this because you are, sort of, admitting that you don’t know the subject matter.

But this all perfectly fine, in fact, my fears were completely unwarranted. Generally, people respect you if you care about knowing the right information and willing to understanding the topic properly.  So, I am of the opinion that we should never feel bad about not knowing something and, we should never feel bad about asking questions. And, one of these questions is, “What is quantum physics?”

So, let’s briefly explore this amazing scientific field what is, among others, researching those wacky particles which are bouncy and wobbly at the same time.

Click here to read the full article via Medium.com

Science is Boring, Creativity is Stupid!…uh-whaaauh? (part I)

The brain is a Wi-Fi system for ideas.

Read the full article via the website of Medium.com

Let’s briefly discuss an issue most pressing and urgent and that is the so-called open science movement which is vile and will inevitably lead to a more educated nation, country and world. I know it is a horrible thing!

What is this open science movement you ask.  Allow me to explain… it is a movement happening within the science community what is aiming its arrows on making data resources and information freely available to anyone who can read.  But not only that,  it is a movement wherein researchers are encouraged to make their data publicly available to young people and other researchers. What?! Why would anyone want to do that?


It also means full transparency as you are reporting your results which means that if you began with one hypothesis and suddenly found that it was not supported but instead found another hypothesis that was supported, you are supposed to tell people that your first hypothesis failed. Can you believe it? What has the world come to?

Okay, okay, enough silly sarcasm. But let’s be honest, too many scientists, mentors, are still doing their work in ‘tunnels’ so to speak. But by becoming more transparent – open it up for everybody to read – young people can see what you as a scientist are doing and which awe-inspiring theories and thoughts you have what they can apply to their upcoming thesis’s.

Using an open access journal also means that young people can both learn from you and respond to the scientific research published what in turn is keeping their fiery curiosity alive and can even accelerate a scientific evolution.

Is that not the main reason why you became a professor, or mentor, in the first place…to teach?

Read the full article via the website of Medium.com

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“Young People Science” May/June 2021 – Out Now!

Scroll your mouse/cursor over the cover with the scientists and click (at the bottom of the cover) the box with the little arrows. This way you can read this month’s edition of your scientific magazine “Young People Science”.

Or, click here to download the interactive PDF via MagCloud.

TNT-Young-People-Science-May-June-2021

From Philosophy to Microbiology…from Engineering to astrophysics, regardless which field is holding you in its grip, is firing up your curiosity… we can all agree on the fact that science is in no way boring, it rocks!

“Science Rocks!” This is an amazing message what should reach young people on a global scale.  But sending this message into the world, what is improving the career opportunities for our future experts, for them to build on the incredible knowledge, discovered and refined by renowned scientist from both the past and the present, is TEAM work which in turn is an essential STEM skill.

In this edition of Young People Science we discuss some STEM, or STE(A)M subjects which are not just a subject at school it’s a way of thinking and doing and an important skill set that could see your generation working together to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

For print-on-demand and the interactive digital issues of The Next Truth magazines visit: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/magazine/1512517

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STE(A)M Is For All!!

Regardless if it is an online (news) article that triggered our curiosity or, a document sent by email, we click the link and start reading. This is a skill many of us take for granted without thinking twice. But there are a myriad people in the world who cannot rely on their vision fully or partly. They are, for instance, born blind or, have lost their vision after an accident.

For parents whose children are blind or, those mentors, teachers, who are working with children whose eyesight is visually impaired, below you find 3 STEM articles which can be downloaded as a PDF. Just hit the ‘read-out-loud’ function on your computer/laptop after downloading the PDF’s, for your children and/or students to listen to the articles.

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The Very First Letter of STEM is ‘Science’

By Maria Anna van Driel, www.medium.com

“The earliest roots of science can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes.” Source: Wikipedia

Nowadays, young people have an almost free access to an interactive world we have become to know as ‘The Internet’.  Wikipedia in this, is a frequently visited site for them to upgrade their already possessing knowledge.

