Giant Magellan Telescope: Past, Present and Future of Space Exploration with Ground Based Telescopes

An in-depth conversation with Professor Wendy Freedman on the topic of space exploration with ground based telescopes. We discuss the history of space exploration using ground based telescopes, and try to imagine the future. Professor Wendy Freedman gives a detailed description of the features of the Giant Magellan Telescope, a ground based extremely large telescope under construction. We discuss the challenges involved in constructing the GMT and talk about the research opportunities that this extremely large telescope, once completed, will present.

Professor Wendy Freedman is one of the world’s most influential astronomers. Freedman is a professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. She was also the chair of the board of directors of the Giant Magellan Telescope project from its inception in 2003 to July 2015. More than a decade ago, Wendy Freedman led a team of 30 astronomers who carried out the Hubble Key Project to measure the expansion rate of the universe. Her research now focuses on measuring both the past and present expansion rates of the universe, and on characterizing the nature of dark energy – the mysterious force that causes the universe to accelerate its expansion.

A Correction Note (Audio at 14:10 minutes): While discussing 60-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory, we got the dates mixed up. The telescope was commissioned in 1908; the ‘First Light’ was on December 8, 1908. Astronomer Harlow Shapely used this telescope to make a number of observations about our galaxy the Milky Way. However it was not until 1917-18 that he concluded, based on his observations, that the Sun was not at the centre of our galaxy.

By |November 6th, 2016|Podcasts|
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Multiple Intelligences, Future Minds and Educating The App Generation: A discussion with Dr Howard Gardner

Theory of multiple intelligences suggests that we should not consider human brain as one big computer that is either slow or fast, either good at everything or bad at everything, instead we should consider human brain as a collection of multiple computers, some performing well and some performing not very well. This theory identifies seven distinct intelligences and highlights that learners possess different kinds of intelligences, and minds, and “therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways”. The theory challenges the notion of an educational system that “assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning”. Dr Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligences in 1970s. In this podcast Dr Howard Gardner discusses, in detail, the origin and development of this theory. Dr Gardner discusses different aspects of this theory, defines, for the listeners, different kinds of intelligences, and touches upon the implications of adopting this approach for teaching and learning practices. In his book “Five Minds for the Future” Dr Gardner outlines the kinds of mental abilities and competencies that will be critical to success in 21st century work environment. And in his book “The App Generation” Dr Gardner discusses the expectations and characteristics of 21st century learners. This podcast touches upon all these concepts.

Dr Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr Gardner is also an adjunct professor of Psychology at Harvard University and is a Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero. He is the author of twenty-nine books, translated into thirty-two languages and has published several hundred articles.

I start this podcast by asking Dr Gardner what is intelligence and how should we define intelligence. Dr Gardner divides intelligence into three primary categories, these categories are: ability to create effective products or services; a set of skills to problem-solve; and the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems which involve gathering and developing new knowledge. Dr Gardner discusses these categories of intelligence in detail.

The theory of multiple intelligences outlines a number of intelligences such as musical–rhythmic and harmonic intelligence, visual–spatial intelligence, verbal–linguistic intelligence, logical–mathematical intelligence, bodily–kinaesthetic intelligence, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences, naturalistic and existential intelligences. Dr Gardner defines and discusses in detail, these intelligences.

When Dr Gardner originally presented this theory in 1970s, it was presented as research work in the area of psychology, and this research was mainly for psychologists. However educators expressed substantial interest in this theory. Dr Gardner explains why, in his view, educators were more interested in theory than psychologists?

Like any new research, any new theory, this theory also received its share of criticism. One major criticism of the theory is that it is ad-hoc: “it views and presents concept of intelligence differently and it uses the word intelligence where other researchers have traditionally used words like “ability” and “aptitude””. Dr Gardner expresses his views on these criticisms in detail.

This theory leads to, and suggests, a number of ideas to improve teaching and learning practices in schools. An interesting question that arises at this point is that is there an implementation framework that puts this theory to practice. Dr Gardener answers this question and highlights two concepts, firstly individualisation and secondly pluralisation of education that are relevant to putting this theory to practice. At this point I ask Dr Gardner that is there any research or systematic study that shows the effectiveness of this theory and the usefulness of the practices based on this theory. Is there data, based on experimental studies, available that shows the impact of putting this theory to practice in teaching and learning environments?

At this point in the podcast, we move onto the ideas that Dr Howard Gardner presents and discusses in his book “Five Minds for the Future”.

In his book “Five Minds for the Future” Dr Gardner writes that in our “rapidly changing world new challenges and opportunities will emerge in near future and it is hard to imagine these challenges and opportunities now”. He further suggests that in this rapidly changing world “five minds encapsulating skills, values, attitudes and knowledge are crucial”. According to Dr Gardner these five minds are:

  • The Disciplined Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft.
  • The Synthesizing Mind: the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and to communicate that integration to others.
  • The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions, and phenomena.
  • The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups.
  • The Ethical Mind: fulfilment of one’s responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen.

