Topical Explorations | English Conversation

Ecology: Green Innovation	Harvard's Green Graduate Student Residence Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006; award-winning documentary) Who Killed the Electric Car? (clip from film) NOW: Who Killed the Electric Car? (interview with director Chris Paine; text and audio clips) Who Killed the Electric Car? We're Not Sure Anyone Did "Who Ignored the Facts About the Electric Car?" by Dave Barthmuss Who Killed the Electric Car? (blog entry review of the film by Arianna Huffington) Revenge of the Electric Car (blog) Take a look at Chris Jordan's various exhibitions, especially Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait; Which image do you like? Why? If we wanted to create an image illustrative of current Thai consumption, what do you propose we depict? Why? Inhabitat ("a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future") Shi Zhengrong "Shi Zhenrong" by Martin Green Mr Sunshine: China's solar billionaire Shi Zhengrong (audio clip of interview; 4:51 min.; "Jonathan Watts speaks to Shi Zhengrong, the world's first solar billionaire, who says solar power will rival oil and coal before the end of the next decade") Suntech ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence SLIVER Technology
Visual Art: Art Detective	Art Authentication ("See how clever computer algorithms can distinguish a master fake from a masterpiece"; 12:40 min.) Frasier, "The Crucible" (part 1; 9:46 min.); What meaning does a piece of art have? Does it matter who the author of that art is? Why?
Sociology: Technology and Relationships	Blogging The Blogging Revolution: A Look at the Repression of Online Journalism Around the World (audio and video available) The Blogging Revolution: Breakthrough, hype—or both? The Blogging Revolution ("Weblogs Are To Words What Napster Was To Music.") Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams (1:16:27 hr.); Can one have a relationship with people living after one has died? What impact can we have? How does technology enable us to have relationships that are impossible before? Andy Carvin, "Has MySpace Contributed to Generation Me?," learning.now (blog entry); Do you agree with Carvin's arguments? What do you think of the narcissism study findings? outside.in: FAQ; How does outside.in's hyperlocality affect the relationships we have with each other? Social-networking sites work to turn users into profits MediaShift: Blog Obsession::I Am a Technorati Addict Internet addiction becoming international problem, doctors say
Medicine: Biotechnology	NOVA: ScienceNOW (with downloadable audio clips) Discover: Science, Technology, and the Future BIOTEC Profile: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa ("He jumped the fence from Mexico to work as a farmhand and ended up a leading brain surgeon.") Profile: Pardis Sabeti ("By night she's a rocker. By day, she's a Harvard geneticist tracking the evolution of the human genome.") Stem Cells Breakthrough India Invents
History: Nobel Prize, International Awards	Nobel Prize (official site) The Secret of Photo 51 The Right Livelihood Award: A Look at Sweden’s “Alternative Nobel” (Real video stream, mp3 download, etc.) The Right Livelihood Award The Ig Nobel Prizes (watch the webcast of the entire ceremony) Ig Nobel prizes celebrate a different kind of science Ig Nobel awards: Irrelevant scientific research honoured 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes honor research on stripper fertility and Coca-Cola as spermicide Ig Nobel Prize is 'knot funny' Kim Dae Jung Kim Dae-jung: A political profile President Kim Dae Jung (audio clip of interview)
Earth Science: Extreme Conditions
Life Sciences: Amazing Animals	Top 10 Animal Senses Humans Don't Have Sound Amazing Animals (text, photos, VDOs) Amazing Animals (facts, VDOs) What Is the Fastest Animal on Earth? Big Site of Amazing Facts: Animals Did You Know? Bowerbirds Flying Casanovas Bower Bird Blues Bowerbirds Dance, Decorate to Suit Females' Changing Tastes Bowerbirds Designing Birds Impress Their Mates With Fancy Decor Mud, spit and flights of fancy Amazing Animal Senses Super Senses What do animals see A Caring Puma Animal Senses (VDOs, links) General Links for Animal Senses BBC Science & Nature: Animals
Psychology: Outlook on Life	Optimism/Pessimism Test (take the test online and get a report on your scores)
Health: Stress	Discover: Stress NHS: Stress Stress: Portrait of a Killer Feature Articles Health Matters: Stress Management (28:53 min.) American Institute of Stress
Space Science
Archaeology