Cognosphere

NASA Funding Saved!

2007-12-19T08:31:00.000-06:00

In the last week before the holiday recess, the U.S. Congress finally appropriated budget funds to the federal agencies -- including NASA.

It includes important increases for planetary exploration and restores funding for science, within a total $17.3 billion for NASA.

The Planetary Society can take partial credit for this, as they launched a broad-based “Save Our Science” amongst their tens of thousands of U.S. members.

Congrats to Planetary Executive Director Louis Friedman and our other friends at the Planetary Society for helping to secure this important funding.

American International Toy Fair 2007

2007-02-09T19:06:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since we've posted. We have been preparing for Toy Fair and it is here! Toy Fair is in New York City and begins Sunday and ends Wednesday. Wish us luck! We'll need it...Toy Fair is exhausting but fun!

Saturn In Eclipse

2007-01-25T07:53:00.000-06:00

The Cassini spacecraft was launched in 1997 to unlock the secrets of Saturn and it’s moon, Titan. It reached Saturn’s orbit in July 2004. This picture was taken in September 2006.

“This is an amazing view of Saturn in eclipse -- we're looking almost directly toward the Sun, with the globe of Saturn occulting it. The fainter rings look really bright
because small dust particles scatter sunlight forward to Cassini.”

More to come: they are working on merging 12 photos of Saturn from the top. This is going to be an amazing view and the first one that will show Saturn’s rings undisrupted. I’ll keep you posted.

Five Little Bundles Of Dragon Joy!

2007-01-24T17:09:00.000-06:00

An eight-year old Komodo dragon named Flora gave birth to five little bundles of joy today in Manchester, England. Why is this news? Because Flora is a virgin! That’s right, Flora has not been hanging out with a male Komodo dragon, yet she now has babies.

Reptile species have been documented to reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis (I am not going to get into exactly how that works because frankly, I don’t want to know), but this is only the second time asexual reproduction has been documented in Komodo dragons. Another Komodo dragon also gave birth through parthenogenesis in a London Zoo earlier this year. Female dragons have been known to lay unfertilized eggs without the aid of a male. Flora’s case is unique in that her eggs had apparently been fertilized, leading to the birth of five tiny black and yellow baby dragons.

This is an important breakthrough in the field of captive breeding. Komodo dragons are the largest lizard species in the world, and are found exclusively in Indonesia. There are only 4,000 Komodo dragons left in the wild, and keeping them in captivity is difficult because they are susceptible to infection and parasitic disease. The ability for these dragons to breed in captivity, either the “normal” way or all on their own, might help ensure the survival of this remarkable animal.

The most important thing to take note here is that Flora clearly don’t need no man. I like her style.

Seeing Is Believing

2007-01-16T16:07:00.000-06:00

The first ever 3D map has been compiled showing the distribution of dark matter in the universe.

“The map is important because it tracks how the distribution of dark matter has evolved over time…, and confirms dark matter’s role as the scaffolding around which visible stars and galaxies congregate.” – NewScientist Magazine, January 13-19, 2007

The map shows some regions where there is dark matter but no visible matter which is kind of worrying. These areas has been attributed to measurement errors but could they be something else?

2006 Word Of The Year: Plutoed

2007-01-08T16:03:00.000-06:00

The American Dialect Society has chosen the 2006 Word of the Year: Plutoed. To “pluto” is “to demote or devalue someone or something.” It’s great to see something that happened in the realm of astronomy (the demotion of Pluto as a planet) become part of everyday banter.

And, we should trust their choice because they were the ones who voted “truthiness” the word of the year last year. "The truth that comes from the gut, not books"—originally coined by Stephen Colbert.

Mysterious Object Crashes Through House

2007-01-04T09:33:00.000-06:00

Just when O'hare airport seems to have chased away a flying saucer (probably a weather phenomenon, but we're always open to real evidence!), today a story hits of a very heavy golf ball-sized hunk of metal smashing into someone's living room. Will an alien show up at their door and ask to "play through?"

More likely it is one of dozens of daily "meteoroids" that become "meteorites" as they land on Earth. And contrary to popular myth, they typically are cold by the time they hit the ground.

Will homeowner's insurance will pay for the damage? Watch for that meteoroid exclusion.

