THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“I find many adults are put off when young children pose scientific questions. Why is the Moon round? the children ask. Why is grass green? What is a dream? How deep can you dig a hole? When is the world’s birthday? Why do we have toes? Too many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move on to something else: ‘What did you expect the Moon to be, square?’ Children soon recognize that somehow this kind of question annoys the grown-ups. A few more experiences like it, and another child has been lost to science. Why adults should pretend to omniscience before 6-year-olds, I can’t for the life of me understand. What’s wrong with admitting that we don’t know something? Is our self-esteem so fragile?”

— Carl Sagan

BIRTHDAYS:

1664 Johann Speth, German composer and organist, born in Speinshart, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire. Toccata in F

1697 Claudio Casciolini, Italian composer, born in Rome, Papal States. Agnus Dei

1801 Gail Borden, American inventor, surveyor, and publisher.

1814 Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born American film actress and inventor recognized for her roles in Hollywood productions of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as her pioneering work in electronic communications technology.

1934 Carl Sagan, American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, and author renowned for advancing exobiology and popularizing scientific inquiry through works like the television series Cosmos and books including The Dragons of Eden, which earned a Pulitzer Prize.

MISCELLANEOUS:

FAIR QUESTION. TRILLION $ Opportunity : Will TESLA Get More AI in Space Profits than SPACEX?

IN THE FUTURE, BEFORE LOCKING THINGS DOWN AGAIN (INCLUDING FREE SPEECH AND THE FREEDOM TO ASSEMBLE), THE AUTHORITIES MIGHT WANT TO THEMSELVES WITH THE FOLLOWING:

Nuremberg Code

Disease Mitigation Measures in the Control of Pandemic Influenza

Great Barrington declaration