But how reliable is the written knowledge we can find on the internet? I mean, are we in the position of adding a form of creative an critical thinking to this avalanche of information? Are we allowed to take this information, discuss it , break the taboo and convert it all into a new evolution in science?

“My research field does not quite fall within the framework of the standard model of STEM subjects.” Too often I hear this and similar comments from people experiencing this feeling of dissatisfaction what is, in my opinion, not something that should be screaming in the background of anyone’s passion for researching the myriad possibilities all sciences has to offer in the modern era we have counted to be the twenty-first century.  This is not the true meaning of science. Science, regardless which field is firing up your curiosity, should start with exploring the question asked! Even if this questions falls slightly outside the frameworks of ‘accepted’ science.  

So, are we allowed of breaking this problem, this taboo, and widen the boundaries that indicate the, in this line of thought, tunnel vision what seems to be taught so abundant since the removal of, for instance, Plato’s teachings?   

It seems that here we are addressing that one particular sore spot in what the general public, as well as some scientists, think to understand about science. Unfortunately, this also leads to young people being taught that STEM subjects are those sciences which fall within the, by the majority, acceptable boundaries of what science is standing for.

For The Next Truth print-on-demand and (interactive) digital issues, visit: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/magazine/1512517

Why is creativity necessary to science and art?

Personally, I am of the opinion that STEM (STEAM) should speak of young people gaining the opportunity to explore all corners of science without this fear of being ridiculed. Young people should have this freedom of expressing their creativity in what we have become to understand as the standard model for science. This creativity is necessary in all sciences because it involves imagination, and imagination equals visualization. In other words, creativity in itself has ‘created’ the world we live in today.  

Think about it, would a mathematician really be able to solve the problem in the moment he or she is focusing on the flat numbers only? Visualizing the numbers, use them as coordinates and connect them and, convert it all into multidimensional objects floating in a Euclidean space, seems to be a much easier way to solve a math problem.

Did you know that mathematics can be discerned in arts such as music, dance, painting, architecture, sculpture, and textiles? And did you also know that these are considered to be the first ‘technologies’ used in cultures and societies?  I wonder how a skyscraper would look like when this creative visualization (thinking outside the box) is not taught to, for instance, an engineer.

International PR expert, Space Technology Commercialization Transfer advisor and role model for Space4Woman Network by UNOOSA, Chiara Chiesa.

How it all connects

Even though Science is with humanity for centuries, it is still in its infant moment but that does not mean that as soon as you find yourself not agreeing with someone’s research results you should sweep it under the carpet and label it is as pseudo-science or, ‘hypothetical nonsense’.

You know that, at one point in time, the pony express was thought of being the fastest way to transport messages but, in that same period the Romans already had the intelligence to think of VLC (visible light communication) what most likely was copied from their Egyptians neighbors who understood the effect in charging light even more by using ‘mirrors’. Today we understand this as photon trapping which is something that is accepted by the majority.

Centauries later this term VLC, as well as its engineering, went beyond its own borders due to the curiosity of those who applied critical thinking to their scientific research.  And if they did not had done so, none of us would have touch screens, internet, cell phones, electricity, a car… and physicists would not had the possibility to discover the Higgs Boson. Never forget, once upon at time there were scientific adventurist, visionaries, pioneers, who thought up an apparatus you know today as an accelerator

So, for all who are convinced that their research field is a bit outside the remit of any STEM subject, this thought falls within the range of being incorrect and seems to be based on a behavior of the majority accepting knowledge in a democratic manner.   I wonder, how would the world today look like if Leonardo DaVinci, Nicolai Tesla, Albert Einstein, Carl Gustav Jung, Erwin Schödinger, just to name a few, had not applied this way of thinking to their research? Would we had the opportunity to speak with each other through this medium we call “Internet” and read the psychology between the lines of an email?

Remember that the very first letter of STEM is Science which is from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge” what can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject and can be acquired in many different ways and from many different sources, including but not limited to perception, reason, memory, testimony, scientific inquiry, education, and practice.

