2 New Symphony of Science Songs, One Helpful Diagram

First a funny and accurate poster about The Believer, then awesome science music. Thanks to Pharyngula who found this:



Awhile ago I shared the Symphony of Science, which is music made out of scientists talking using AutoTune (I believe that's what it's called). Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins and many others lend their voices for these songs that are quite inspiring. One thing, they are very different. The first time I heard one, I thought it was really strange and didn't care for it. But after a few minutes, I really fell in love with them.

There are two new songs. Here are their videos. Go to Symphony of Science to download the songs or videos, or to donate to the project.

The Unbroken Thread (4 minutes)

A Symphony of Science

I have some videos to share with you today. All three are created by John Boswell and are different, interesting, inspiring and thought provoking. You can find the videos with the lyrics and downloads of the songs in different formats at his site: The Symphony of Science. Here's what the site says:

"The Symphony of Science is a musical project by John Boswell designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. Here you can watch music videos, download songs, read lyrics and find links relating to the messages conveyed by the music."

The first time I heard A Glorious Dawn was on the Reasonable Doubts podcast. I didn't care for it for the first few seconds but it grew on me very quickly. When I watched the videos I was inspired. Basically Carl Sagan and other awesome scientists are singing in a synthesized way. There's a special program that does this, but I can't think of what it's called at the moment. Ozzie and Cher have both put out albums using this same technique to save their sagging voices. But here John Boswell turns speech into music.

All three are awesome. I hope you try them out. Go to the website to download the music. A Glorious Dawn is also available on iTunes!

Skeptics Can Be Funny Too

Tim Minchin is an Australian singer, pianist, comedian and writer. I first saw him on Graham Norton. He has a .. shall we say.. distinctive look that frankly set me back a bit. But he won me over quickly. He was on the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe (episode 184) because he's also an atheist and a skeptic. I had forgotten his name but his act is quite memorable so I was delighted to learn more about him. There isn't much on youtube of him. On the SGU he was talking about a 9 minute piece of beat poetry but I can't find it anywhere. If you know where to find it, let me know! Tim has his own site at TimMinchin.com

If You Open Your Mind Too Much...
This is good stuff about skepticism and atheism.