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THE THOUGHT TOOLS TIMPANI NEWSLETTER . FALL 2020


Good News
People Making a Difference

Retirees build three-wheeled carts to provide mobility to people around the world who are unable to walk and don't otherwise have a dignified way to get around.    
Germany supports jobs and sustainability in Senegal via a job training program for repairing solar photovoltaic collectors.
https://www.afrik21.africa/en/senegal-giz-and-gfa-train-40-young-people-to-troubleshoot-solar-pv-installations/

Information that restores hope.  Started by artist David Byrne. Reasons To Be Cheerful, supported by the Arbutus Foundation, online.
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/

Egypt uses wastewater to grow trees in the desert.
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/greening-the-desert-with-wastewater/

South Africa brings a new solar power plant on line.
https://www.afrik21.africa/afrique-du-sud-la-centrale-solaire-pv-de-bokamoso-68-mwc-entre-en-service/

Will green hydrogen yield a clean way to store, transport and use energy produced by renewable energy sources? The Green Hydrogen Coalition and Janice Lin are thinking big. See their free webinars, white papers and news.


The UN passed a ban on nuclear weapons.
https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/2020/CN.403.2020-Eng.pdf

Chuck Feehey demonstrates the value of personal frugality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Feeney
 
 
 
 
 
Complex Topics
Made Accessible
 

Neuroscience for Everyone
You Can Experiment Too

Backyard Brains:  Neuroscience for Everyone. Online resources for coming up with experiments you can do on your own or in a classroom.  Sign up for a free newsletter. 
Targeting 5th grade and up.
https://backyardbrains.com/
 
 
Technological Solutions to World Problems
One-Man Videos 

Just Have A Think is a free and growing video series that "seeks to understand the issues that face our civilization in the 21st Century and focuses on the potential solutions that will save as many lives as possible and hopefully bring about a greater level of equality in the world.  Created by Dave Borlace, BSc Hons. degree in Technology from the Open University in the UK, who works full time as a Project Manager in London and spends 20 to 30 hours a week researching and producing these videos."  These videos are probably best suited to technically minded high school students and grown-ups.   
https://www.youtube.com/c/JustHaveaThink/about
 

The Habit of Systematic Critical Thinking
An Online Debate Platform 
 
"Kialo is a public discussion platform designed to facilitate reasoned debates about complex topics online. Since we first launched in the fall of 2017, we’ve grown into a community with thousands of debates and millions of contributions."  The site offers access for direct use, as well as a portal for educators, and is international in scope.  A tool for teaching critical thinking.
https://www.kialo-edu.com/about
 
 
 


Inclusive Science
We may be moving toward a time when science will be open to all who wish to pursue it.
  

Race

Dr. Onyema Agbuagu, of the Yale School of Medicine, is working on a Covid-19 vaccine.  
- Newsweek, 9/15/2020  
https://www.newsweek.com/im-working-covid19-vaccine-1530610?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1600165750  https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/onyema_ogbuagu/

Gender

Astrophysicist Joan Feynman died July 22, 2020 at the age of 93.  As we look back on her life, we see what a woman of her generation was subjected to if she wanted to pursue a career in science.  Her son leaves us a biographical sketch.
- Popular Science, 4/18/2002
https://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2002-04/my-mother-scientist/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Feynman
 
Age

In Koppelman’s view, children are born with all the traits of a good scientist:  They are curious, eager to investigate their surroundings, and happy to experiment.
Can we help children build on their inborn talent?  
- The Atlantic Monthly, 9/2020 
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/09/what-makes-blissfield-elementarys-science-lab-unique/616285/
 
 
 
 
 
 

  An Essay Competition  


You are invited to participate
 in the
 
Deadline December 1, 2020.  Maximum length:  500 words.
Submit your essay to Thought.Tools.Timpani@gmail.com.
All ages and skill levels welcome.
$100 award for the winner.
 






A Superb & Challenging
Book

 
Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do
 
by  Jennifer L. Eberhardt
 
2020
 
A Stanford University professor of psychology writes of her research methods and findings, and the direct experiences of her family.  For years she has trained police officers to conquer unconscious racial bias using methods she developed through her studies at Harvard and Stanford.  
 





Movies

 
The Valet  (2007)
A thoroughly lighthearted french comedy.
Available through Amazon Prime Video.
 

Trickle Down Town  (2019)
A documentary about homelessness in Seattle.   


Ben Is Back (2018)
A brutal family drama about teenage drug addiction and poor maternal judgement.   
Information about the relationship between Peter Hedges' life and the movie's plot:
Directed and written by Peter Hedges.
Ben is played by the director's son, Lukas Hedges.
Julia Roberts plays the mother.
Available through Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.  
 
 
 
 
 
 




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