According to Wikipedia, “The philosopher Plato famously pointed out the need for a distinction between knowledge and true belief in the Theaetetus, leading many to attribute to him a definition of knowledge as “justified true belief”. The difficulties with this definition raised by the Gettier problem have been the subject of extensive debate in epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge) for more than half a century.”

On the latter, do I have to say more? 

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Think Before You Deny Young People to Explore Science!

Odd as it might sound to some but, if we deny young people, who are our next generation scientists, to explore UFO technologies we deny them to explore the science of engineering. If we deny them to search for Bigfoot, the creature of Loch Ness, we deny them enroll studies like Mythology.

If we deny their curious minds to find out if their is extraterrestrial life in the universe, we deny them to become an Astronomer, Astrophysicist, or perhaps to become an Astronaut. And if we teach young people that it is childish to play with dinosaurs, Anthropology and Biology will be wiped out from their curious minds. If we hold our future generation scientists back by telling them to stick with ‘thinking inside the box’, we will destroy the future philosophers.

STEM is not just a subject at school it’s a way of thinking and doing and an important skill set that could see your generation working together to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Stem stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics but it’s not about being an expert in all of those things, instead it’s about harnessing the essential transferable skills behind them.

Scientists know how to hypothesize experiment analyze and evaluate what they discover.

Technology can make our lives better designers of all sorts work together to make everyday tasks more effective and more fun.

Engineers don’t solvers that work on some of the world’s biggest challenges like creating bionic limbs for people with disabilities or exploring outer space.

Mathematics teaches us how to quantify data and how physics rules the world around us. With mathematics we can implement change and minimize error.

Let your knowledge be the basis for our future scientists to build and create new scientific laws!

You won’t have to master all of these skills either. Teamwork is an essential STEM skill. Take the search for new energy sources for example. Geologists and geophysicists search for gas deposits. Engineers help you design and run platforms and processing plants Construction. teams work to build essential infrastructure under the supervision of project managers. And environmental scientists work with everyone every step of the way.

Plane to your strengths and working in a team will have you creating a greater impact than if you are working alone. It would cost the Australian economy 9.3 billion in lost productivity profitability and employee satisfaction.

STEM skills are useful to almost every career 75% of today’s fastest-growing careers require STEM skills and 82% of today’s employees say they value STEM skills even if they’re not required for the job. STEM skills can even unlock your potential to earn a higher salary or become more employable. You don’t have to earn a university degree in stem to be successful either. There are plenty of courses to get you started in stem but we don’t have enough stem graduates to meet demand.

Numbers show the demand for STEM careers has grown 79% since 1990 but enrollments in stem degrees are at an all-time low compared to the last 20 years. And despite the job opportunities just 16 of stem professionals are women.

STEM careers can start small then change the world. Engaging in your high school stem classes or learning to code could be your first step to delivering tribalist vehicles to the roads, starting a research project at home or entering a science competition could see you to feeding cancer with a cure.

And that’s just the beginning! We don’t yet know what kind of jobs will exist 10, 20, 30 years from now but with STEM you’re prepared for anything.

How will you shape the future with your stem skills?

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The Next Truth Newsletter

Download the very first interactive Newsletter of The Next Truth and let your curiosity run free!

“Scientist”…I bet the first image that comes to mind is an intelligent man or woman wearing a white lab-coat and goggles while mixing odd looking and bubbling liquids in a laboratory. Or, someone writing, on a blackboard, the most complicated formulas which seem to come straight from an alien language. 😲

If you would ask someone what is “Science”, you most likely gain an answer what is similar to; “Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge”. It is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. 🤨

Whooow…slow down a bit! Even though the above where and are correct, it does not quite seem to answer you question of what science is, what is it and, especially, how you can become an expert in that particular scientific field what has captured your deep interest.

Together with renowned scientists and citizen scientists, The Next Truth is tapping-in those corners of science which gives you the opportunity to explore those questions you do not easily find in the myriad books libraries have in their possession.