Lakes Of Methane

2007-01-03T16:33:00.000-06:00

For those of you who were planning on taking a trip to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, to swim in one of its many lakes, you might want to rethink that. It has long been hypothesized that Titan has lakes, but it was not until July of 2006 that researches were able to confirm their suspicions. The northern region of Titan has over 75 lakes, but not lakes of water like here on Earth. In contrast, these lakes are full of liquid methane.

On Earth, methane is in the form of a gas. Titan is so cold however (90 degrees Kelvin), that methane is in a liquid form. The other element that is thought to be found in the lakes is ethane. Scientists believe that if an Earthling was looking over the surface of one of these methane-ethane lakes, it would look very much like an Earth lake. The “water” would be transparent and probably ripple like Earth lakes do.

This is an important discovery for scientists since Titan is now the only body in space, besides Earth, that is known to currently have a fluid, liquid cycle. (It has been known for years that Mars experienced this liquid cycle in the past.) Titan is also experiencing erosion and rain. Scientists can study how climates evolve on Titan and compare the findings to what we have already discovered by studying Earth.

Titan is also important to study because it has similar elements that Earth did when our planet was still forming. For example, Titan has ice and water; important building blocks of life that perhaps tell us where we came from, how we evolved, and what chemicals were involved in the process. Scientists hope by studying this far away moon, we will have a better understanding of how life originated on Earth.

A UFO Sighting In Chicago?!

2007-01-02T15:47:00.000-06:00

"A group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over O'Hare Airport" on November 7th of last year.

90% of UFO sightings end with a very simple explanation and just 10% remain unexplained. This sighting has been given a simple explanation. They are calling it a weather phenomenon...low clouds mixed with lots of airport lights.

Not everyone was taking this sighting seriously; one amused O'Hare controller said "To fly 7 million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable."

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T08:39:00.000-06:00

We would like to wish everyone a happy & healthy 2007 - from the Cogno Team!

Santa Has Been Spotted In Saint Louis

2006-12-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

Santa flew under the Arch...track Santa! When will he arrive in your area?

Humans Track 33-Foot Chocolate Trail

2006-12-20T09:10:00.000-06:00

Just like a skilled bloodhound, humans are able to track scents…like a 33-foot chocolate trail. The University of California, Berkeley is doing research to find out “whether mammals compare information coming from their two nostrils in order to aid scent-tracking performance.”

What they found was that not only do humans use both nostrils but, with training, “they can improve their accuracy significantly while nearly doubling their speed along the scent trail.”

I don’t know about you, but this is the kind of experiment I could participate in. Especially if you got to eat the chocolate at the end of the trail…very motivating!

Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You

2006-12-13T11:54:00.000-06:00

Scientists have found that laughter really is contagious and they are now studying why. Researchers at the University College London and Imperial College London have found that positive sounds like laughter trigger a response in the brain in the same area that is activated when we smile.

The research is being funded by the Wellcome Trust. Dr. Sophie Scott, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow says, “It seems that it’s absolutely true that ‘laugh and the whole world laughs with you.’”

I have always felt that laughter is contagious and it’s nice to know that science is now backing me up. We should all test this out at the holiday parties we attend. Instead of stressing over a good joke to tell…just start laughing and people should join in!

Our First Yellow-Tie Event

2006-12-12T11:06:00.000-06:00

Stuart and I attended our first Yellow-Tie event this morning. It was called Coffee and Handshakes and was hosted by Aegis Professional Services.

The president and founder of Yellow-Tie is Gill Wagner. He describes Yellow-Tie like this: “This organization is all about structure, accountability and leveraging the power of the group so we can be successful implementing the philosophy of Give First.” It was founded in St. Louis about two years ago and the second chapter has just been launched in Chicago.

I think Yellow-Tie is a great organization and we are thinking about attending the all-day innovation event, The 18% Solution, on January 23rd.

NASA Plans A Permanent Base On The Moon

2006-12-10T11:23:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week, NASA announced its plans to build a permanent base on the moon. It sounds like science fiction, but oh no my dear readers, this is science fact. In a mere fifteen years from now, a group of lucky people will make humanities greatest voyage yet.

According to NASA’s timeline, astronauts will return to the moon (the last manned moon landing was in 1972) in 2020 where they will establish a rudimentary base. Right now, the idea is for the base is to be located at one of the lunar poles, where there is near constant sunlight to provide solar power. Initially, the astronauts will stay for weeklong missions. Eventually these stays will grow to 180 days and by 2024, the base will be fully operational so that humans can live there permanently.

