The 26th episode of Consilience is out! You can download the mp3 here (28.7mb) and the file’s page on Archive.org is here.
Teaching Angela to appreciate History
A. sediba
September 5th, 973, was the birthday of the great Iranian Muslim polymath Abu al-Biruni. His extensive knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, physical and natural sciences, as well as geography, history, chronology and linguistics earned him the honor of being considered one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era.
News
Possible fossil evidence of Australopithecine soft tissue has been found in the Malapa fossil beds near Sterkfontein, South Africa.
The oldest advanced stone tools have been found in Kenya.
A binary pair of supermassive black holes has been found in the galaxy NGC3393. This is the closest known binary SMBH and remarkable for how neat and stable the galaxy is (unlike the chaotic NGC6240).
Interview
A Rousseau in its natural habitat
This week we interview Jacques Rousseau, the founder and chairman of the Free Society Institute, columnist for the Daily Maverick, googleganger of some long-dead French guy, and a lecturer at the University of Cape Town.
Quote
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” Han Solo, Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Announcements
Cape Town : A sceptically sceptical event for sceptics is taking place on 9 September, at 18:30, at A Touch of Madness, 12 Nuttall Rd, Cape Town.
Pretoria: Skeptics in the Pub: 17th September 12:30 – 17:00 – Venue to be advised.
Durban: Skeptics in the Pub: 15th September 19:00 – Pizzetta, Davenport Rd, Durban.
http://www.archive.org/download/ConsilienceEpisode26/Consilience26.mp3
Consilience: An African Science Podcast 