Women in Astronomy: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going!
An interview with Executive Officer & CEO at AAVSO and Astronomer, Dr. Stella Kafka.
Can’t you keep your eyes off those twinkling stars that shine so brightly in the night sky? Have you read all those books that take you on an incredibly and cool journey through the universe?
Does your bedroom look like a direct copy of our cosmic freezer and, are you that glued to your telescope that they have to surgically remove you from it?
If so, then you were most likely born to have a scientific career in astronomy.
Astronomy, needless to say that this is the scientific study of celestial objects such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies and, phenomena that originate outside the Earth’s atmosphere such as the cosmic background radiation.
Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and even, at one time, astrology. But, did you know that, since the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy has split into observational and theoretical branches?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet”. This week I am speaking with Executive Officer & CEO at AAVSO, STEM promoter and Astronomer, Dr. Stella Kafka, and discus with her the fascinating science of Astronomy and, the importance and influence of female scientists.
[Top]Paranormal Phenomena; Does the Origin Lie in a Forgotten Human Ability?”
An interview with film director, science-based paranormal investigator and award winning author Benjamin Radford.
It is being said that when a ghost, spirit or demonic force is in the near…your hair is standing up straight due the static electrical charge it is moving in and/or with. But what if there is another reason for our hair to act this crazy from time to time?
What if we, the modern version of the Homo Sapiens, still possess a primordial but natural ability of blowing ourselves up, so to speak, as soon as we are in a stress or dangerous situation?
Indeed, an idea as such could be for some a ridiculous one but imagine you walking home from work and you are passing a dark allay. You will feel a little bit stressy due to the fact of you not knowing what might be hiding in the dark corners. This feeling of fear could be a left over from ancient times in order for us to sense if there is a blood thirsty predator or not and then to flee or fight?
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, film director, science-based paranormal investigator and award-winning author and co-author of over twenty books and thousands of articles on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy, Benjamin Radford about if there could be a more Earthly explanation for what we have become to understand as “The Paranormal”.
[Top]The Truth of Myth
An interview with Anthropologist and Associate Professor, Tok Thompson.
‘Mythos’ is the Greek word for story-of-the-people, and ‘logos’ stands for word or speech. Myth, or Mythology, is the spoken story of a people and has played an integral part in every civilization throughout the world.
Pre-historic cave paintings, etchings in stone, tombs, and monuments all suggest that, long before human beings set down their myths in words, they had already developed a belief structure corresponding to the definition of `myth’.
Studying mythology is the interpretation of traditional and sacred tales of a culture known as myths or the collection of such stories which deal with various aspects of the human condition. For instance good and evil… the origin of place-names, animals, cultural values, and traditions. But also, the meaning of life and death, the afterlife and the gods or a god.
Myths… they express the beliefs and values about these subjects held by a certain culture. So, what one calls “mythology” in the present day, was the religion of the ancient past. But what it the truth behind these ancient stories?
Click here to be directed to Prof. Thompson’s book (Amazon)
The Lost City of Atlantis, Alien Abductions and Ghostly Apparitions; Can We Explain the Unexplainable?
An interview with freelance writer, editor and author, Kathryn Hulick
A ghostly apparition walking through the wall, an odd shaped craft hovering in the sky or strong ripples on the surface of a lake indicating that there might be a sea monster swimming by! Even though many people have seen and reported these rare but remarkable events, they do not have an explanation for what they have witnessed.
Are those, in the dark hiding, eerie shadows, truly disembodied humans who are lost or, is this an effect of Sleep Paralysis.
Is walking through a forest at night only creepy because we are breathing in these, released by the trees, small amounts of methane gas while the pineal gland in your brain is detecting the ultra– and infra sound-waves are bouncing off on the trees after it has released by your own body? Or is there something malevolent hiding behind the shrouds, waiting for you to become its prey?!
