Dean Miles Hull 1928-2008

I attended my grandfather’s memorial service in Kelowna on the May long weekend. It was good to see the extended family all together, but it was even better to learn more about Grandpa.

He was born in New Brunswick but ended up on the other side of the country, in British Columbia. He met Eva and they were married in 1948. They had 4 daughters and 2 sons and lived happily ever after.

My family was able to fill in some of the gaps with their own stories.

• Grandpa was a lumberjack, but knew the importance of the environment and the need to protect it
• He left school at 14, but was one of the most widely read person I knew. He was an expert in several areas of knowledge. The last time I saw him, he mentioned he was reading a book on nuclear fusion so I asked him what he thought of it. He responded by saying he thought the laser ignition model showed more promise than the Tokamak reactor, to which I responded “huh?”
• Uncle Kevin told a story about Grandpa lending $300 to someone in 1972 (a sizeable sum back then) which was never repaid. When asked if he was angry, Grandpa responded “You don’t lend money, you give it”
• His children often made fun of his paranoia over food borne illnesses. Grandpa’s brother Les, told me where this fear came from. Grandpa’s father worked in camps and was concerned about salmonella and such because “if these men get salmonella, they’ll lose 2 weeks pay and we can’t let that happen”. This ethic was obviously passed down to Grandpa.

Grandpa passed away in December, but wanted to have a memorial service in the spring so all the family could get together safely, without navigating wintry BC roads. He’ll be missed, but more importantly, he’ll be remembered.

For those of you wondering, I am named after Grandpa, as is my uncle and my cousin. We’re not a terribly creative family when it comes to names.

My Other Texas is Alberta…Our Secret is Out

U.S. bloggers are onto our secret in Alberta. I previously wrote on The (de)Evolution of Alberta, and now The FriendlyAtheist has spilled the beans to Americans in this post.

The issue boils down to this: creationists want creationism taught as science, and if they can’t have that, then they want to pull their children from classes. Well, that’s what I think it boils down to, anyways.

What do you think?

Questions for Aliens

Navier-Stokes Equation

In the book A Demon Haunted World,by Carl Sagan, Sagan states he often received correspondence from people who claimed they were in contact with aliens. These people invited Sagan to ask the aliens questions. Sagan, the consummate scientist, always had some questions prepared.

If there are aliens among us, it is reasonable to assume they’re from a more advanced civilization from ours. Assuming this, it is also reasonable to assume they would have the answers to questions that have stumped humans for years. Questions asked of aliens should be problems unsolved by humans, but where we would immediately recognize the answer as correct, or the answer could be proved. Asking “Is there a God” yields an answer that may not be recognized as correct by some people, and an answer that cannot be verified by scientific means. Unsolved mathematical problems would be excellent questions to ask of an advanced civilization.

Here are a few questions I would ask of aliens:

1. Please (it doesn’t hurt to be polite) solve Goldbach’s Conjecture. This is one of the oldest problems relating to prime numbers. Prime numbers are used in cryptography and internet security.
2. Design an experiment to prove or disprove the existance of higher dimensions. Humans can see three spatial dimensions, and we move forward through the fourth dimension of time, but there are theories that include 11 dimensions.
3. Why is gravity such a weak force when compared to electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear forces? Provide an explanation that can be proved experimentally.
4. Prove solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations including smoothness solutions. I went through 4 years of mechanical engineering and I just barely understand this. If you can explain this to me, leave it in the comment box.
5. Please (again, it doesn’t hurt to be polite with a potentially superior life-form) give the composition and production methods to make a high temperature superconductor. I would hope the aliens would provide me with a superconducting material that would function at temperatures greater than 293°K (20°C) which is room temperature.

These are the questions that interest me. A civilization that can travel vast distances though space in their UFOs should be sufficiently advanced to answer these questions. Next time you have contact with an alien, ask some questions and see what they come up with. If you get answers to questions that have remained unsolved by humans for hundreds or thousands of years, then maybe you’re corresponding with a real extra-terrestrial.

Set Phasers on “Fantastic”

I intend to give a detailed review of J.J. Abrams Star Trek, as soon as I get to the chapter on “reviews” in my writing textbook.

