Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 4, 2011

15

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 4, 2011 


Science, Truth, Language: Communicating With Non-Science and Public Audiences


HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HEAR that some 
scientific view is “only theory” or that it is “not 
proven”? The hidden implication is that if we have 
not “proven” the case, then we do not know anything 
for certain about it, and any idea is as good 
as any other. A recent and vivid example of this 
problem is the ongoing argument in the popular 
media about global warming. Do we need to be 
absolutely certain before we take action?

These same issues and doubts come up in university 
science classes for non-science students, 
and in public lectures with scientific themes. The 
problem, described by McMaster University astronomer 
William Harris at the 2011 meeting of 
the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) in 
Ontario, Canada, boils down to a misunderstanding 
about the way science really works. Contrary 
to the way it is often portrayed in public, science is 
not about “proving theories.” An effective way to 
discuss these issues is to imagine a continuous line 
stretching from “totally right” at the top, to “totally 
wrong” at the bottom. Any scientific idea, hypothesis, 
or theory can be located somewhere on that 
line. If it has a lot of evidence supporting it, it lies 
near the top (for example, that the Earth is round; 
or that Newton’s laws of motion are correct; or that 
DNA is the basis of the genetic code). Old ideas 
that were disproven sit at the bottom of the line (for 
example, that dinosaurs coexisted with early humans, 
or that the Sun revolves around the Earth).

A new scientific idea, just beginning to be explored, 
sits somewhere in the middle of the line. 
As more evidence comes in and our tools for interpretation 
get better, we might find that the idea 
is wrong (“disproven”) and it immediately drops to 
the bottom of the line. But with luck, we might 
find that it agrees with a lot of evidence and so our 
confidence in the idea grows. Over time, it might 
move upward into a full-fledged body of knowledge 
that is much more secure.

Another way to think about this line is to ask 
how much you would bet that a given scientific 
idea or theory is right. We literally bet our lives 
that Newton’s laws are right, but we wouldn’t be 
quite that confident in a new and untested statement. 
The key to understanding science is the role 
played by constant testing and real-world evidence.

MEANWHILE, COMMUNICATING SCIENCE 
AND ASTRONOMY WITH THE PUBLIC 
is alive and well, both here and abroad (see the accompanying 
photo from Iraq). At our own Mount 
Wilson Observatory, guided walking tours are being 
given every Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m., 
and the Observatory area is open to the public 
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For driving directions 
and other information, see the Observatory website, 
HYPERLINK “http://www.mtwilson.com” 
www.mtwilson.com.

And if you can break free for an hour on Saturday 
afternoon, June 25, you can see for yourself 
how astronomers make discoveries. At 2:30 p.m., 
the Mount Wilson Observatory will be presenting 
a free public lecture at the Altadena Library, 600 
E. Mariposa St., Altadena. David Jurasevich, Observatory 
Superintendent at Mt. Wilson, will speak 
on his own discovery of a new nebula previously 
unknown to professional astronomers. The title 
of his talk is “The Soap Bubble Nebula: Hidden in 
Plain Sight.”

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.
com.

SIDEWALK ASTRONOMY IN IRAQ — Amateur 
astronomer Azhy Hasan shows solar eclipse to 
Iraqi schoolgirls.

Photo courtesy of Azhy Hasan

Ask jai……


Ask jai is a weekly column that will strive to honestly answer your job search questions relating to job searching 
techniques, networking skills, resume writing and interviewing. The employment situation is getting better, however, 
it is still a challenge finding were the jobs are located and how to get pass the “gate-keepers”. As an Executive 
Recruiter I was privy to working directly with Corporate Recruiters and understanding their process in selecting 
which candidates to interview and hire. I will candidly answer your questions, possibly bluntly answering your 
questions, but I will be totally honest. My objective is to help you achieve your employment goal.

IPV6 DAY

Dear Jai: I have been unsuccessful at finding employment for the past 6 months. I spend at least 5 hours a day 
searching the internet and calling employers, but nothing seems to happen. I just believe there is nothing out there 
for me and I will never find employment. I am getting discouraged and very depressed. Most of my friends are 
employed, and they sincerely try to help and keep me optimistic. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive 
and understanding family, but sometimes I just feel all alone. What should someone like me do? All alone

Dear All Alone:

First, you are not alone. There are thousands of people in your circumstance, and saying this is not to make you feel 
better. It is only to reinforce that searching for employment in these economic times is not an easy task and you 
should not try to go it alone. Seek out support from those who can assist you mentally and socially. Join a Job Club 
or Employment Support Group. As I always say, first, do your research. Find out where they are located in your 
community and which groups have been successful. Attend and assess their meetings before joining and committing. 
Assess if they have common goals, meet your goals and objectives; personality types; meeting time of day, professional 
levels, general industries, where the meetings take place. 

 Job Clubs can be found at your local library, churches, community organizations, club associations, workforce centers, 
private industry groups, schools, colleges and universities, posted on community bulletin boards, listed on the 
internet or newspapers in their calendar of events. Job Clubs usually meet once a week for at least one-hour. The 
meetings are usually free, although some groups will charge a small nominal fee for services. Group size can range 
from 5 to 25. I prefer small groups of 10-15 people. A good facilitator should monitor and lead the sessions as well 
as provide weekly agendas; insure the meetings stay on track and that everyone gets time to share in the discussions. 
The ideal facilitator is a professional career coach or advisor because they know how to listen, motivate, and hold 
people accountable for their job searching efforts. In these groups you will meet other job seekers, share resumes, 
help and support others, expand your job search network and referrals, and possibly create special events, invite guest 
speakers, recruiters and employers to meet with your group. You will also discuss your efforts in looking for work, 
salary expectations, cover letters, and interviewing techniques. Being a member of a support group usually shortens 
you length of time in finding employment. 

I have only one warning about Job Clubs or Support Groups - do not let them become or turn into pity, crying, or 
pessimistic sessions. If they do, leave as quickly as possible and find another group. You always want to stay up-beat 
and goal oriented in finding employment. Job Clubs and Employment Support Groups can be the ideal solutions to 
not feeling alone in your job search. You should join one as soon as possible.

 An experiment being billed as the largest of its kind on the Internet is being slated 
to run on Wednesday June 8, 2011 and will be aiming at no less a lofty goal than 
changing the way billions of internet-enabled devices will communicate with each 
other in the future. 

 The main reason for this test is the simple fact that the internet as we know has 
truly outgrown itself. IPv4, or Internet Protocol version 4, is the current protocol 
of choice and by design it support slightly more than 4.3 billion unique addresses 
and while this was considered more than enough address space in the earlier days 
of the internet, these days the internet engineers are scrambling about looking for a 
solution to the problem of “IPv4 address exhaustion.” IPv6, which support virtually 
an unlimited number of devices, is the solution of choice and it will be put to the 
test on June 8th as hundreds of websites serve up the IPv6 version of their pages, 
alongside the regular IPv4 version, in order to test the load in real time. Some of the 
internet’s biggest players ( including Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft ) and 
up to 300 corporations, universities and government agencies will be participating in 
the US and around the world. 

 The sponsors of IPv6 Day are hoping that this high-profile event will hasten 
widespread adoption of the new protocol and will also be looking for unforeseen 
technical challenges and solve them before widespread adoption of the new protocol. 
One major stumbling block for IPv6 deployment is the fact that it’s not backward-
compatible with IPv4. This means that website operators world-wide will have to 
upgrade their network equipment and software in order to support IPv6 traffic. 

 As technology innovators and providers supply the marketplace with more advanced 
technology , and more of it comes out of the box IPv6-enabled , widespread IPv6 
adoption will be happening sooner or later and everyone involved pretty much 
knows it at this point. 


SO GLAD I’M NOT YOUNG ANYMORE!

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to get a job ….but did not know who to ask. ASK jai. Send your 
questions to: jai@resumeandcareerservices.com or visit website www.resumeandcareerservicesc.

Youth is a wonderful thing. The 
young are mostly healthy, beautiful, 
and, in middle and upper 
class America, blissfully unacquainted 
with the harsh realities 
of financial self-reliance and a 
diminishing metabolism. Youth 
involves rites of passage. Kids 
learn to drive. Girls get training bras; boys’ voices 
go through a crackling journey to manly tones. Everyone 
needs to use deodorant, contrary to the belief 
that “some people don’t sweat every day.” And 
usually somewhere in there is a “formal dance.”

Stopped in traffic by the Arboretum the other day, 
I noticed a fashion shoot taking place on a grassy 
knoll. Five women, in thigh-high halter-top dresses, 
posed as the photographer fired off shots in 
rapid succession. Apparently finished, the group 
headed toward a group of young men in suits and 
tuxedos. As the women awkwardly stepped into a 
stretch Hummer it dawned on me. “Holy rhinestones, 
Batman!” That’s not a fashion a shoot –
that’s someone’s prom! 

It goes without saying that proms have changed 
over the years. My mom enjoys telling how she 
fooled her date (a well known prankster) by descending 
the stairs in a dumpy dark turquoise taffeta dress and her Stouffer’s waitress 
shoes (think the Queen Mum). She and her dad got a big laugh after he snapped a 
picture of the boy’s horrified face. She then changed into her real dress. Yes, times 
have changed. 

There are some things I regret about my youth. I wish I put more effort into my second 
language courses (although I doubt it would’ve helped), and I suppose it might’ve 
been good to attempt a sport. But one thing I sure don’t regret is not going to prom! 
I know that sounds bitter and antisocial, but even after 10 years I can still say I don’t 
think I missed anything.

In the same vein as class elections, prom seemed to be another means of social exclusion. 
Every detail of the night involved decisions about who was “in” and who 
was “out.” Who’s house do we meet up at? Who’s riding in the [fill in the vehicle of 
choice]? Who’s sitting at our table? There’s only room for eight, so that eliminates 
[fill in the least-liked acquaintance]. It gave me a nervous ulcer just listening to it. In 
confirmation that prom was overrated, my friends without boyfriends all complained 
about their dates’ behavior the next week at school. Heck, even some of the girls who 
had boyfriends complained! Of course, my alternate reason for nixing the prom was 
because I am cheap. I just couldn’t rationalize the cost of the tickets, dress, etc. Even 
as an unemployed teenager, I had some concept of the value of money.