The lost city of Atlantis, alien abductions, shadow figures and haunted houses; can we explain the unexplainable?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet”. This week I am speaking with freelance writer, editor and the author of the book “Strange But True: 10 of the world’s greatest mysteries explained”, Kathryn Hulick and explore with her which scientific explanations there are for what it is that is haunting our dreams.
Will a Collective and Directed Consciousness Let Us Evolve Into a Type III Civilization?
With radio host, UFO investigator and author, Philip Kinsella
Imagine what we can accomplish if we all focus our consciousness toward creating more sustainable ways of generating energy, cleaning the earth, reducing hunger or, finding solutions for interstellar travel, and educating. Focusing your motive power on one goal, towards the right direction of movement, will accelerate the velocity and will move you closer to your goal.
According to the great mind of Nikola Tesla, that is the secret formula for increasing the collective human energy, how we raise our intelligence and evolve as a species.
But all this energy emanates from one single center, one single source what maintains all human life and supplies all human energy…the sun!
Can we, with a collective and directed consciousness, address this eternal energy in the Universe? Bundle it and build advanced technologies like a biological Dyson sphere, in order to save the Earth and evolve into a type III civilization?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet”… and this week I am welcoming back clairvoyant medium, UFO researcher and co-host of the radio show “Twin Souls”, Philip Kinsella…and discuss with him if building up the human energy means higher levels of operating power for our consciousness what, eventually, might let us evolve into a type III civilization.
[Top]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.
Why Our Brain is Translating Logical Objects Into Mythological Creatures and Eerie Shadows
With California State University’s Prof. of psychology, Matthew J. Sharps
Have you ever seen a dark shadow or silhouette at night while you cannot make out an attribute or features…just darkness. You might think it is your own shadow cast on the wall by a misplaced light. But as you stand still, the shadow…suddenly…moves.
Throughout the history many cultures and nations have documented their experiences regarding this phenomenon what has become know in modern parapsychology as…the shadow people.
Many theories ´have been written ever since about what these shadowy figures are. Are they ghosts? Spirits, demons, angles? Or are they something entirely else?
Psychologists studying religion have long suspected that a belief in the paranormal can be a kind of shield from the even harsher truths of the world. The idea is that when something unexpected happens – a death, natural disaster, or job loss – the brain scrambles around for answers, looking for a meaning in this chaos.
Cognitive psychology has some explanations for this behavior as well. It turns out that understanding the “messages” of unseen agents is directly related to how we comprehend the minds of other human beings. Have we all became hard-core solipsists?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet” and this week I am welcoming back California State University’s Professor of psychology, Matthew Sharps… and discuss with him the influences of modern and traditional religion have on the paranormal and why our brain is translating logical objects into mythological creatures and eerie shadows.
[Top]The Physical and Biological Sciences Which Could Explain the Origin and Nature of Life in the Universe
An interview with SETI’s Senior Director of Education and STEM Programs, Dr. Simon Steel
Ever wondered what life on other planets would look like from a scientific perspective? Well, if you lived on a planet with twice the gravity of Earth, you would come crashing down twice as hard if you fell. So, some creatures would perhaps be stronger, stockier and with legs close to the ground.
And what if there really were Martians? Well, Mars is a planet with low gravity so, think of creatures with thin, spindly legs. And if life evolved on a dense soupy planet then you could perhaps see creatures as big as whales or elephants flying not through air but, through a liquid atmosphere.
The humans species is not at the top of the evolutionary ladder. We are not the end point or the goal of evolution. Odd as it might sound to some but we where accidents. We eat and breath through our mouths and that means we can choke on food. That’s a terrible design! Maybe aliens evolved differently and don’t need to breathe through a mouth but, like worms do, through their skin. Anything is possible as long as it makes sense for the environment.
But how do we contact ‘them’ in this huge, vast universe and…what if we really do find complex life out there? Would it change our place in the universe because it is telling us that we are not alone?
