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| Problems | Harold: Aaron, for some reason I'm struggling to think of something that has affected me that will help inspire my art.
/ Aaron: Well, what problems have you faced recently? / Harold: Starbucks made my Mocha too hot this morning. / Harold: The air conditioning is making the air dry, and my nose is getting... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=602 |
| Alert Device | [[ Harold and Alp in a flat landscape, mountains in the distance. ]]
/ Alp: My new invention is a special alerting device, wanna see how it works?
/ [[ Alp is hold a small oblong box with a button, dial and antenna. ]]
/ Harold: Sure! / [[ Alp presses the button, and... ]]
/ Alp: Okay, it seems to be picking... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=603 |
| Direct Access | [[Harold is standing next to Aaron, who is sitting in front of a computer]]
/ Harold: One of the big problems in this world is that we only have direct access to our own thoughts and feelings. / [[Only Harold is in panel]]
/ Harold: If only there was a way to get an unfiltered look into what others... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=604 |
| Gifts | Ferdinand: For Einstein's 70th birthday, his good friend Kurt G?del presented him with an amazing gift.. / Ferdinand: G?del used Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to construct a universe in which time travel was possible. Einstein was so blown away that he had second thoughts about his own theory. / [[Camera... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=605 |
| Calculus Controversy | [[Text panel: Legendary rap battles in science presents... Newton vs. Leibniz]] / Isaac Newton: There'll never be another fucking genius like me. I invented optics, mechanics and the theory of gravity. You peeked at my manuscripts, don't try to lie. I'll drop apples on your calculus-stealin' ass from... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=606 |
| Lil' Calamities and the Math Quiz | {{As part of the "Lil' Calamites" sub-series, the characters are presented when they were kids.}}
/ [[An elementary school classroom]] / Teacher: Put your books away, it's time for a math quiz. / [[Lil' Ferdinand reads the quiz.]]
/ {{Question 1: 1+1=?}} / [[Lil' Ferdinand writes his answer.]]
/ {{It... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=607 |
| Information Access | Ferdinand: [[ Sitting in a chair ]] The way in which we access information has changed a lot over the years. Long ago you had to know the info yourself or know who to ask. / Ferdinand: With the invention of writing and books, you no longer had to know the specific information, you just needed to know... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=608 |
| Unified Gravity Force Theory | [[A person in the distance calls out to Harold and Aaron who are standing in the foreground.]]
/ Crackpot: Hey, have you seen Stephen Hawking, Kip Thorne, or Steven Weinberg around here?! / Harold: Uh, no...why?
/ Crackpot: There's a physics conference going on, and I need to share my amazing Unified... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=609 |
| Unified Gravity Force Theory | [[A person in the distance calls out to Harold and Aaron who are standing in the foreground.]]
/ Crackpot: Hey, have you seen Stephen Hawking, Kip Thorne, or Steven Weinberg around here?! / Harold: Uh, no...why?
/ Crackpot: There's a physics conference going on, and I need to share my amazing Unified... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=609 |
| Plato | [[Harold and Aaron are walking through the woods.]]
/ Harold: In Plato's writings he discussed such issues as the fundamentals of knowledge, the nature of reality, language, thought, the senses, the role of government, and the meaning of virtue. / Harold: It's amazing to think that Plato basically anticipated... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=610 |
| Tea Baggers | [[Aaron approaches a person dressed in patriotic garb and holding a protest sign.]]
/ Aaron: What's your deal?
/ Tea Bagger: I'm protesting in support of the Tea Party! Our government needs to show more fiscal responsibility and lower taxes! / Tea Bagger: Furthermore, Government power needs to be limited... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=612 |
| The Role of Consciousness | [[Alp and Harold sit on a hill looking out upon a star-filled sky.]]
/ Harold: Research on brain activity shows that our brains make decisions before we are conscious of them. This suggests that we are merely passive witnesses of our mind's deliberations, and free will is an illusion. / Harold: But why... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=613 |
| When Will It End? | [[Aaron and Harold are walking side by side through a forest]]
/ Harold: The abuse of women continues to be a problem around the world. / Harold: A frightening aspect is that often this abuse comes at the hands of those that they should be able to trust -- their boyfriends and husbands. / [[Aaron and... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=614 |
| Space Launch System | [[Aaron and Harold are outside, walking side by side]]
/ Harold: Now that the shuttle program is over, NASA is looking at developing the "Space Launch System" or SLS, but is this really the right next step? / Harold: It's supposed to carry 130 tons, but these specifications and the technology it'll use... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=615 |
| Lil' Calamities and Explanations | [[Lil' Ferdinand stands next to a broken lamp on the floor with a baseball bat in his hands]]
/ Lil' Ferdinand's Mom: What are you doing?!? / Lil' Ferdinand: It's not my fault mom! I've been conditioned by evolution to be bad. That way you won't want any more kids, and I won't have competing siblings. / Lil'... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=616 |
| Homeopathy | [[At a supermarket]]
/ Man: Excuse me...
/ Aaron: Yeah? / Man: Would you happen to know where the homeopathic remedies area is?