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The Next Truth Magazine is Encouraging Young People to Explore the Wonderland of Science

The Next Truth magazines & podcasts are providing Renowned Scientists, TV and Radio celebrities, Best-selling Authors, Dimensional Researchers and dedicated Citizen Scientists to share their incredible research with other scientists and our next generation doctors, engineers, teachers, psychologists, chemists, physicists, among others, to have the change to stand up and unlock their enthusiasm and thus their brilliant minds.

Both The Next Truth and her world-renowned contributors, are focusing on reaching out to the next generation scientists globally, reducing this gap between Young People and Scientists, and making Contemporary Science more accessible.

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The Science and Technology of Time Travel May be Less Far-Fetched as it Sounds

With Professor Emeritus and Time Travel expert, Ronald Lawrence Mallett

Click the ‘PLAY-BUTTON’ in ‘THE NEXT TRUTH…ONLINE RADIO’ on the right and listen to the TNT-Podcast interview of Prof. Emeritus Ronald L. Mallett in where he speaks about Einstein’s theories, the differences between Theoretical Physics & Experimental physics and STEM. (part 1)

In a universe so vast, is there any hope of us traveling fast enough so that we could visit the far-off realms of space? Will we ever be able to plant a flag in the most distant quadrants of the cosmos? At this point in time we may be as far from reaching other stars as Leonardo da Vinci was from realizing an airplane but it has not stopped scientists from imagining the theoretical possibilities of interstellar travel.

Even time travel is somewhat unique in science fiction, it has long been the Holy Grail for modern science. Some say we will never be able to travel in time, while others believe we are close to achieving the impossible. But what if time travel already exists? According to general relativity – this might actually work.

But when it comes to our understanding of the Universe, general relativity may not be the final word.   Theoretical physicist and Professor Emeritus Ronald Lawrence Mallett says there is another way what makes traveling into the past a real option.

Listen to the full TNT-Podcast of Prof Mallett via You Tube

Did we already tackle the energy barrier, jumped through time and created new universe branches out into the future?

I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and you are listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet”. This week I am speaking with Theoretical physicist and expert on Albert Einstein’s theories, Professor Emeritus Ronald Lawrence Mallett and discuss with him why and how Einstein developed his theories and Professor Mallett’s personal interests for theoretical physics But also the true science of time travel, why fundings are needed and the importance of STEM subjects.

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Science Journalism; A Key to the Amazing World of Science

By Maria Anna van Driel

“There you are, nervously waiting for the journalists to step on your terrain, to invade your work-space and maybe even jump into the darkest corners of your private life.  Then they arrive … looking like a pack of hungry wolves, armed with all kind of terrible questions, looking you straight in the eye and impenetrable in what they really think. Microphones and cameras are being unpacked and put into position, and not only the gazing eyes of the cameras are aimed at you…also the strict looks of the Journalist, camera-man and those of the whole world…are aimed directly at you!”

Listen to the full article via You Tube

Okay, that scenario would scare the BLEEP out of me too. But we know that you are feeling a bit uncomfortable … nervous and maybe thinking; “Oh my god, they are going to misrepresent everything I say, rip me apart before I am truly death and in the process my research findings!”  

As an investigative science journalist I have to say, YES…I am armed with the most diverse questions…which I WILL ask you!  YES…I will lay your personality under a magnifying glass, because the general public is eager to know you and the research you are conducting.  But NO, I am neither going to rip you nor your research findings to pieces.

Clinically speaking, the aim of a science journalist is not to obstruct the communication bridge but to render very detailed, specific, and often jargon-laden information provided by scientists into a form that non-scientists can understand and appreciate while still communicating the information accurately.

Science journalists are making sure that your ideas are accessible to the general public which is not the same as dumbing it down. Instead, as Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Words have power, words are power, words can be your power!
You can inspire a nation and invite people into the wonderland of science.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us make that our goal for 2021 because the world needs you…badly.

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