I am your host Maria Anna van Driel… and you’re listening to “The Next Truth; Where Science and Myth Meet” and this week we are going to make an adventurous journey through the universe with SETI‘s Senior Director of Education and STEM Programs, Dr. Simon Steel. So, fasten your seatbelts, put on your space helmets, get rid of those outdated alien stereotypes and let’s explore our cosmic freezer like galactic detectives.
[Top]Ghosts; Do They Hide in the Light?
By Maria Anna van Driel
A ghostly apparition walking through the wall, an odd shaped craft hovering in the sky or strong ripples on the surface of a lake indicating that there might be a sea monster swimming by… even though many people have seen and reported these rare but remarkable events, they do not have an explanation for what they have witnessed.
Are those, in the dark hiding, eerie shadows, truly disembodied humans who are lost or, is this an effect of Sleep Paralysis.
Is walking through a forest at night only scary because we are breathing in these, released by the trees, small amounts of methane gas while the pineal gland in your brain is detecting the ultra– and infra sound-waves are bouncing off on the trees after it has released by your own body? Or is there something malevolent hiding behind the shrubs, waiting for you to become its prey?!
Hum, that is indeed a fascinating question. So, let’s imagine that we are standing in a forest with trees all around us. Odd as it might sound but these trees have the ability of releasing a kind of resonance what can ‘communicate’ with your personal frequencies which can turn into that infamous fear frequency sending shivers down your spine.
Did you know that trees have the capability of releasing CH4, aka methane gas? A gas some say is one of the sources of today’s global warming.
Not only do trees poop Methane, they also contain liquid crystal in which a piezo-electrical effect can be observed when encountering an ambience of bright light or a heat (electrical) source. Both of these source is what you are carrying when walking a dark forest…your flash light and your body what is now electrical charged by means of the mind is entering a fight-or-flight state.
The small amounts of the odorless methane gas released by the trees around you might be just enough for you to see creepy plasma clouds forming containing photo-generated electrons which are brought together by a piezoelectric effect, dancing on the surface of natural piezoelectric (semi)conductors.
In neuroscience (or neurobiology) it is well known that the pineal gland becomes active, or is waking up so to speak, once its host is in a dark environment meaning, you being active during those hours of the day in where UV-light is not present in large amounts. Walking this darkness means that you can’t rely on your eyesight anymore what converts your body into a biological radar devise emitting sound-waves in order not to bump into anything or, to survive any dangerous situations heading your direction with high speed.
These ultra- and infra sound-waves your body is emitting, are bouncing off on the objects in your surrounding and, sometimes, have a behavior of returning back to you as a relativistic microwave and creating this chilling feeling of static electricity
You, now acting as a human radar devise, breathing small amounts of odorless methane gas as well as sensing the vibrations of the trees and returning microwaves, which are communicating with your brain, have resulted in a blood-curdling form of vivid hallucinations while it is being combined with a personal fear frequency based on creepy stories you once have read or watched via You Tube or Netflix.
Suddenly you are right in the middle of a spine-chilling situation what seems to be written by Alfred Hitchcock himself! This effect in sensing ‘things’ which seem to have no clear and visible source is based on inaudible to the ear sound-waves and chemical reactions and is one of the two ingredients of nature creating ghostly apparitions in a dark forest.
A second ingredient to create this blood-curdling effect falls in the range of an unnatural source. By means of an ambiance of LED light the liquid crystals inside the trees are triggered and create an effect of being elastic. Aka the expansion and shrinking of crystals what is giving them the ability to record and play vague but hearable sound effects and even create visible images.
Like a laser directed to a LP made of wood, LED-light can function similar to a laser, faint but not impossible.
Imagine walking through this dark forest while carrying a torch with LED-light … you will instantly understand which kind of effects this bright light source can create without your awareness. Being focused on, for instance, a paranormal investigation and not on the, seemingly, logical reactions when certain elements are being brought together, a creepy surrounding containing real ghostly effects has being created unintentional which can scare the hell out of you when it is combined with your personal fears.
I am wondering, what will be the effect seen, or sensed, when we are we adding an extra element to this natural event…a stressed cellular memory?
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