Talk Science To Me

Why Don’t Animals Have Wheels?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 19:40:34 +0000

As children, we learn about the various kinds of simple machines that underly most human constructions. Levers, pulleys and inclined planes all serve to help humans turn force in one direction into motion in another or otherwise make it easier to move objects. The six kinds of simple machines (levers, pulleys, wedges, inclined planes, screws… Read More »Why Don’t Animals Have Wheels?

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Why Do Whales Breathe Air?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 18:14:41 +0000

It’s a fair question. Most multicellular life on Earth requires oxygen to sustain metabolism, and those organisms get it from the fluids around them. (Yes, even plants.) But while organisms that breathe water but live on land are few and far between, aquatic and semiaquatic air-breathers are abundant. Many frogs, salamanders, crocodilians, caiman lizards, sea… Read More »Why Do Whales Breathe Air?

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Art and Science: What Is a Tattoo?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:50:40 +0000

Few subjects have their relationships portrayed as wrongly as science and art. Popular culture presents art and science as natural opposites, one the domain of emotion and the other of hard math, with nothing to say to each other. We here at Talk Science to Me disagree completely. Art and science are the most natural… Read More »Art and Science: What Is a Tattoo?

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What Gender Is a Coconut?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:13:21 +0000

Sometimes seemingly nonsense questions have interesting answers. Few plants are as emblematic of the tropics as the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. This tree can be found on just about every postcard depicting a tropical beach, anywhere in the world, and for good reason. Coconuts are improbably suited to human cultivation in places where few other… Read More »What Gender Is a Coconut?

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The Candiru: A Six-Inch SciCom Failure

Alyssa Gonzalez — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 17:37:58 +0000

This is one story that should never have been. Science communication is a careful interplay of priorities. Words and approaches must match the knowledge base of the audience, always bringing them to a better-informed place than where they were before, and align with the writer’s goals. Scientific knowledge is our collective best estimate of the… Read More »The Candiru: A Six-Inch SciCom Failure

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We Won’t Do Your Homework But We Will Tell You About The Martian Lichens

Alyssa Gonzalez — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 19:15:00 +0000

We at Talk Science to Me receive a fair bit of email through our contact page, most of it inquiring about our services and often leading to fruitful client-provider relationships. Every now and then, though, someone tries to get us to talk science to them a little less honestly. Today, we endeavour to provide an answer.… Read More »We Won’t Do Your Homework But We Will Tell You About The Martian Lichens

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Gaslighting Isn’t Just Psychological Abuse, It’s A Sociological Phenomenon

Jetta Robertson — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:28:00 +0000

In 1944, Ingrid Bergman starred in a film directed by George Cukor about an opera singer who inadvertently marries her aunt’s murderer. You might’ve never heard of this movie, or the 1940 British film (and 1938 play) it’s based on. Nonetheless, it’s almost certainly influenced conversations you’ve had, as people around you describe partners, friends,… Read More »Gaslighting Isn’t Just Psychological Abuse, It’s A Sociological Phenomenon

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The Precision You Mean: Trans-inclusive Language In Science And Medicine

Alyssa Gonzalez — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:30:00 +0000

As science communicators invested in the ability of science to achieve a better, more informed, less ignorant world, we aim to balance the need for specific scientific language and the desire to make science accessible to a broader audience. Scientific terms exist because scientists, engineers and other specialists need language to efficiently describe complex and… Read More »The Precision You Mean: Trans-inclusive Language In Science And Medicine

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Bullet Chess Affects Your Brain. So Does Everything Else.

Jetta Robertson — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 06:53:31 +0000

Fancy a game of chess? It’ll only take a minute. Bullet chess is a variant of the classic game where each player is given 3 minutes or less total to play all of their moves. Languid, nuanced tactics are often foregone in favor of rapid, instinctive movements that can outrun your opponent’s calculation. Failing that,… Read More »Bullet Chess Affects Your Brain. So Does Everything Else.

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