In case you are wondering what we will do when we finally do make the big move, the New York Times quoted Shana Dale, NASA’s deputy administrator, as saying, “the door is open for international and commercial interests.” Observatories and other scientific laboratories may be built, or rocket fuel and other minerals found on the moon might be processed for use on Earth. If nothing else, it will be at least a stepping stone for other ambitious space exploration and research endeavors.

Thumbs Up…Thumbs Down

2006-12-09T12:25:00.000-06:00

Thumbs Up…

To star-eating black holes! For the first time in history, scientists actually witnessed a black hole “eating a star.” The black hole was quietly resting for thousands of years, until an innocent little star ventured too close and was torn to shreds by the black hole’s gravity.

Thumbs Down…

To the weather in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The space shuttle Discovery was supposed to launch on Thursday for a trip to the International Space Station but the mission was scrapped due to low clouds and gusty winds. NASA has until December 26 to get the shuttle off the ground.

Mars Water... This is Sounding Real

2006-12-08T12:30:00.000-06:00

Emily Lakdawalla wrote about recent news of water on Mars, in the Planetary Society's blog. Long ago some people imagined that they saw canals on Mars, and they turned out not to be there at all. But this is different. We're not squinting through old-fashioned telescopes. We're actually on Mars now, or at least highly sensitive machines that we built are on Mars now.

Water is the key to life as we know it. If there is water under the surface of Mars now--water that apparently breaches the surface occasionally--it is an unprecedented opportunity. If it is verified, we humans will have our first opportunity to directly observe another planetary environment that also has liquid water. It may be the first step in understanding whether life is extraordinarily rare, or nearly as common as the presence of liquid water! And would such life, if found, resemble Earth life or not? We live in a very exciting time.

Meeting Blogger Matt Homann

2006-12-06T20:05:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful meeting today with Matt Homann, the writer of blogs called the [non]billable hour and Idea Surplus Disorder. As a new blogger, it is great to know that there are very experienced bloggers out there who are willing to lend a helping hand by giving you all kinds of great advice. I was telling Matt that learning to blog is almost like learning to play a new game.

#1 It's fun! And, the more you learn, the more fun it becomes.
#2 There are all kinds of "strategy elements" you can use to your advantage. (technorati, RSS feeds, youtube, flickr, digg, feedblitz...)
#3 Working together is encouraged.

The only difference I can see is that everyone "playing" is a winner!

I will be sure to attend Matt's next BIGidea Market on January 15th at Lucas School House in Soulard. It should kick-off around 6pm. Hope you see you there!

Here's To Carl Sagan!

2006-12-05T15:06:00.000-06:00

I just read something at The Planetary Society's website. Charlene Anderson, Editor of the Planetary Report intro'd a short, heartfelt piece about the 10th anniversary of Carl Sagan's death by saying "I took from the shelf a book I hadn't read in 10 years. Glancing though its pages, I was startled again by the power of its words to move me, emotionally and intellectually. I also was saddened that the man who presented this Cosmos to the world, who profoundly shared his spiritual and scientific wonder of the universe, has been gone for so long."

My first inspiration about space and science occurred while watching Carl Sagan on his PBS series "Cosmos." I was around nine years old, and mesmerized by the way he presented sophisticated ideas in such easily understandable ways. Time really slows down for something--or someone--that moved faster? How cool is that? In a very direct way, Carl Sagan was--no, he is--the inspiration that moves me to create our Cogno space & science board games, and to write the Cogno book series. I want other kids to feel the way I did, as I watched and listened to Carl Sagan many years ago.

As an adult I've read every book he wrote, and, Like Charlene Anderson, each time I revisit one I realize what a remarkable human being he was. If more of us had even one tenth of his curiosity, vision, and balanced philosophies about how others should be treated, well ... this world would be a much better place. If you can, pick up a copy of the book Cosmos, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Dragons of Eden, Pale Blue Dot, or maybe even his fictional novel "Contact." You'll see what all the fuss is about.

Thanks for the reminder, Charlene.

Codebreaker Chosen As One Of Pam's Top 10 Favorite Things

2006-12-01T20:19:00.000-06:00

Pam, who writes a wonderful blog titled Escape from Cubicle Nation, decided to pick her Top 10 Favorite Things for the holidays. The only criteria were: (1) the product is actually something you would give someone for the holidays; and (2) the product is produced by a small, entrepreneurial company.

Our Codebreaker game was picked for her list, along with nine other great gift ideas for the holidays. You should check them all out! Thanks Pam…we really appreciate the exposure for our new Codebreaker game.

Bite-Sized Learning

2006-11-30T23:54:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest challenges in education today is providing knowledge in consumable amounts. This is especially true given the advancement of science and technology over the years.

I was born at the dawn of the Space Age. When I began school in the Sixties, science was entering a period of transformational growth that has provided us with wonders that are so thoroughly a part of our culture that we now take them for granted!

And yet behind all the cell phones, microchips, and Lasik procedures is a mountain of knowledge that has been created in only the last 40 to 50 years! How do you help your children and grandchildren consume all this knowledge?

The answer, of course, is that you give it to them one bite at a time. But you had better make sure that, like breakfast cereal, the knowledge is tasty and fun, or they won't keep after it.

That's "Edutainment"!

"Edutainment" Works

2006-11-28T09:07:00.001-06:00

It seems like we have to continually learn this, even though most of us acknowledge it as being true: Human beings learn better when they are having fun. Among other factors, this has to do with the effect fun has on focusing one's attention, the effect it has on memorability, and I think to an unrecognized degree, to the fact that it makes you want to come back for more.

I ran across a neat summary of this very broad subject at Marc Accetta's blog. Marc is the founder of the Unstoppable Foundation and wants to "pass on our uncommon knowledge to America's youth." As Marc notes, "...the goal of edutainment being to not only educate, but to stimulate as well." Without the stimulation part, learning can often chase people away before the fun starts.

I remember Michael Jordan once said that kids should be allowed to simply play and love the game of basketball until age fourteen or so. Then they can be taught all the details and experience the pressure of serious competition.

I think something similar happens to young students. Introducing them to a topic like science should lean more toward exploration and fun discovery than memorization of information. Once the passion is ignited, over time kids will accept--and some will enjoy--the "drier" parts of the subject. We need to help educators by reducing the sheer number of science requirements in elementary school and let them spend more creative time igniting student passion. We are losing too many students to other subjects. They don't stay in the curriculum long enough to experience the fun and wonder!

Shopping For Cogno At Museum Gift Shops

2006-11-22T12:01:00.000-06:00

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran an article today on shopping for special holiday gifts at museum gift shops. I think shopping for gifts at museum gift shops is a great idea, especially because some of the money goes back into supporting the museum. They say:

"For the mall-fatigued holiday shopper trying to find a gift for that hard-to-buy-for relative, a museum gift shop might be the way to go. Museum gifts tend to be quirky, unique and local, and they usually indicate a little extra thought and effort on the part of the giver."

Plus, the article mentioned our Cogno: The Alien Adventure Game because it is carried at The XPLOR Store at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. By the way, they say our game is "NASA- approved". NASA rarely, if ever, endorses commercial products. The content in our games and books was expert-reviewed by scientists at NASA and other institutes, but we've never asked that they formally endorse our products.

2006 Toys & Collectibles Wish List Features Codebreaker

2006-11-22T11:45:00.000-06:00

The 2006 Toys & Collectibles Wish List featured Codebreaker yesterday. They described Codebreaker as:

"New from the makers of the award-winning Cogno board games, Codebreaker is a game built around the idea that you really don't want the other players to know what you're thinking - or drawing!"

Thanks for the review and we love the photo!

Nationwide Cogno Board Game Sampling With Teachers

2006-11-21T16:16:00.000-06:00

In July we decided to try sampling our Deep Worlds space/science board game through the National Science Teachers Association. We asked for teachers around the country who would like to test our game in their classroom to email me their feedback. We had a great response and ended up sampling more than the 200 board games we had originally envisioned.

We got dozens of wonderful reviews from the teachers and their students. Ann Marie Jakubielski a science teacher at St. Joseph School in Norwich, CT had this to say about her Cogno experience:

"I have started to play Cogno with my 7th grade students and they LOVE it! When they get a question and answer it, wrong or right, we look it up in the Book of Y to read more about it. I am continually hearing 'Wow! I didn't know that!' We have set up an ongoing game in the classroom that we return to whenever there is time. If you give my students a choice between Cogno and recess, they will unanimously choose Cogno every time. As a teacher I love that fact that the students are learning something new and that it is done in such fun and enticing way. Thank you for a great game!"

Thanks to Ann Marie and other teachers who participated in our sampling program! More teacher testimonials are on the Press & Testimonials page on our web site.