MSN calls the Olympics “a circus” because of errors by athletes, judges, and the ongoing plague of doping. Technical errors by athletes are no big deal, since that’s life — you win some, you lose some. Boneheaded judges that threaten the integrity of competition and athletes that cheat to win by using performance enhancing drugs run completely counter to the true Olympic spirit. But a couple of incidents at least show us that fans of sport do care — deeply.

(more…)

I was thinking that my last few posts about the Olympics have been pretty negative, and I wanted to correct that. It’s not the Olympics, its just the coverage. I really do love the Olympics.

I lived in Atlanta from 1985 to 1998, and of course was there through the whole Atlanta Olympic experience: the bid, the winning of the bid (got the shirt), the Torch Relay (got the cap), Opening Ceremoney Run-Through (awesome!) and the Games themselves (got the shirt and pins). I enjoyed every moment of it.

Seeing the Opening Ceremonies was amazing, and probably why that’s the one thing I must see every two years. I saw only a rehearsal, but it was, except for a couple of pauses, the whole deal — chrome-plated Chevy trucks and all. And we even got to help Gladys Knight pick out the dress she’d wear for her performance in the ceremonies (we cheered loudest when she held up the red gown, and that’s what she wore).

(more…)

Every two years I’m reminded that, on a global scale, humankind does indeed have some redeeming qualities. I’m speaking of the Olympic movement, and the hope for peace and fraternity that it embodies.

The Opening Ceremonies to me are always moving, and seem to set the tone for the remainder of the Games. The Ceremonies in Athens were absolutely stunning, but two images stand out above the rest. First was the primitive cycladic face that broke into pieces to reveal more recent sculptural styles. As the fragments floated above the stadium, they danced almost ballet-like through the air, faces of the world’s races projected onto the pieces.

The Centaur who orchestrated the maneuver (and who could only have been Chiron) was incredible as well—but the costume was several orders of magnitude better than the two-person horse costume you might imagine. Somehow, as he walked, the rear legs were animated as well (and were definitely not the legs of another hidden actor).

(more…)

cool shit

In an article today on National Geographic News, I read about Japanese macaques that created new behaviors after beginning to receive food handouts from researchers, freeing them from the need to forage. Researchers began to study these new behaviors and discovered that the monkeys had developed a culture: traditions passed from one to another by learning. The activities include washing food, playing with stones, and enjoying dips in volcanic hot springs. And different geographic populations of macaques have different traditions, much like humans.

What caught my fancy was one phrase in the article: “Human culture is transmitted through language and the written word; individuals are taught in detail how to do something through teaching and imitation.” I’m not sure why, because it is so obvious, but it somehow came as a shock to me that our entire human culture is taught to each of us. Thanksgiving dinner is not innate.

The next step is looking again at the differences in culture and tradition among the peoples of the world. I think again about the different ideas held by people of the Middle East, and go on to think about the people of Africa, and Pacific Islanders, and the natives of the Amazon. Even the subtle differences that separate me from my European forebears. I also consider how the children of immigrants to the United States seem to assimilate American culture, while their parents seem to hold the traditions of their homelands. (I’m sure there’s a horrible stereotype in this statement somewhere.)

I’m writing this short article pretty raw, and I understand that I have much more to contemplate. But my initial conclusion has two parts: that culture really isn’t all that unique to humans, and that we have much more flexibility in understanding each other than we may admit. I believe that if more of us were aware of our culture and how it comes to be, we would be more tolerant of each other, and be able to revel in the diversity of our expressions of living.

Georgia’s State School Superintendent Kathy Cox has decided that the word “evolution” should not be used in the state curriculum, but should be replaced by the phrase “biological change over time.”

I immediately thought of the 1999 decision by the Kansas Board of Education to no longer require the teaching of evolution in that state’s science curriculum. That decision allowed local school board to completely omit evolution from their curricula, and opened the door to allow only creationism to be considered in Kansas public schools. The resulting outcry was loud, and a Kansas teacher was quoted on the BBC saying, “It does make us look to the people in the rest of the country that we’re a bunch of hicks.” A newly elected school board in Kansas restored evolution to their curriculum in 2001.

Now it’s Georgia’s turn. I heard the story this morning when my alarm clock woke me with the usual morning radio, and was shocked to hear that Kathy Cox wants to try to replicate Kansas’ experiment. In a turn similar to the Kansas decision, a curriculum advisor was surprised at the decision. Valdosta State University biology department head David Belcher, who worked on Georgia’s standards, was reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to be “stunned to learn that evolution was not in the final proposal.”

I’m sure that in the coming days, arguments very much like those surrounding Kansas’ decision will be made here in Georgia. I think the strongest one is that Georgia students will be less prepared to enter college to continue their educations. If Georgia’s public schools are unable to produce students that think critically and understand the basic tenets of science, then how can they become the adults that lead Georgia into the future?

I was concerned when the state of Kansas decided to drop evolution from science classes, and I was sure that Georgia would never do something like that. Now I’m downright embarassed. I wrote to my elected official (I voted for Kathy Cox in the last election) this morning to express my concerns, and I hope that the board will reconsider. The future of Georgia public education rests on their decision.

Here is the email I sent to Kathy Cox and the State Board of Education:

(more…)

Like I did when Spirit landed, I stayed up late last night to watch as the rover Opportunity landed safely on the martian surface. I listened to the excited cheers of the teams of scientists and engineers as Opportunity reported back during and after its landing. I listened to the surprised scientists as they looked out, through the rover’s cameras, at a landscape totally unexpected.

Today I thought about what I’d say to mission principal investigator Dr. Steve Squyres if I had the chance. I’d like to tell him how exciting it is to watch the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, as they explore Mars, and how amazing it is to see things no human eyes have seen before. I’d tell him how his work has personally affected me and millions of others all over the world. I’m sure he is well aware of the global excitement about these missions (and the ESA’s Mars Express/Beagle II mission, too). I’d tell him how I think work like his can serve to bring diverse peoples from all over our planet together in the spirit of exploration.

Then I thought about the ongoing conflict half a world away from my comfortable apartment. I thought about the people of Iraq who probably aren’t able to enjoy the thrill of these missions because they’re busy trying to rebuild their nation. I’m angry that there are others in Iraq who would rather kill to protect their narrow views than allow their fellow Iraqis the freedom to share in these exciting endeavors. I’m angry that there are people all over the world who would oppress others and deny them, because of their gender or ethnicity, the chance to enjoy all that life on this planet has to offer.

I still don’t know if the United States’ involvement in Iraq was the right thing or not. I am pleased that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power, but I don’t know if we went about it the right way (or even if there is a “right” way). I don’t know how we can try to impose a new government on the people of Iraq — they deserve to live however they wish, but I don’t believe that the future rulers of Iraq should be allowed to deny anyone the opportunity and freedom to participate in scientific exploration, or any part of life, because of differing religious or other beliefs. I’m afraid that new fundamentalist rulers will emerge that would, for example, tell women that they can’t do science because they are women, even denying them basic education as the Taliban did in Afghanistan. (These people would ignore the Muslim and Arabian preservation of science and mathematics during the Dark Ages.)

Why don’t people like that “get it?”

So Mars held up a mirror, via these two rovers, and allowed me a tiny glimpse of the great divides separating the people of Earth — war, oppression, poverty. That mirror also reflected a vision of the potential of humans, if we can learn to work together. What that mirror uveiled may be as unexpected as the unusual landscape that Opportunity’s cameras revealed.