The difficult road of women in the field of science

Since long ago women   have made considerable contributions to the scientific development of the mankind, but these contributions have been almost invisible because of the chauvinist culture that have remain. Society considers women inferior to men in the intellectual aspect and for this reason women have always been subordinated to those “superior beings”, men, because even nowadays women are denominated as the “weaker sex”. Women are important in traditional roles as: procreation, child care and upbringing and domestic roles that belong to the private world of the family.  This culture remains in the individual and social conscience until today. There is a clearly gender bias. Therefore, according to the male conceptions, women haven’t been capable of making contributions to the field of science.

The feminist social movements begin slowly to generate more space for women in different áreas, , exercising the right to have access to the knowledge of the reality, of the world, therefore Access to science, which is conceived as a way to study and explain the phenomena of reality rigorously: the scientific procedure. Still, the role of the woman in the scientific contribution has been generally “forgotten”, an example of this sexism is the fact that there is the impression that all big contributions and discoveries are exclusively male, leaving behind all those women scientists who have been outstanding, but most of them have remain in anonymity. This may explain the lack of women in this area.

Is this fair? Are women less talented with respect to science or just society hasn’t let them “shine” in this aspect?

But even when male dominancy has been present, some women have been able of became famous and have the same credit for their work than any man scientist.

In the next video you can see the most famous ones.

A new kind of specie?

I was reading Frankenstein and then it made me think about what a great visionary Mary Shelley was.She challenged the limits of imagination and put a spotlight on the moral, ethical and religious implications of science, when she decided to put a pen to paper and create a new human being, using the power of electricity and the parts of the body of a dead man to finally bring a lifeless entity to life. No one could imagine in the 18th century that Shelley’s ideas would continue to resound within our present age.

Nowadays scientists are the new Dr.Frankensteins of our century. The ideas of an accelerated increment of efficient in medicine, industries, companies and any other field that can produce and facilitate our existence, besides the attempts to create life, are issues that we can see clearly represented in the creation of robots. Initially they were used for repetitive functions, then industries realized that using robots saved more money than using people to work in certain tasks,and from that moment on with technological advances, a big industry started to develop  and more complex and sophisticated kind of robots were created. Nowadays there are many types with different functions; military robots, mining robots, nanorobots, telerobots, space robots, even robotic prostheses, etc and everyday scientists are trying to perfectionate humanoid robots to look like us and to imitate our behavior.

On the other hand, as this technology is making a breakthrough, ethical and moral issues are taking a prominent role and making us reflect on the role of science in technology, evolution and human progress. We can’t deny that robots can make our life easier, but which are going to be the limits of science and technology? are they trying to create a super man? Is there going to be a robotic war?  Are we going to use robotic organs to be stronger, smarter and richer?  is this the new social gap between poor people and rich ones? Are they going to be a new kind of species in our planet? What  do you think?

How far have robots come?

    What images go to your mind when you think about robots? Some people view robots as friendly - as nice partners or helpmates. Others view them as a threat - machines with superior intelligence and abilities, maybe one day replacing humankind (like the movies always show). Still, to many others, robots are more the fare of science fiction than of real life. Today's world is full with robots; in fact, there are almost one million industrial robots in service worldwide, and of these almost half exist in Asia (Japan, China, Korea). So, I wonder myself, why is there such demand?

    Imagine a worker who is always on the job, who never complains, and who can work hard 24 hours a day, all days of the week. Well, industrial robots are taking the role of  a host of automative, electrical, and household items. Robots live up their name, which comes from the Czech word robota, meaning "forced labor."  Unlike humans, robots are more efficient, because they are programmed to execute a specific action. Yes, robots are doing what the man is not doing!

    Now, robots are more equipped with such things as voice-recognition software, gyroscopes, wireless data communication, and a range of sensors including those for heat, force, ultrasound, chemicals, radiation, etc. More powerful and versatile than ever, robots are performing tasks that were viewed as imposible in the past.

    Nevertheless, are robots capable of making us happy, or making our lives easier?  In time, technology has been developed and how far robots progress remains to be seen. But, is the human able to create a humanoid? We already saw what science and technology have done to create artefacts that work their way into our lives... Is it really possible to create a robot resembling a human, imitating man's characteristics, feelings, and behaviours? How far have technology and science come? Is there any limits for them?

Here are some few examples of robots:

-->   A pharmacy robot with mechanical arms retrieves and dispenses medication within seconds in a hospital in UK.






