Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist
Combining Science and Joyful Creativity
National Blog Posting Month – January 2014 – Pressure
Prompt – Marge Piercy said: “A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” Tell us about a time when you did what couldn’t be done.Continue reading “Doing the Un-doable”
Today’s Kickin’ it Old Skool Blog-a-Thon prompt is to tell the tale of some ‘first time’ experience in your life.
We’ve all had a series of firsts in our lives: first word, first steps, first car, first (and hopefully last) marriage, first broken bone, first snow, first day of school. One could go on and on (and for a moment there, you were afraid I would go on and on, weren’t you? But I’m not done!).Continue reading “For the First Time – Old Skool”
Most vertebrate paleontologists agree that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs. Many, including me, refer to birds as dinosaurs. Sometimes, we add the term ‘avian’ or ‘non-avian’ to the front of dinosaur, to distinguish between modern, flying birds and their relatives, and the big scary ones that went extinct 65 million years ago.
The interesting outcome is that what this means is that, at least in the United States, we traditionally have a huge family meal on the fourth Thursday of November, in which we consume vast quantities of roasted dinosaur meat.Continue reading “Your Holiday Dinosaur”
One of the cool (or perhaps not-so-cool, depending on your opinion of snow) things about living in western New York is the phenomenon known as “Lake Effect Snow” or LES.
In teaching, one often learns where the great misunderstandings are. Geology has its own set of problems, most of which I face each Fall when I teach my introduction to the geological sciences course.
Sometimes it’s not apparent, even after teaching a course for years, that certain things are never explained properly.
It’s been pointed out to me that there’s come confusion about the term ‘porphyry.’ First of all, this word seems to lack an appropriate number of vowels, but the y’s stand in for missing vowels.Continue reading “What Does it Mean to See Porphyry?”
Every science – actually every discipline any person can study – has some fundamental basics that are absolutely important.
You can’t study language without knowing the difference between a noun and a verb (and how that works with adjectives and adverbs). You can’t study biology without knowing what a species is. And you can’t understand geology without knowing what the difference between a rock and a mineral is.
In teaching an introductory geology class, you might guess I spend quite a bit of time discussing the latter. I always think it should be obvious. But the only obvious thing is that it isn’t obvious.Continue reading “If I Were a Mineral, Would You Rock My World?”
Sedimentary rocks, those made of little crumbled bits of pre-existing rocks, are all originally deposited in horizontal layers (or very close to it). This is one of the most important principles in understanding how to assign ages to rocks.
The problem is, that most rock layers that we see are anything but perfectly horizontal. Take a look at this, for example:
Continue reading “Strike and Dip – It’s Not A Dance Craze (But It Should Be!)”
Today, I’m giving at talk for RIT Skeptics with the above title. This post is the analogue version of the presentation for those who cannot attend. It’s also a good way for me to organize my thoughts in a linear fashion.
The point of the talk is to show whether or not some ideas of ‘Special Creation’ can be supported by science. Specifically, I’ll compare the Theory of Evolution with concepts of Intelligent Design and Scientific Creationism.Continue reading “Can Science Support Creationism?”
Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States, a day in which we thank all members of our armed forces, past, present, and future, living or deceased, for their service in protecting our nation and keeping it strong.
I could write a kitchy post about how thankful I am (and I am, believe me. My father retired a full-bird Colonel from the United States Army), but instead I though I’d write about how the science of geology has benefited from the needs of the military.Continue reading “How Geology Has Benefited from the Military”
The fourth and final day of the 73th annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate is at an end, for me at least. The after hours party goes on, but I am too exhausted to attend. I’m back in the room, ready to go to sleep.
This year’s meeting is following its typical arc: Day 1, productive; Day 2, productive; Day 3, auction chaos; Day 4, exhausted. #2013SVP
— Penny Higgins (@paleololigo) November 2, 2013
Continue reading “Day Four Wrap-Up #2013SVP – Ending with a Bang”
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist