Recently I used the terms, Serious Science, serious person.
I’d like to explore “serious” in this context by sharing a wonderful video about a guy trying to figure out something very weird that he saw crossing Mars.
The process of honest, fact based, problem solving, serious thinking in action.
A nice change of pace perhaps.
Astrobiscuit
I spotted this strange object through my telescope when I was filming Mars. I posted the footage of this ufo on my astobiscuit facebook page and thousands of people thought they knew what it was and gave me a whole range of answers.The top 8 theories were…
My first thought was of a celestial body of some sort, passing by and casting a shadow. It wouldn’t have to be a moon. Perhaps a small meteor just going fast enough, or far enough away to pass by without getting caught in the Mars’ gravity.
At least I though that watching his “process” unfold was splendid. And some of the simple tricks he used, very cool. Figuring out how to see the relative rotation of Earth compared to the image of Mars, I thought, was very cool. So obvious, but would I have stumbled on it given a little more time to think about it, probably, at least I like to think so, but who knows, considering that I have bit of tunnel vision and fall victim to misdirection and laziness. At least, I have a healthy dose self skepticism and seeking multiple supporting evidence and verifications before firmly settling on a notion, that saves my ass from becoming a true ass. Oh, and like sciencie types in general, I know how to turn my mistakes into a lessons. Even if I need to relearn some of those. ;-).
Still, I’m way flightier and chaotic than that organized systematic guy, so listening to his story and disciplined self-study unfold was as good as an old Sherlock Holmes story.
Thanks for bringing some science back to the forum. I do get a little guilty pleasure out of picking on other people’s bad theories, but these kinds of calculations are more fun.