For now, I can tell you this, the new Star Trek movie rocks. Here’s why:

• The movie goes against established Trek lore (The Canon). Thanks to time travellers and alternate realities, recurring themes in science fiction, Star Trek technically adheres to The Canon. The new movie adheres to The Canon in the same way guns don’t kill people, people kill people, if you get my meaning. By twisting The Canon, like a piece of silly putty in the hands of a 7 year old, Star Trek escapes from a 1966 view of the future. Star Trek is not constrained by 5 shows and over 30 years of Trek lore, which means the new movie is free to explore new territory despite what someone may have said in season 3 of Deep Space Nine, or season 2 of Enterprise. Thanks to Abrams, Star Trekis also not constrained by throngs of Trekkies and Trekkers. While Abrams stated he would make a movie that would appeal to Trek fans, he wasn’t making the movie for them.
• Star Trek is more of an action-thriller set in outer space, rather than a sci-fi flick. The technology is there, the far flung science is there, but it is only a backdrop to the film. Star Trek is character driven and doesn’t get bogged down with sci-fi details.
• The bridge of the Enterprise is updated, and it’s about time. Imagine a $100 million dollar blockbuster, filmed in 2009, with a 1966 starship and bridge…it doesn’t look very good, does it? The new Enterprise and the new bridge reflect the view of the future from 2009, not 1966.
• Star Trek acknowledges its past is our present. In one of the opening scenes, a young James Kirk is taking a joyride in an antique Corvette (I think it’s a ‘vette) listening to the Beastie Boys. This is a nice touch.
• Leonard “Bones” McCoy is incredible. While the ensemble cast, for the most part, works quite well together, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy is outstanding.
• Kirk makes out with a green girl. ‘Nuf said!

These are just the opinions of an ordinary man, an ordinary man who based his life on Star Trek, but still, an ordinary man.

Ok, I became an engineer because of Star Trek, I’m a geek, I admit it.

Best Trek EVER!

The new Star Trek movie does not follow accepted Trek canon. Hardcore Trekkies and Trekkers are dismayed, confused and outraged. To these devout fans I say GET OVER IT! Star Trek is the best Trek movie EVER!

Now go see it and let me know what you think.

The Scientific Method

My trip through the Dewey Decimal System is currently stopped at “A Demon Haunted World” by Carl Sagan. Reading “A Demon Haunted World” has reminded me of the importance of the scientific method.

1. Observe: Gather data on the phenomena or system of interest.
2. Hypothesize: Explain the phenomena based on observations.
3. Predict: Based on the hypothesis, predict how the phenomena or system will react to changes.
4. Experiment: Design an experiment to test the prediction. Good experiments are repeatable and verifiable.
5. Refine: If the experiment proves the prediction, then make another prediction and perform another experiment. If the experiment fails to verify the prediction, observe and record the results of the experiment and formulate a new hypothesis.

This is the best method for finding investigating the physical world. It is not the
only method, but I believe it to be the best because it’s the only method that allows for theories to be tested, refined, re-evaluated and even discarded.

Why is the scientific method important to the average person? Let me explain. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I was at a trade show recently where a vendor advertised the benefits of quantum energy and quantum healing to improve gas mileage, make your water purer, your produce fresher, and reduce your heating bills. I have a rudimentary understanding of quantum physics, so there’s a lot I don’t know about the subject, but I’m fairly certain it doesn’t have anything to do with crisp lettuce or 56 mpg. Perhaps I’m wrong about this quantum vendor, perhaps not. The scientific method can help determine if they’re selling miracles, or snake oil. Can they explain how their machines work (hypothesis)? Can they predict what will happen in all scenarios(predict)? Are the willing to stop selling the products if their claims are disproved (refine)? Keep the scientific method in your back pocket, you never know when you might need it.

There are other methods for learning about the physical world, various religions explain the origins of the life, the universe and everything. While I don’t object to religious explanations of the physical world, I prefer the scientific method because it invites criticism of theories, and theories can be tested. Many religions don’t allow, or tolerate this type of criticism. Scientific breakthroughs are often made when theories are disproven, usually after a scientists says “Didn’t expect that to happen…”.

If I need to find meaning in life, I’ll go to church (this is where I go). If I want to discover the mysteries of the physical universe, I’ll go with science.