Overpopulation: The Making of a Myth

This new educational series of animated videos from PRI shows that "overpopulation is a myth," while brilliantly skewering the population control movement and its constant predictions of doom. Highly recommended for ages 12 or so and up.

Fully documented at Episode 1: Overpopulation: The Making of a Myth

The Biology of Prenatal Development: Must Viewing

National Geographic is offering a new DVD: The Biology of Prenatal Development. Dave Andrusko reviewed it yesterday in his "News and Views" column for NRLC, here.

The video, produced by The Endowment for Human Development, combines imagery of the unborn child within the womb using multiple imaging technologies with information from the medical literature. You can read Dave's review of it at the above link. It sounds like an excellent resource for introducing and studying prenatal development. I plan to order one for use in high school.

Point to ponder ...

"The fatal flaw in our developed societies and their idolatry of science—because that's what it is, a form of idolatry and avarice for power—is that their idea of man is too vain and too despairing, too big and too small at the same time. We're less than gods but more than smart monkeys. And the glory God intends for each of us can only be found one way, through one Man." - Archbishop Charles Chaput, Using and Being Used

Cross-posted from Unity of Truth

Physics for High School

I've been researching physics resources for high school, asking friends what they use, and checking Internet sources. Yes, it's a little early yet, but I really like physics!

Here are a couple of intriguing possibilities:
Physics in Your Life from the Teaching Company, taught by Professor Richard Wolfson

This has rave reviews ... and it sounds a lot more comprehensive than the title implies. Plus, like all other Teaching Company products, it's guaranteed to satisfy. This title is currently on sale for $100 (regularly $375).

Conceptual Physics from Kinetic Books

This is an "interactive textbook" on CD ROM. The concept seems somewhat similar to that of Teaching Textbooks, but most of the offerings are for high-school to freshman college-level physics. I found a demo on their site. Pretty cool! It seems to have a good balance between written text and activities, and also supports a variety of learning styles. Seems pretty affordable, too, at $30 for a CD that can be used for more than one student. You can add the printed textbook for another $15.

They also offer a "Virtual Lab" CD that allows the student to vary input parameters and watch the results. I wonder whether they randomized it a bit to produce realistic results. If you've done any real life lab work, you know how suspicious exact results are!

Couple of reviews online: at NSTA, and at the Homeschool Magazine

Green Comet Approaches Earth

Comet Lulin is now approaching earth. This beautiful comet is unusual in a couple of different respects. For one thing, its color is greenish due to the cyanogen (CN) and diatomic carbon (C₂) it contains. And for another, it is approaching the sun "backwards" and is expected to leave the solar system once it swings around the sun. The comet has never yet been close to the sun, so that it retains many of its original gases.

There's also a neat story behind its discovery by a Chinese teen. See here for more.

Cross-posted with Unity of Truth.

Google Goes to Mars

Electroblogster posted recently at Unity of Truth about additions to Google Earth, and now there's also Google Mars. Fun and educational, the images are composites made from NASA data. The tool works similarly to the more familiar Google Earth, with three available views: Elevation (shaded relief), Visible, and Infrared.

Links at the top enable navigation to different regions or types of formations; you can also view landing sites for the spacecraft that have surveyed Mars -- or crashed in the attempt. Finally, a "stories" link brings up a list of locations with associated articles at the joint NASA/JPL/ASU THEMIS website. The picture above is a thumbnail of one of the posters available for download at the THEMIS site.

Cross-posted with Unity of Truth.