--> Elderly patients in Japan take  turns stroking a cute, furry  robotic baby seal. It is use as a  therapy and companionship.

--> A robot with three arms stands over a patient.







--> Just press a button, and a disk-shaped robot goes to work  vacuuming your floors.






 

The technological world

If you ask me what does technology mean to me? I would say: “I do not care, take a look to my cell phone”. Ok, that is a pretty childish attitude, but we should take a deep look into this field. It is incredible how crucial is technology in our daily life nowadays. It is not just about if you are keen on tech or not, because it is something that has reached into every circle of our lives, so you just have to adapt to it. When we talk about the technology we immediately think of electricity, science, atoms in a lab etc. But the truth is that technology is more than that.

According to the Oxford dictionary technology is: the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry, so as you can see technology can be any gadget such as a knife, brush teeth, soap, laptop, etc.

The other day I was watching a TV program in which they show how things were made, and it was shown the plumbing, how life was before the plumbing system were created. Honestly, it was a great thing! So, plumbing is not that important for you, because now you have it, but can you think if it were not like that? Because there are a lot of devices and new technologies that now we have, and we just take them for granted, so it is quite important to see how things have developed during the history.

What do you think? What is your favorite gadget? Can you imagine how would be life without it? Have you ever thought about it?.

How do I look??

Thanks to mass media and science progress, every day we are becoming more acquaintance with how plastic surgery has become an alternative to make people feel happier with their bodies.

We are living in a time in which is common to hear that a celebrity have had a nose job, a liposuction done, or the breasts enlarged in the case of women. They go through these surgeries in order to fit into the celebrity world: runways, movies, magazines, etc. Whatever the reason might be, they have become fashion icons, and plastic surgery with cosmetic purposes has become trendy.

Now, imagine a situation in real life: a girl doesn’t realized that her lips are too thin until she has her nose fixed, then she realizes about some other “defect”, and here is where the vicious cycle starts. As you might notice, there is a narrow boundary between what can be normal and what can detonate the dependence to these procedures.

But, what is about plastic surgery that some people happen to be addicted to it?  Well, let us think! It gives people the opportunity to change almost any part of their body that is not pleasant for them; it is faster than doing exercise, letting alone the fact that there are some features that can’t be changed with any exercise or sport; and it completely can change a person’s life. Yet, can plastic surgery cannot change people’s feelings, manners, or personalities. Until what extent looking great has turned to be more important than being a great person from the inside out?

You should watch this video on how a celebrity has changed her face with plastic surgery

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhmFayIPLa4

The telephone and its moment of glory

Do you remember how exciting it was when the telephone was ringing at your house? And even more breathtaking when the call was for you? Nowadays, we can’t say the same. The disenchantment that people are feeling with Bell’s invention is clearer through the years.

In our country, the telephone massified in the 20’s; nevertheless, it was a luxury which belonged only to wealthy people. Since those years until 2002, this device reached to the top of its glory with more than 3.5 million of handsets, but from there to now, it has had a very significant downtrend. 

The main reason of the disappearing of this great invent resides in the innovation of communication and technology. The Internet, the cell phones, and the social networks have led that the telephone becomes in a useless and an old-world service. The comfort, the privacy, and the connection that cell phones give us is irreplaceable; the same as the internet together with the social network which allows us to communicate and to talk watching each other, almost instantly,  around the world. 

Even though we can observe how the telephone has become in an obsolete device, it also possess some qualities that delay their demise. For example, as thelephones don’t need electricity to work, in Chile's last earthquake, a big part of them continued working, unlike the cell phones or Internet. It also works for people who live in the countryside where the telephone service is the only way to bring them internet or  to mantain them communicated.  

So, do you think that it’s time to send the telephone to the museum? Or do we have to give it another opportunity in this more and more technological world? Think about it.

Numbers, numbers everywhere

Whenever I think of the word science, I imagine scientists wearing a white lab coat. However, science is more than that; science if everything that is around us, it is knowledge in an organized and structured way so we can understand how things work. And if we take a deep look into the concept of science, we may discover different other disciplines that we never thought they were classified as science. For example MATHS. I've never liked maths, but there are a lot of things that are fascinating: how numbers can give us exact answers to certain questions.

In this sense, the Fibonacci Number, which I find amazingly interesting and almost magical, is a sequence of numbers resulting of the addition of the previous number. Let me put this in a clearer way:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89...........

1+0 = 1              3+2 = 5

1+1 = 2              5+3 = 8

2+1 = 3              8+5 = 13..............

Got it?

Why do I find this so fascinating? mainly because this sequence is EVERYWHERE. It is in nature; in the arrangement of leaves in a stem, pine cones, flowers, even in the reproduction of bees! Let’s look at this sea shell: its shape and size is perfectly proportional to the numerical Fibonacci sequence, in which the numbers 1 - 1-2-3 are part of the base of the sea shell, and the bigger numbers 5-8-13 are part of the largest part of it.

In addition, the sequence can be found in music and paintings. It is fascinating because scientists keep searching for more clues in which we could find the Fibonacci number presence. Maths and nature never stop surprising us!

 

I invite you to listen to Tool - Lateralus, enjoy the music, and count the syllabes of the lyrics, which are in perfect coordination with the first 5 numbers of the sequence.

So, if numbers can explain perfection in nature, can  they explain our purpose on Earth, or were we come from?

Effects of negative thoughts on our minds

Have you ever figured out the real effects of thoughts on our minds ?  Can actually thoughts be harmful to you? Can they have a real impact on your daily life?
Every single action you make, every single thing you see causes a powerful thought, either positive or negative. Thoughts are not temporal, once you  think, your thought get stuck in your mind. They are kept in your brain and  grow like a root, connecting one thought with another, going deeper and deeper inside your brain.
Negative thoughts work like this too; they create close bonds with one another, the more negative  you think,  the more  roots  grow up  inside your brain. Those virulent thoughts you produce, cause changes to your way of being and behaviour. You might easily  start feeling blue or depressed because of this. Because, when  negative thoughts invade our brain, we tend  to dwell on our bad experiences and traumatic events that happened in our past. It turns your life such a torture and  you might expect a hopeless future in every single goal you set. Moreover, it can cause a high impact on your relationships with people in general, and with your self -confidence.
Anyway, the choice is yours, think positively, clean up your thoughts, switch your brain and live happy. Do not let your toxic thoughts invade your brain and take part of your life; and,  of course, once you notice you are thinking negatively, get rid of it, remember that you are the only one who has the power to control your mind set !!!

http://drleaf.com/blog/general/your-thoughts-your-future

DVD players are too mainstream

 Not only the DVD player has demonstrated being a very useful device for your home, but also it has meant something bad for some people. Why? Well, I can list a couple of reasons why it is a good thing first. The first one is because having a DVD player in your house means you not going to the cinema every time a movie you want to watch is on the program. You just buy a movie and play it at home. That delivers us to my second reason, which is the opportunity to spend a nice time watching Into the Wild or The Raven(yes, I like those) with relatives or just someone you know; In other words, it brings cheap and comfort, qualities that are required for almost everything you buy nowadays.

But, going to the “bad” things a DVD player brings, the piracy factor comes up. If you meant having an evening with people you had around for dinner when you bought a DVD, that’s fine, but in order to make it cheaper than going to the cinema, you’ve got to buy a cheap DVD; that is, a copy of the original disc: piracy. Piracy is considered a crime because artists make not the expected profit and their work does not receive its “deserved” income, and even without mentioning that some copies have been recorded roughly with a video camera, which lowers considerably the quality of the video. So, think twice when of DVD’s is about.

DVD: IS IT STILL THE Nº1?

I’ve always been fond of music. Actually, music has been part of my life since I was very young, when my family enrolled me at an Academy of Music  -I had been expected to be a real artist - but I was a complete failure, I must confess, because I didn’t have the talent to play any instrument. Since then, the biggest catastrophe of my family, I got familiar with the strange and complicated world of music.

Although I wasn’t able to play any Instrument, I really learnt how to appreciate music in itself: the time which takes to create, prepare and present a piece of music; in other words, the process ok making music. I believe this must be the reason why I developed an obsession for watching musicals – an obsession that still persists, encouraging me to look for any way to look at them in the best way as possible!

Considering all the trending formats of watching musicals, or any kind of thing which could be observed on T.V – movies, series, games, etc. -- I do prefer the D.V.D. Even though my experience may be reduced to the basic one, the VHS, and some notions of how the BLUE RAY looks like, I don´t need much more, really.

Today, I only see benefits if I think of D.V.Ds: They are small, easy to manage, affordable, and provide high-resolution. They are not the trendiest format of today’s technology, but they can still provide the quality required to enjoy something on T.V; at least, the quality required for me, without much exaggeration. Do you agree with me?