Summer Articles Are UP!!

Ok, the rest of your summer reading articles are up!

I suggest reading in the following order:

Thinking Scientifically
Debunking Astrology
A Brief History of Time
The Fabric of the Cosmos
The Whole Shebang
Endless Universe

Why you are reading these things:

Thinking Scientifically is a very good description of the philosophy and practice of science- what it is to THINK in a scientific manner- which is not the same as knowing science( ie facts discovered through science). It is an important distinction because the whole project of science is developing the best methods to make sure our understanding of the universe matches as best as possible with the true reality.

Debunking Astrology is a companions peice to Thinking Scientifically, in that is uses a specific example to show how the critical, skeptical, scientifically informed thinker should reason about claims and or ideas.

The rest of the pieces are meant to develop an brief overview of the context of physics, especially as it pertains the subdiscipline of astrophysics, and its sister disciplines of astronomy and cosmology. They give an overview of the main cosmological models ( models of the physical universe) that have been developed from antiquity, and also explain what the most current model of our universe is, called the STANDARD COSMOLOGICAL MODEL- what most of you know as the " Big Bang" theory-and some of the evidence that has led to its development.

The history of ideas and framework of our current understanding is important to keep in mind when we study the specific facts and concepts of physics this year, because these specifics are the conceptual/factual building blocks have inexorably led us to develop our current cosmological models- models which in turn gives us new insight into understanding and refining the conceptual building blocks.

Therefore, I think that it is important for you to understand the conceptual framework and assumptions of physicists-their point of view -so that you may better understand the types of questions they think are important , how they evaluate evidence, and where our limits of knowledge are.

A NOTE ON PHYSICS

Physics studies the grandest scales of energy and matter- the structure of universe itself- to the smallest scales- the subatomic particles of matter and force that are the threads of the cosmos itself. As Briane Greene says- "To open our eyes to the true nature of the universe has always been one of physics' primary purposes". Many of the ideas we will study this year will be counter-intuitive, might challenge previous conceptions, or seem downright weird- but they are also cool, fun, wonderous and awe-inspiring. So get excited, and keep an open mind!