Brains Matter ©

I talk to Marco Tippmer, an expert from the UK (via Germany) on Virtual Worlds. What are Virtual Worlds, and what can they be used for?

Are they just useful for games, such as World of Warcraft and Second Life? Did you know that businesses are already using them, and they are becoming extremely important to the corporate world? People are even making money out of the economies in virtual worlds. How? Listen in to this episode and find out.

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This episode of Brains Matter is brought to you by Peoplebank, Australia’s largest and leading IT & Technology recruitment company.

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On today’s shortened episode, I talk pose the conundrum – by what measure do you consider someone as a great – or the greatest – Olympian?

Plus some listener feedback.

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Time for a slightly different episode. We all have our favourite movies, books, and tv shows that have scientific characters. From the Professor in Gilligans Island to Q in James Bond to Dr Watson in Sherlock Holmes. Join Marc West (from the Mr Science Show) and I as we talk about our favourite fictional scientists, and the suggestions from listeners to Brains Matter and the Mr Science Show.

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The interview was recorded through skype, so please excuse some of the dropouts – but it was a fun discussion, and we hope you think so too.

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Hi all,

An upcoming episode of Brains Matter and the Mr Science Show will discuss fictional scientists. What we want from you is your suggestion (s) on who you think are worthy candidates for the list. From Dr Strangelove to the Professor from Gilligans Island – who do you think deserves a bit of recognition?

They could be from movies, print, or television shows.

Leave a note and share your two cents worth!

OG

In astronomical news recently – it was announced that the Milky Way has two less arms than originally thought. How? Why? And what’s a galaxy to start with? To answer these questions, I talk to Dr Pamela Gay, an astronomer from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, who tells us all why this is so.

Also featured on today’s show are the Brain Teaser, Listener of the Episode, some news in science including the a new name for minor planets and some petrol-head maths, and some listener Feedback.

Download MP3 of Ep 67

This episode of Brains Matter is brought to you by Swinburne Astronomy Online

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A bunch of people have asked me why I do a podcast. Some even ask why I do a science podcast. Paring that back a bit, it comes down to a couple of real questions.

1) Why science?
2) Why podcast?

To answer the first part – I’ve always loved science. Ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper (figuratively speaking, of course!) I’d always been one of those folks who ask “why?” The great thing was that I was encouraged to ask why, and learn about the world around me.

I’d always been fond of learning and just knowing stuff – astronomy, maths/numbers, physics, chemistry, biology, nature, geology, geography… you name it, I wanted to know about it.

The answer to the second part comes to the fact that I get asked stuff a lot… aside from the fact that I get invited to a lot of trivia nights, I think if I can encourage people to ask about the world, have a critical and scientific understanding of life, the universe, and everything, then that can only lead to good things. I’ve had high school kids email me after listening to the show and mention that they’d always thought science was hard – but when it was explained to them in an easy-to-understand way, then they found that it was interesting and enjoyable.

And I think that’s part of the problem with some people in the science or technology field – they’re brilliantly smart people, but they talk in techie terms and so those topics seem inaccessible to the average person. The end result is that you get folks – take politicians for example – making decisions based on an extermely poor understanding of the real issues at hand. Climate change, energy policy, … the list is endless.

However, if we as a collective group of people can encourage others to be interested, enthusiastic, excited, and inspired by science, knowledge, and just about learning in general, then it will only help the world. Perhaps someone will be inspired to make better decisions. Or to find a new medication. Or to solve world hunger and bring peace (-:

I just hope I’m doing my little bit in that, even if it is only tiny. And I have a lot of fun doing it.

OG

PS. In the true science nerd style, I know my grammar isn’t the best – I was better at science subjects at school and uni!

Dr Seth Shostak is a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute – we discuss the SETI program and about the possibility of intelligent life out there; the Drake Equation and how soon it might be before we find extra terrestrial life of some form.

Also featured on today’s show are the Brain Teaser, Pin of the Episode, Listener Feedback, and some questions on climate change answered by Professor David Karoly, one of the lead authors of the last IPCC report.

Download MP3 of Ep 66

This episode of Brains Matter is brought to you by Swinburne Astronomy Online

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This episode’s podcast promo is of the Variant Frequencies podcast.

Dr Pilar Gil Pons is a postdoctoral researcher in the area of super asymptotic giant branch stars who has just received a grant by the Spanish government to work on SAGB stars at Monash University in Australia.

She also happens to be an expert on binary stars, which is what I talked to her about in this episode’s interview.

How can a black hole exist close to another star? How does this differ from normal binary star systems? What is the ultimate fate of a binary star system? Listen in and find out!

Also featured in this episode are the brain teaser, pin of the episode, a question from a couple of listeners, and some long overdue listener feedback.

Download MP3 of Ep 65

This episode of Brains Matter is brought to you by Swinburne Astronomy Online

You can donate by clicking on the button above, and subscribe by subscribing in iTunes

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This episode’s podcast promo is of Hyper Nonsense

Hi all,

Here’s a great Public Service Announcement from Nobilis.

Public Service Announcement

Dr Hunter Mulcare is a clinical health psychologist who has also done research work in the area of psychology.

Psycho-oncology is a relatively new area within psychology. It is the psychological study of cancer patients. Dr Mulcare talked to me about some of his research into this area. What is the appropriate amount of information to give to a cancer patient once they are diagnosed with the disease? Does it depend on their state of mind? Listen in, and find out.

Download MP3 of Ep 64

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