Dr Gardner discusses the origin of the idea of “ five minds for the future”. I ask Dr Gardner that is the idea of “five minds for the future” a progression and evolution of the theory of multiple intelligences, or is this a different and a new concept?

In the book “The Five Minds for the Future” Dr Gardner highlights that how education might change due to globalization, the digital revolution, lifelong learning, and due to increasing knowledge of the mind, the brain, and human genome. The impact of globalization, digital revolution and lifelong learning on education are being widely studied; I ask Dr Gardner that how would, in his view, better understanding of the mind, the brain and human genome impact teaching and learning practices.

In his recent book “The App Generation” Dr Gardner discusses characteristics and expectations of 21st century learners. This generation of learners uses smart phones, uses ready-to-use apps on mobile devices and is connected almost 24/7. Dr Gardner discusses the impact of digital technologies on this generation of learners. He outlines that, from teaching and learning perspective, and from social and emotional learning point of view, how this generation is different. Dr Gardner explains terms such as “app consciousness” and “app worldview”, and discusses the notion of identity and the capacity, and lack of it, of this generation of learners to connect to others.

I finish this discussion by asking Dr Gardner that is he satisfied with the present state of our educational systems.

Resources

Gardner, H., & Hatch, T. (1989). Multiple Intelligences Go to School: Educational Implications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences Educational Researcher, 18 (8) DOI: 10.2307/1176460

Howard E. Gardner (2000). Intelligence reframed: multiple intelligences for the 21st century Choice Reviews Online, 37 (10), 37-37 DOI: 10.5860/CHOICE.37-5804

Gardner, H. (2008). The Five Minds for the Future Schools: Studies in Education, 5 (1/2), 17-24 DOI: 10.1086/591814

Gardner, H. (2009). The Five Minds for the Future Harvard Business Review Press

Gardner, Howard, and Katie Davis (2013). The app generation: How today’s youth navigate identity, intimacy, and imagination in a digital world Yale University Press

By |July 26th, 2015|Podcasts|
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New Horizons’ Pluto Flyby with Dr Mark Showalter

After traveling three billion miles, over a period of almost ten years, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is on its way to Pluto to perform first ever Pluto flyby. In this podcast Dr Mark Showalter, senior research scientist and principle investigator at the SETI institute, describes in detail the nature of this mission and what to expect in terms of scientific findings. Dr Showalter describes different features of the spacecraft, talks about the instruments on-board, and discusses the challenges involved as the spacecraft approaches Pluto.

Dr Showalter works on some of NASA’s highest profile missions to outer planets. He has been a member of Cassini Mission Science Team for nearly a decade, and is involved in the observations of Jupiter’s rings using New Horizons spacecraft. A frequent user of Hubble Space Telescope, Dr Showalter has to his credit the discovery of Jupiter’s outer most ring, Saturn’s moon PAN, and two moons and two faint rings around the planet Uranus.

Pluto is an interesting and complicated alien world. The Pluto system has four moons that orbit around the central binary system, which consists of Pluto and its large moon Charon; Dr Showalter explains the Pluto system in detail. Dr Showalter discusses the duration of the flyby and how close the spacecraft will come to Pluto and its moons; he then touches upon the following points:

  • What are main observations that the scientists intend to make and what are main expectations that the scientists have in their minds as the New Horizon spacecraft is about to flyby Pluto.
  • The New Horizons spacecraft has the capability to fly beyond the Pluto system. After the Pluto flyby, what is next for the New Horizons spacecraft? Where will the spacecraft go from there?
  • Whatever direction the spacecraft takes after the Pluto flyby, for how long will the spacecraft be able to communicate? How much fuel the spacecraft has and how long will it stay in the communication range? Will this spacecraft follow the footsteps of Voyager-1 and Voyager-2 and will continue travelling beyond the solar system?

As the spacecraft approaches Pluto, Dr Showalter and his colleagues are getting ready to manage a number of crucial aspects of this mission. Dr Showalter discusses his role in this mission. An interesting question that arises at this point is that, as the spacecraft approaches Pluto, if an anomaly is spotted, would the team have enough time to send a command to the spacecraft from such long distance, and would there be enough time to get any such command executed on time to deal with any anomaly.

Dr Showalter talks about the “Our Pluto Campaign” launched by SETI: SETI has invited public to help name features on Pluto. I finish this podcast by asking Dr Showalter about upcoming space missions that are being planned, and about new developments in his area of research.

By |May 20th, 2015|Podcasts|
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