Even though the wiring of the human brain evolved in an exceptional way, if novelty had remained below a certain threshold, early humans may not have received a sufficient trigger to begin forming the concept of reasons. My accepted manuscript for the Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union Symposium No. 367, 2021, is available underContinue reading “Eclipses: a pump of curiosity?”
Author Archives: Graham Jones
Earth in a spin
The Earth … has been spinning unusually fast lately. 2020 included the 28 shortest days since 1960. Image: timeanddate.com Our timeanddate.com story on the Earth’s quickening rotation is generating a lot of interest, from the Daily Express to Live Science to USA Today. Update (17 January): There’s also coverage of the story in Spanish-language media,Continue reading “Earth in a spin”
Visualizing the music of the spheres
We have known for thousands of years that the sky is full of harmonies and rhythms. Pythagoras called it the “music of the spheres.” As part of the build-up to next week’s great conjunction, Steffen Thorsen (CEO of timeanddate.com) and I have written a piece for Sky & Telescope on the pattern of closer-than-usual approachesContinue reading “Visualizing the music of the spheres”
Extraterrestrial intelligence and the Fermi paradox
The Milky Way contains 100 billion stars. So where is everybody? (The spacecraft shown in this artist’s impression is one of ours: it’s ESA’s Gaia space observatory.)Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab; background: ESO/S. Brunier One of the highlights of IAUS 367 is Nikos Prantzos, from the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, on “the quest for extraterrestrial intelligenceContinue reading “Extraterrestrial intelligence and the Fermi paradox”
The pump of curiosity at IAUS 367
The International Astronomical Union Symposium 367 gets underway on 8 December. I’m giving a poster presentation on the pump of curiosity. Go to a PDF version of the presentation A paper will be included in the online version of the IAUS 367 proceedings (to be published by Cambridge University Press next year).
Extending the Rare Earth hypothesis
I’ll be presenting “Solar eclipses: A pump of curiosity for early humans?” at the International Astronomical Union Symposium 367 next month. The symposium was originally scheduled to take place in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, close to the path of totality for the 14 December solar eclipse. However, covid-19 restrictions mean it will now beContinue reading “Extending the Rare Earth hypothesis”
Predicting solar flares
“The distribution of solar flares is similar to earthquakes: we have many small solar flares, and a big one is very rare. However, when a big flare occurs, the impact on our economy and society may be enormous. Satellites may be damaged, and the electrical power grid may be damaged over a very wide area.Continue reading “Predicting solar flares”
Where did our sense of curiosity come from?
My recent article for I-M on solar eclipses and the Fermi paradox is now available online. As Daniel C Dennett, a philosopher and cognitive scientist, has observed, searching for explanations is a central feature of our species. Where does our sense of curiosity come from? As an exercise in fun speculation, I propose it couldContinue reading “Where did our sense of curiosity come from?”
The dog days of summer
The hottest days of summer are known as the dog days. There’s a fun bit of astronomy behind this expression: it’s the time of year when Sirius — also known as the dog star — rises just before the sun. The August pre-dawn sky, with Sirius rising in the east just ahead of the sun.Continue reading “The dog days of summer”
The pump of curiosity
The summer 2020 issue of I-M Intelligent Magazine… … includes “an exercise in fun speculation” by me on a potential link between solar eclipses and the Fermi paradox. According to the Copernican principle, there is nothing special about the earth’s place in the universe. Except for the awkward fact that — on current evidence —Continue reading “The pump of curiosity”
