Our interview with Natalie Batalha resulted in a wonderful set of time-shift tweets. We compile them for your pleasure.
[View the story "Dr. Natalie Batalha: A Twitterscript" on Storify ]Dr. Natalie Batalha: A Twitterscript
Natalie Batalha is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University and co-investigator on NASA's Kepler Mission. We've summarized the gems of her conversation with Krista Tippett below - on seeking the unknown, connectedness, and understanding as a form of ecstasy.
Storified by On Being ยท Thu, Jan 31 2013 10:20:26
I'll be time-shift tweeting @KristaTippett's interview w/ Natalie Batalha (@NBbatalha) of NASA's Kepler Mission for next 90 mins. #onbeingOn Being
"At 18 years old, any title with romance has got to be good." ~@NBatalha, referencing a Carl Sagan books as being influential #onbeingOn Being
"As a kid, I wanted to be a gymnast. Nadia Comenici." ~@NBatalha, when asked if she always wanted to be a planet hunter #onbeingOn Being
"I went to college thinking I was going to be a business major... but I took the math classes for engineers and scientists." ~@NBatalhaOn Being
"I was writing down equations + it struck me: the universe is not a random collection of events. It can be explained with math." ~@NBatalhaOn Being
.@NBatalha searches for exoplanets, planets that exist outside our solar system. #onbeingOn Being
"We have human biases, and they bias the way we look at the universe." ~@NBatalha, on Kepler sticking to the scientific methodOn Being
"It's that persistence that always leads to greatness." ~@NBatalha, on Kepler never giving up #onbeingOn Being
"You take these measurements and you want to do it without blinking." ~@NBatalha on her search for exoplanets #onbeingOn Being
"What we know is very limited. We have to realize that reality is going to be much more fantastic than our imagination." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"Human beings want to seek the unknown." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"This act of discovery, this act of exploration changes us. We're evolving towards something." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"Understanding is a form of ecstasy." ~Carl Sagan, as quoted by planet hunter @NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"The Kepler Mission is looking for that 'near Earth' or 'twin Earth' planet." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
Reminder: I'm time-shift tweeting @KristaTippett's interview with @NBatalha, who is searching for exoplanets #onbeingOn Being
"I'm an exception to the rule. I did not grow being an avid Star Trek fan." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"It's a funny thing with Star Trek... more than alien encounters, I enjoyed the ethical questions. I loved Data." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"My perspective on love has been so informed by science." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"We're moving on a current of this gravitational field, mostly of stuff that we cannot see." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"With science, I think about life out there in the universe. I think about connectedness." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"I am the universe, and I'm taking a look at myself." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"We did not spend $600 million for one man's ego. We are doing it for the good of humanity." ~@NBatalha #onbeingOn Being
"The human brain is an amazing pattern recognition tool." ~@NBatalha #onbeing (1 of 2)On Being
"We've tried to simulate that, but we can't design one algorithm that can handle the diversity of nature." ~@NBatalha #onbeing (2 of 2)On Being
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