/ Aaron: Sure, I'll take you to it. / [[Aaron leads Man to shelf with bottled and packaged water, including Evian, Arrowhead, Perrier, Fiji, Dasani, Aquafina, and spring water]]
/ Aaron:... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=617 |
| Coffee Units | [[ Text panel: Given the increasingly important role coffee plays in modern society, perhaps it's time to make it a standard unit of measurement in some respect... ]] / [[ Caption: A cup of coffee metabolizes in about 3 hours, so it can be a unit of time. ]]
/ Harold: How long until your invention is... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=618 |
| IQ Versus Religiosity | [[Graph juxtaposing IQ and religiosity, with religiosity on the x-axis and IQ on the y-axis]] / Average Intelligence Quotient: IQs for countries from Lynn, Harvey, and Nyborg (2009) Intelligence, volume 37, pages 11-15. IQs for states from McDaniel (2006) Intelligence, volume 34, pages 607-619 / Religiosity:... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=619 |
| Touchscreens | [[ Harold and Alp outdoors, wearing scarves. Snow blankets the background. Harold's wearing gloves and trying to use a cell phone.]]
/ Harold: Ugh! This darn cold weather! It's impossible to use my phone's touchscreen with gloves on.
/ [[ Alp looks thoughtful.]] / Alp: Try my newest invention: Touchscreen... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=620 |
| Informed Democracies | [[Harold and Aaron are walking on a hillside]] / Harold: One of the most important aspects of a successful democracy is that people make informed decisions. / Harold: And since in this day and age science and technology rule our lives like never before, it is crucial that people have adequate background... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=621 |
| Tragic Condition | [[Harold and Aaron sit, overlooking a sunset.]]
/ Harold: Either we live in a world that follows deterministic rules, or things occur at random. But either way, our condition seems rather tragic. / Harold: Each implies that at a fundamental level we don't have control over our hopes, or our dreams, or... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=622 |
| Police and Protests | [[ Harold in an easy chair watching TV as Alp looks on. ]]
/ Harold: Whenever I see protesters having their rights violated by the police, I always wonder what the police officers are thinking. / Harold: Police are people too, with their own feelings and values, and with families that they go home to... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=623 |
| 'Tis the Season | [[Aaron and Harold are walking in a place with Christmas trees and flowerpots]] / Harold: Everywhere you look, from October to December, it's Christmas decorations, and trees, and music. That's a quarter of the year that you can't avoid this stuff! / Harold: Not to mention tax dollars spent on holiday... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=624 |
| Responsibility | [[Aaron and Harold are walking in a forest]] / Harold: Neurological research increasingly shows that many of the actions we think we're consciously choosing to take are actually caused subconsciously. / Harold: This raises the question of responsibility--should we be punished for doing something bad... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=625 |
| Advice from Santa | [[Ferdinand is dressed as Santa Claus and a boy is sitting on his lap.]] / Ferdinand: What would you like for Christmas, little boy?
/ Boy: A train, but mommy and daddy say I have to be good or you won't bring presents. / Ferdinand: Listen, kid, you totally have the psychological advantage here. Your... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=626 |
| Chemistry | Ferdinand: How an element acts is largely determined by the filling of its outer electron shell... / [[ Caption, Ferdinand continues: "Halogens are just one electron away from having a filled outer shell, so they readily bond with alkalies which have one electron too many..." ]]
/ [[ Panel shows some... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=627 |
| Child Leashes | [[ Alp and Ferdinand, outdoors. The view shows only their heads. ]]
/ Alp: I don't know if I like the backpack leashes that some parents put on kids. It's like they're dogs. / Ferdinand: Hey, the leashes can be useful depending on the circumstance. / [[ The view pulls back- We see Alp and Ferdinand... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=628 |
| Dangerous to Handle | [[ Harold and Ferdinand out for a walk. ]]
/ Harold: Did you know that Marie Curie's notebooks are so radioactive that they're dangerous to handle?
/ Ferdinand: Come to think of it, many of my books and magazines glow. / Harold: You really think they could be radioactive?
/ Ferdinand: I don't know, let's... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=630 |
| Making Generalizations | [[ Harold and Ferdinand out for a walk. ]]
/ Harold: The Social Sciences have the difficult problem of trying to make generalizations about human nature from small sample sizes. / Harold: These studies can be especially biased because the test subjects are often university undergraduates, which are definitely... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=631 |
| The Truth About Physicists | [[Ferdinand and Raymond are walking along together.]]
/ Ferdinand: You know why physics is great? Everything can be constructed as a euphemism.
/ Raymond: What do you mean? / Ferdinand: For example, you could say "He sure enjoys splitting the atom, if you know what I mean!"
/ Raymond: Okay, but c'mon,... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=632 |
| Original Ideas | Harold: Sometimes I think our brains are nothing more than computers. They take data from the outside via our senses, process that input, and output accordingly. / Harold: But if the output is always just a function of the input, how is it ever possible for people to have fundamentally new ideas? / Aaron:... http://calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=633 |
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