Dark Matter in the news

It seems we're not the only ones interested in dark matter these days. Check out this article from MSNBC about the latest forray into the field. Does this type of study and mass media coverage change your opinion about dark matter at all? Does it validate Dr. P's presentation? Does it add authority and further evidence, or does it raise more questions?

Dove - Evolution

I know we just wrapped up sense perception, but I saw this video at a conference this weekend and found it fitting. When it was used at the conference, it was talking about how we shouldn't buy into the superficial lies that we are ugly. My question is, even if everyone saw this video, do you think the media would still have a voice of what is "beautiful" and what isn't?

When is Art Art?

I am not in HL art, though I know many of you are. I have always struggled with the idea of when art is a masterpiece, and when it just becomes a random splattering of paint on a canvas. I'm sure most of us have had those moments when we looked at a picture and thought, "Wow, I think I did something similar to this in first grade." My question is, at what point do these pieces cease to be meaningful (or are they always meaningful?), and on a different note, what makes them so valuable?
Please, I'm curious to hear the different opinions on this matter, but to get the conversation going, I'll start with my own.
I'm not an artist, as I have previously mentioned. So, I think, it is not such a surprise that I don't consider many forms of splatter paint to be art. If it is something that anyone could do, then how does it really have any meaning? Similarly, pieces of art that are purposely formatted after certain artists or styles also lacks individuality, in my eyes. Without being a new idea, I don't see how art (and therefore the universal meaning it conveys) could progress.
- Lauren P.

More on why dark matter matters

As I continue to reflect on Dr. P's lecture, there are several questions and considerations I still want to discuss.  One in particular is WHY? I feel very removed from dark matter--I cannot perceive it in my daily existence--and I don't know what bearing, if any, proving or disproving its existence has on my life.  I feel little compulsion to know more.  What justifications might scientists like Dr. P have for a project that seems so purely "knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Is it mere curiosity? Is it a matter of ethics? Of faith?