Discovery - Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp

Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp

1950's -- Colonel (Dr.) John Paul Stapp at The New Mexico Museum of Space History. He was a frequent and most welcomed visitor to the Center. Stapp was not only the "fastest human on earth;" he was the quickest to stop. In 1954, America's original Rocketman attained a then-world record land speed of 632 mph, going from a standstill to a speed faster than a .45 bullet in five seconds on an especially-designed rocket sled, and then screeched to a dead stop in 1.4 seconds, sustaining more than 40g's of thrust, all in the interest of safety. Image and Caption Source: U.S. Air Force www.af.mil

Colonel John Paul Stapp’s work (discussed in the last post) is yet another example of discovery which can both mitigate a risk and intuit a reward (Discovery - Part 4 post). His work with rocket sleds was able to determine human physiological limits in sustaining g-forces. This work, conducted at Edwards Air Force Base and later at Holloman Air Force Base used a rocket sled that accelerated to great speeds and was then decelerated using a water brake. While testing on the rocket sled, Colonel Stapp underwent g-forces of greater than 40 g’s.

Source: Wikipedia artice on Colonel Stapp (via U.S. Air Force www.af.mil)

Colonel Stapp’s work subjected him to a multitude of stresses and injuries as a test subject, including retinal damage, fractures and broken limbs and ribs.

Colonel Stapp’s work was instrumental in facilitating use of high speed aircraft and ventures into outer space. It was used to determine that pilots could operate aircraft under high performance conditions and eject at high speeds and survive. Thus this work was ground-breaking in forging the path of future discoveries, both directly, and indirectly as space and aeronautical efforts have fed technological advances in many areas.

Colonel Stapp’s work in deceleration was instrumental in mitigating risk on terra firma, bringing about seat belts which we (we hope) use every day in our motor vehicle trips. The Air Force suffered losses from auto accidents. Colonel Stapp was able to use his work on deceleration to argue for safety restraints for the motor vehicles. His work in this area was done at Holloman Air Force Base, using crash test dummies. This application was an exercise in creativity, taking one application and using it in another area to additional benefit.

Colonel Stapp’s research in auto safety was continued in the context of the Stapp Car Crash Conference which provided a broader context in which to support continued research into auto safety.

Colonel Stapp’s work in the military carries on to this day with Flight Surgeons who are always seeking to use their expertise to extend the boundaries of knowledge and performance for our nation’s pilots as they fly more and more powerful, higher performance aircraft and play deeper forays into Outer Space.

Colonel Stapp and I share a common ancestor going way back to around 1700, which is one element adding to my interest in his work. Genealogy is another interesting topic which I hope to include as a blog topic sometime down the road.

Discovery - Part 5

USAF Thunderbirds F-16, McChord Air Force Base, Tacoma, Washington

Discovery within the mental sphere results from consolidating information, arriving at creative solutions for complex problems. Once a discovery is made, an idea formulated, it may be engineered and put to the test. Discoveries in the complex realm of ideas require well engineered solutions, exquisite execution in construction prototypes and rigorous testing. The experimental phase allows for testing of the construct developed in the conceptual phase and seeking to affirm the success of the initial discovery in the end result.

Thus prototypes allow for ensuring that all aspects of the discovery, the idea, are explored in a range of scenarios in a well conceived test pattern to shake out all the bugs before going into mass production.

This testing process is necessary not only for the physical device being engineered but also for the human beings that will be using them. Human engineering may reflect the psychological bonding with the new technology or physiological constraints and reactions.

Today we seek to defy gravity in powerful machines such as the USAF Thunderbirds Jet (F-16) shown above. The F-16 is in the middle of a maneuver in which the jet becomes inverted. The tensile strength of the jet’s materials must satisfy certain requirements to allow it to perform high-performance maneuvers. On the human side, pilots are subject to considerable g-forces in doing their maneuvers that involve important physiological issues. Colonel John Stapp was a career United States Air Force officer and flight surgeon who did ground breaking work as a researcher and test subject in determining the impact of acceleration and deceleration on the human body, subjecting his body to record-breaking g-forces.

My next blog posting will discuss Colonel Stapp’s work..

Discovery - Part 4

Apples and Apple Tree in the Garden with Bird Houses

In previous postings I discussed discussed discovery, discussing Lewis and Clark’s arduous journey to the Pacific Coast, and seafaring explorers who encountered great hardships and made great discoveries. I discussed how discovery is often shared, representing the entirety of the experience, not just the beginning, end or one individual. I discussed how the small things in life can be discoveries too, so that scale is not necessary to define a discovery. Moreover, I’ll reiterate that many small discoveries together can make as big an impact just as one big one.

Discoveries encompass the mental as well as the physical sphere.

Three Spokane, Washington city convention workers walking down the street discover a knapsack placed on a bench. There is a parade honoring Martin Luther King, Jr shortly. Their situational awareness leads them to recognize that wires sticking out of a backpack has the signature of a potential bomb. They report this discovery to authorities and a potential terrorist act is stopped. This MSNBC video describes the incident. This discovery brings a number of facets of understanding together to recognize one risk.

