Six STEM Tweets

Six tweets that celebrate engineering and all things STEM.

I scroll so you don’t have to.

There’s a really good mix today - math, engineering, art and space flight (IMO, the pinnacle of human achievement).

#1

On today’s date in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to “slip the surly bonds of earth” [see note below]

Yuri Gagarin’s wikipedia page says:

Fearful that a high-level national hero might be killed, Soviet officials banned Gagarin from participating in further spaceflights.

("Slipped the surly bonds of earth" is a line from the poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee. The 19-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force pilot wrote the poem in 1941 and was killed in action on December 11, 1941. The poem is in the public domain.

#2

Euler’s identity in the wild!

Per the Wikipedia page on this identity,

Stanford University mathematics professor Keith Devlin has said, "like a Shakespearean sonnet that captures the very essence of love, or a painting that brings out the beauty of the human form that is far more than just skin deep, Euler's equation reaches down into the very depths of existence"

#3

This is pretty fascinating.

I have a few thoughts about this - is it mostly due to better manufacturing techniques that allows more calibration? Or do we perceive more colors now than our ancestors?

#4

The houses are also slightly smaller than advertised

(this is my attempt at a joke about whether 1K means 1024 or 1000)

#5

I love to learn how small tweaks have an outsized impact on society

Making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists through some street art is a win-win - better looking streets and safer too!

#6

This belongs here because a lot of engineering feels like Sisyphus who was cursed to do the same fruitless task every single day 🙂 

The previous issue had a post about Grace Hopper and her impact on computing.

A really helpful reader sent me a link to her appearance on the David Letterman show in 1986. Dave is usually very snarky and sarcastic but you can see how he is stars-truck with Rear Adm. Hopper. She is so much fun to watch and listen to.

It’s ~10 min long but worth it. If you have a kid interested in engineering, show this to them. Her visual aid of nanoseconds so good! You will never see at fast food sachets the same way again.

Thanks to the reader for sharing this!

That’s it for this issue.

Hit ‘reply’ to tell me what you think.

And hit ‘forward’ to share with your friends and family.

Let’s all celebrate science and engineering and curiosity.

Best wishes,

Harshal