Origin of: Benjamin Button's Head

  How does Benjamin Button (yes, the movie) relate to science? 

The producers of the movie wanted to capture the lifetime of Benjamin Button. However, they also wanted to capture the same essence and character of Benjamin Button, or Brad Pitt, throughout different ages. During the production, the production crew went through a very long process finding a way to make Brad Pitt look old, using technology. They needed to generate a head via computer. To do this, they went through the scientific method, and eventually reached their goal.

First they came up with a few solutions, or, a few hypothesizes, and they tested them. They tried to use the usual pin pointed facial motion detectors to capture Brad Pitt's facial features and expressions. However, their hypothesis wasn't supported. They then had to move onto to a second solution.

The crew eventually landed on a very new technology that uses motion detecting cosmetics, which gave them extraordinary detail of the face and its expressions. This time, they realized this hypothesis might be support in the end and help them in producing the movie. They went further in this hypothesis, performing the "procedure" part of the scientific method. They kept a large database of all of Brad Pitt's expressions, using them to create the older version of him. Eventually succeeding to create a computer generated head of the 70-80 year old Benjamin Button. 

MISSION: YELLOW SUBMARINE

Today was SMASH DAY, the day in science class where we have more fun than usual and perform tasks related to science. In today's mission, we were to create a periscope-like device that would allow us to see inside a castle on land from a submarine under water. (That is, to see inside a cardboard box on a table from underneath the table). We were given 10 sheets of scrap paper, a piece of cardboard, four tiny mirrors, and tape. 

Our group came up with only one plan and stuck to it. We started to put together our periscope, which took more time than we expected. We didn't have time to try the device out. It was only during the "spy time" that we realized how difficult it was to use our periscope. The structure of our periscope wasn't strong enough, and so the device "bent" easily, making the slightest change in the angles of our mirrors which would mean failure. Soon after discovering this, we made a sudden change of plans, and completely changed our design. The communication that we had to decide this modification was rather simple. "CHANGE OF PLANSSS!!!", and we squished our entire paper device into a long rod, attempting to simply look inside from only one mirror that was at the very end of our periscope. It was a really funny scene actually. We really should've planned more carefully at the beginning of the mission, and try to think of different alternatives. 

I do have a few tips and suggestions for those who would like to try this out. Firstly, YOU MUST TRY YOUR PERISCOPE OUT BEFORE YOUR ACTUAL MISSION (especially if you are making it out of unstable material like paper). Secondly, you must remember that sometimes the best solution is the simplest one. It is also very important to keep ideas coming in as you perform the task.

Energy Bar Project: FIRST TRIAL!!!!

It was our first time making and experimenting with our energy bar (energy balls) on Tuesday, November 11th. We were pretty successful with the making of the energy balls, and they tasted a lot better than we expected. We were able to observe the energy balls and decide on a lot of changes we could make.

We realized that they would look better with crushed almonds(very healthy) on the outside, and would taste even better with crispier granola filling. We were able to settle the procedure and steps of making the energy balls. 

Many things were made better and refined after our first experiment. However, it feels like we are still unsure about the effects of the "energy" from the energy bar. It was rather hard to try and observe whether or not we felt more energized after eating only one ball. Even though the research tells us the ingredients help, we have not yet proved that OUR energy balls actually had those effects.

NOVA and thoughts afterwards

In physics class today we watched a movie called Nova. This movie introduces the scientific theories and concepts we humans have came up with on how the universe works. The movie introduces the concepts of newton, einstein, maxwell... etc... concepts of electromagnetism and gravity, the strong and weak nuclear force and how these all connect and work with one another. Basically, the film challenges a mind to imagine and understand science that is based on theory and idea.

Thinking about the concepts in the movie and trying to figure out which of these concepts I believed and didn't made me realize that I am a really scientifically based person. I love to imagine different ideas and concepts, but yet most of the time I choose not to believe them because of the lack of solid support that I can understand with my mathematic abilities. I feel like I can connect to other things about myself too. I am not religious, but the beauty of religion interests me. 

I realized that this is probably why I like science, there are so many possibilities and so many different ways to look at the world. However, I never choose a side. To me, choosing sides seem to limit so many ideas and thoughts... After watching this movie, I find myself an observer who appreciates, but not a believer who puts themselves as part of a concept.

Reflection for Physics Project

In class, we were given a ramp and a weighted cardboard box. We were told to study the action and the forces acting on the box as it slides down the ramp, especially the force of friction and the coefficients. It was fun and frustrating at the same time to try and figure out what we needed to know on our own for this project. Our group worked together nicely. I was always the one who refused to calculate anything for my dislike of math, and Gene was always more than willing to do so. It was nice having a group who were all willing to work hard and keep trying even if we had no idea what the heck we were facing.

The concepts and the forces were really fascinating, so fascinating that we eventually forgot that the whole point of the assignment was COEFFICIENTS OF FRICTION. That was a bummer 'cause it seemed to have cost us a lot of points. However, I believe we all enjoyed the assignment, even if it was filled with frustration and confusion from time to time. It paid off because now as I type sitting at my desk, I imagine gravity suddenly disappearing for an unknown reason and every single piece of junk falling and crashing, breaking through the wooden desk and onto the ground. Sound fun and exciting enough?

I liked how the assignment was organized so that we could work independently, but it still has a negative effect. This was not a major problem for our group but some groups didn't seem to be able to get the attention and help from the teacher all the time when they needed it. I think I learned alot because I could keep going on at my own pace this time. There's not much to ask for on my side, maybe just multiple Mr Loken's. :D

Dinnertime with Dad

In our house, our family often engages into a very interesting topic at meal times. My dad and I share an interest that my mom doesn't seem to ever understand. We love physics. My dad would talk about some physics concepts, and answer my never ending questions. 

Every time I learn something new, I spend the rest of the week dazed just thinking about the movements happening around me. It's not just random colors I see anymore, what I see are light rays coming from the sun and bouncing into my eyes. Every now and then when I see a sunset, I can see way deeper than just beautiful colors.