Discovery dots the stream of time with significant milestones in fields of science as we learn more about everything from the cellular level to the far reaches of outer space, with disciplines ranging from molecular biology to astrophysics.

Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity is case of consolidating information from disparate sources. From Stukeley’s Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton's Life (Wikipedia article) comes the following excerpt:

“....the notion of gravitation came into his mind. It was occasioned by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative mood. Why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground, thought he to himself.”

This is the creative process at work, associating a tree, an apple, and the apple’s actions (falling to the ground) in an inquisitive, thought-directed process that results in a discovery. It is the essence of consolidating disparate information and coming up with that “ah-ha moment”.

Thus discovery can involve using the mind to uncover a risk or to intuit a reward, a breakthrough in knowledge that opens new frontiers or rescues others.

Discovery - Part 3

I discussed the concept of discovery in my first and second blog postings on the subject. I continue the concept in this posting further discussing discovery and the seafaring world.

As with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, we often associate discovery with discovering new territory, or, new worlds. A ship. An exploration. A discovery.

Hawaiian Chieftain under sail, Westport, Washington

The Hawaiian Chieftain and the Lady Washington sail out of Grays Harbor’s Historical Seaport Authority, Westport, Washington providing living history experiences on tall ships.

The concept of discovery brings about the dissolution of old paradigms and the crowning of new ones. A two dimensional world becomes three dimensional with curved horizons. Discovery brings about promises of renewal in the new world.

Some explorers claim discovery, while others shipwreck on the shores of hope and dreams.

Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens, Warrenton, Oregon

Image on Alamy

Perhaps some think that discovery is only the end point, however discovery is a process, encompassing the start, the finish, and the path in between. Indeed, the process of discovery also reflects the efforts of all that quest as one effort builds on the next. It is a continuing process of shared progress.

Next blog posting I’ll venture into discovery and cognitive processes.

Discovery - Part 2

King Penguin Examining Kelp Along Beach, South Georgia Island, Southern Atlantic Ocean
Image on Alamy

The King Penguin has been walking along the beach. He notices a piece of kelp strung along near the shore and is examining it with some interest. For him this is a discovery, a chance to examine and explore. Perhaps it is something to eat or just to play with.

Next blog posting I develop the idea of discovery further into the seafaring world.

Discovery

Gateway Arch, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, Missouri

Image at Alamy

The Gateway Arch, designed by Archictect Eero Saarinen is a catenary arch built on the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. It is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in westward expansion and to Dred Scott’s role in obtaining freedom in the Old Courthouse.

Commissioned by President Jefferson as the Corps of Discovery, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was led by Merriweather Lewis and William Clark. The intent was to find a serviceable route to the Pacific Coast for commerce and for territorial advantage as well.

The arch is a symbol of discovery, of exploration. It symbolizes not just the discoveries of our ancestors but also serves as a conceptual beacon to guide and inspire us as we pursue discoveries that may help ourselves and civilization to advance.

I’ll discuss concepts of discovery further in my next blog posting.

Evolving Life and Categorization

Whales in Haro Strait

In my last article, Wikileaks and the Problem of Categorization, I talked about evolving technology and the categorization of structures and concepts with the evolving technology. There is a push-pull at work as we evolve technologies to suit our needs but at the same time technology itself encourages us to evolve to fit in with its capabilities.

Years ago a mouse was that thing that got into the house through a crack in the window and ran away with the cheese. Now, a mouse slides along a mouse rug transferring movement in the hand to electronic signals in the computer. Sometimes it seems to act on its own, closing an open window or gobbling up some cheesy letters in a fit of pique. We categorize “mice” according to context.

Yet both mice are the product of their own evolutionary processes.

Evolutionary biology is replete with categorization. We look back to the single celled organisms, bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, and see that life has never looked back as a multitude of diverse life forms have evolved.

Starting out with the category Domain Eukarya, born out of the marriage of a Protobacteria and Archaea, we travel to Kingdom Animalia then to Phylum Chordata, on to Class Mammalia and then to Order Cetacea. In Order Cetacea we find the marine mammals, including whales, porpoises and dolphins. Under Class Mammalia, Cetacea are closely associated with the ungulates (hoofed animals).

Whales evolved from land mammals. Whales were likely a hoofed animal such as a wolf, that evolved over time to inhabit the briny deep. Mammals in the oceans? It seems like some awkward reversal of the common term “fish out of water”, a reversal of intuitive categorization.

The evolution of the whale was impressive in forging an adaptation between the two very difficult environments, land and sea. As warm blooded, air breathing creatures, with live births, they needed to forge a transition that would allow them to survive in an ocean environment. This transition took place over a long period and the story of that transition is written in the behavior of the whales themselves, and in archaeological evidence.

This Whale Evolution Documentary from PBS is excellent in discussing the story of how the whales evolved.

With humanity facing environmental, social and economic challenges, it will interesting how we adapt to those challenges and how we integrate technology into that process. In doing so, we will open up a sea of questions, including those about categorization, and interpreting behaviors and actions arising out of how we categorize.

Marilyn Dunstan’s whale images on Alamy.com