Besides all this, prom tends to bring out the craziness in people –administrators as 
well as students. Recently a boy in some Mid Western state created a large poster 
asking his crush to go to the prom with him –and she said ‘yes!’ Aww! But there was 
trouble in paradise when the villainous principal banned the boy from prom because 
his placement of the sign was against school rules. Several co-workers of mine were 
truly upset by the boy’s plight. My little cold heart could care less, but I wasn’t going 
to share that. In response to the national outcry against her decision, the principal 
finally reneged and allowed the young lovers to attend prom. It would be one thing if 
this were an isolated incident, but it seems every year there’s some news story about 
a power-crazed administrator who concocts frivolous reasons for excluding students 
from prom. One girl was denied admission because she came without a date. As if it’s 
not bad enough you can’t get a date let alone the school broadcasting it! Like Maurice 
Chevalier crooned, “I’m glad I’m not young anymore!”

 


Spring is my favorite time of year, and this spring 
has turned out to be uniquely awesome! The weather 
has been absolutely gorgeous, the trees are budding, 
the flowers are blooming in a wide variety of brilliant 
colors and the wildlife is thriving at its peak! Who 
could possibly disagree that our quaint canyon village 
becomes a virtual paradise during the spring season 
of each year? In the evenings I have been hearing the 
high pitch hooting of young owlets, echoing from a 
nest in the huge eucalyptus tree just across the wash, 
and I have seen more deer with young fawns and coyote 
families with pups passing through my neighborhood, 
than I have seen in years. A client of mine who 
lives in the Monrovia canyon even told me that she 
saw an adult mama bear with two baby cubs hunkering 
down beneath the sprawling oak canopies on the 
wooded property behind her house last week. I have 
not been so lucky as to see that bear family myself, but 
I keep my camera poised while visiting her gorgeous 
golden retriever, “Gus” just in case I do get that lucky! 
One of the things I love most about this season, is 
the feeling that it brings to my soul. That fresh feeling 
of cleansing and starting anew. Replacing dead 
plant materials with new flower beds and vegetable 
gardens speaks volumes to my heart and gives me a 
renewed positive outlook for a fresh start. “Out with 
the old…and in with the new”.

For many local residents, this season brings with it 
a long list of gardening tasks, not the least of which is 
tilling the soil and adding fertilizers to enhance the 
growth of fresh plantings. There are numerous products 
in today’s market that are specifically designed 
for the purpose of enriching the soil or killing the 
weeds and encouraging new plant growth. That is 
all good, however most commercial grade products 
contain additives that may be great for certain plants, 
but could have a detrimental effect on the health of 
wildlife and domestic pets, not to mention long term 
effects they may have on the environment. In fact, 
most of the gardening products likely to be found in 
our local nurseries and department stores are full of 
toxic chemicals and synthetic ingredients that can 
cause major damage to the health of the human as 
well. (But, that’s a subject for someone else’s article!)

If your pets are like mine, they love to explore the 
great outdoors. To them, the back yard is their playground; 
a well-prized, well-protected personal possession 
of their very own! And why not? They deserve 
it, right? My bloodhound could sleep all day 
if uninterrupted, but the minute she senses another 
creature lurking about in “her” yard, she springs to 
life in an instant, and leaps into action to chase whatever 
it is she thinks might be infringing on her territory. 
When Tater is not on “back-yard border patrol”, 
her other favorite activity is foraging for avocados, or 
any other potential eatable she might find half buried 
in the dirt in her back yard, and let me just say that 
with a nose like hers, she leaves no stone unturned! 
That is the main reason why I am very selective when 
it comes to the yard and garden products I use. Don’t 
get me wrong, my intention is not to over-dramatize 
a simple seasonal task such as home gardening. I just 
want to emphasize the importance of taking great 
care when using potentially toxic products that your 
pet (or child, for that matter) might come into contact 
with. Take the time to read all of the instructions 
on the package, particularly notes regarding proper 
use and storage of the product, and commit to taking 
necessary measures to prevent accidental poisoning. 
It’s just a matter of being aware and being very 
careful…basically, be a responsible consumer and pet 
owner. How hard is that?

Sometimes accidents do happen, as we all well 
know. If your pet should gain access to toxic substances 
that can cause damage to their health, it is important 
to recognize the symptoms and take immediate 
action to remediate the situation. Educate yourself on 
what to watch for. There are several websites on-line 
that offer important information about pet poisoning, 
including symptoms to look for, how to best be 
prepared should such an unfortunate scenario take 
place, and important information that the vet will 
need in order to treat your pet as promptly as possible. 
Always have your veterinarian’s phone number 
close to the phone. Prompt response and preparedness 
is paramount when it comes to pet poisoning. 
Time is of the essence, and the quicker you get a poisoned 
pet treated the better. Enjoy the spring season 
and the inspiration that it brings, but don’t forget to 
protect your beloved furry four-legged friends who 
so depend on you to provide them with a safe and 
healthy environment!

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog 

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

Pet Poisoning - Prevention 

and Prompt Response