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So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction...

Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tasty morsels from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true!

Science Page August 2010

Rant!

Let me, if I may, take you on a strange journey. A journey I never thought I’d see happening in Australia and in my lifetime. If you haven’t already heard about the news that one in three Australians thought dinosaurs and men co-existed at the same time, I’d recommend reading this article before going on any further into my rant.

Australia seems to be under the impression that we are among the best educated countries in the world. However, there are people whose only contact with science come from watching television – and not from watching television documentaries (or the Mythbusters), but television shows aimed to entertain and not educate. Let me give you a few examples.

There is not a forensic laboratory on the planet that can do DNA-testing in under twenty-four hours. And the smaller the original sample, the longer the testing will take.

There is no such thing as an instantaneous, painless poison. In thrilling spy movies, all those secret agents biting down on a poison capsule and passing away artistically two seconds later is just that – artistic licence. Poisoning is a painful, messy and lingering way to die, even with the most toxic poisons.

Most cars do not explode on impact. In fact, most car manufacturers spend millions on research to make cars as safe as possible. I could be cynical and point out there is no profit to be made from dead people. Cynicism aside, the reality is that more and more people are choosing cars for their safety features.

So, why is there this intellectual vacuum where science is concerned?

A good basic education is the key. Do you know what actually goes into your state school teaching curriculum? Here is another interesting article, enlightening about the practice of letting people – not teachers or trained educators – having the opportunity to mess with our children’s education. Apart of the obvious confusion that might arise from mixing religion with science, and apart from asking yourself why anyone even feels the need to justify their faith scientifically, why isn’t the Education Department vetting this part of the educational curriculum?

There is an expectation that children are provided with the very best in education in Australia. This is not true. There are ‘fashions’ in curriculum, created by whatever agendas are currently popular in the media and the government, rather than what is actually the best for our children.

So, how do we stop this trend?

It would be easy to say ‘turn off the television’, but that is unrealistic, and wouldn’t solve the problem. If you have children, keep an eye on what they are being taught. Talk with their teachers. If needs be, your child doesn’t have to attend religious instruction if he or she attends a state school. We don’t want the state interfering with our religious institutions, nor do we want religion to interfere with state-run institutions.

Watch television and movies with the understanding that you are choosing to be entertained, not educated. If you do want an intellectual challenge, watch documentaries from respected scientists. Or Mythbusters. Question the science displayed in fictional shows, even shows that appear to be realistic.

Oh. And read. Investigate. Observe.

Encourage everyone (not just children) to do the same.

Education is an activity; very little knowledge is retained by trying to learn by passive osmosis.

*The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Lumsden Green

So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science?

Lynne Lumsden Green lives on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, and attends the University of the Sunshine Coast. Ever the perpetual student, she is adding a B.A. in Creative Writing to her B.SC. in Zoology (Jennifer Fallon is her role model). As one of the founding members of Scriber Space, the site for USC creative writers, she hopes to create a writing community as lively and as close as the Voyager writing community. She spends her non-study hours volunteering for writing-related events, writing, reading, and – oh yes – looking after her family. She is still passionately interested in anything and everything, and enjoys the opportunity to share this passion via the Science Page. Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman, and all the Voyager authors are her favourite people on the planet...and one of her goals is to meet all of those authors, well, at least those authors still in the land of the living. Recently, her own writing efforts have been meeting with better success. She is putting this down to her excellent lecturers and persistence, and to the fact that you can eat chocolate while typing.

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Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds!