Author Archives: Ron Miksha

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About Ron Miksha

Ron Miksha is a bee ecologist working at the University of Calgary. He is also a geophysicist and does a bit of science writing and blogging. Ron has worked as a radio broadcaster, a beekeeper, and Earth scientist. (Ask him about seismic waves.) He's based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Greatest Science Quotes

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Do you mentally collect and muse over science quotes? Some reasonably good web sites have already done this, but so far none of those sites has my all-time favourite. It’s obscure. It was spoken by a geophysicist fifty years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in History, How Geophysics Works, Philosophy, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How the Earth’s Mystery Mineral Got Its Name

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Ron Miksha

We seldom get to see a sample of the Earth’s most common mineral. It resides within the mantle at extreme heat and pressure not found on the surface. We think that the mineral resides within the mantle – we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Geology, People, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Banana Peel Tectonics

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The 24th annual Harvard Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded to courageous trail-blazing scientists who pushed the limits of curiosity and credulity during the past year. Among the winners of the 2014 prestigious momento were a Canadian who won the Neuroscience … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, How Geophysics Works, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Okotoks, The Big Rock

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Ron Miksha

A shattered rock as large as a 3-storey house sits in an alfalfa field on the flat Alberta prairie. It is about 30 minutes from my home in Calgary and the rock is more than a little startling, resting out … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Colour Blind Geologist

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Ron Miksha

I grew up on a truck-garden farm where children were paid to pick strawberries and tomatoes. I couldn’t tell red from green; I was forever poor. My siblings – especially my younger sisters – would pick three baskets for each … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Tuzo

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Ron Miksha

“Tuzo’s dead.” That was the first time I’d ever heard of Tuzo. It was April 1993 and I wondered who – or what – Tuzo was. Now he was dead. I had already completed my University of Saskatchewan geophysics degree … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, How Geophysics Works, Plate Tectonics, Science Education | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Canada’s Deceptive Arm

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Well, this is embarrassing. A friend in the States sent me a link to a Washington Post story. Along with the link, he sent a short note: “So much for your Canada Arm.” You see, I had bragged about Canada’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Exploration, Space | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Theory of Everything

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The marriage of Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde – as told through the ex-wife’s memoir – has become the stuff of a Hollywood tragic-romance. I have not read her memoir but have read excerpts and reviews of it. The Jane … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, History, People, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Audacity of Exploration

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Originally posted on Write Science:
by Shane L. Larson We are perhaps the most audacious species to ever inhabit the Earth. Our audacity is not defined by our weird physical features (as perhaps defines our cousin the duck-billed platypus), nor…

Posted in Culture, Engineering, Exploration, Reblogs | Tagged , | Leave a comment

We Love Comets… but it wasn’t always that way

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Ron Miksha

So, today we kissed a comet. Many of us shared the excitement of the European Space Agency’s successful landing. Something built on the Earth is now sitting on a comet, traveling at 135,000 kilometres an hour, heading towards an even … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Engineering, Exploration, History, Religion, Science Education, Space | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments