Category Archives: Culture

Ethical De-extinction

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Ron Miksha

A South Korean biotech firm pulled blood from a frozen female Siberian wooly mammoth. Found on an arctic island in the East Siberian Sea, the creature is the best preserved mammoth ever discovered. When she was dug out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2014 as we saw it…

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The Earth and all her sciences were a big deal in 2014. Although this blog – the Mountain Mystery Blog – started in May 2014, it still caught some of the best stories of the year. In chronological order, here … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ghosts of Christmas Cold

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

What would a modern Christmas be without Charles Dickens? For a lot of Canadians, Americans, and Brits, Dickens’ Christmas Carol is nearly the apex of Christmas culture: the story of a greedy bitter miserly capitalist whose nightmares awaken the spirit … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Catastrophic Floods

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Ron Miksha

An interesting blog posting, Catastrophic History, produced on the website The Not So Solid Earth, makes the point that much of future archeology will be marine archeology. During the last ice age, a lot of sea water was captured in … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, History, Oceans, The Book | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fat Cops; Skinny Scientists

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Ron Miksha

What makes cops fat and scientists skinny? Before I go any further, let me say that I am quoting an American Journal of Preventive Medicine study and the statement reflects an average. There are outliers. I know a few overweight … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science Education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Wonderful Life

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Are you ready? Just 7 more shopping days until December 25th – Newton’s birthday.* People celebrate Sir Isaac Newton’s birthdate in interesting ways. In this part of the world, there are a lot of coloured lights, decorated trees, and shiny … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Culture, Geology | 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

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