last week, the first ever photo of a black hole was released. dr. katie bouman was credited with designing the algorithm that made the complicated process of taking the picture with the event horizon telescope possible.
the first photo of a black hole. ever. (eht collaboration)
this video from the today show in the united states talks about the (negative reaction) bouman faced online after the black hole pic went public/viral.
the video starts…
humanity revealed a picture of something so huge and amazing, even [albert] einstein hadn’t dared dream it existed.
means really big emphasizes the position of authority that einstein still occupies today. hadn’t dared is (auxiliary had + past participle). it refers to when albert einstein theorized the concept of black holes and the time beforemeans have the audacity. it, referring to the black hole, precedes the verb exist. , where existir precedes the subject, for example existen los agujeros negros.
bouman’s reaction to the first picture of a black hole (facebook)
at :07 sheperd doeleman, the director of the event horizon telescope, says
we have seen what we thought was unseeable.
have seen is present perfect (auxiliary have/has + past participle). unseeable is impossible to see.
unsee can also mean forget an unpleasant sight
several times during the video u can see a graphic that reads
how internet trolls ruined a scientific marvel
trolls post negative attacks online. is an adjective, NOT a noun like the word scientifico in spanish is the person in english. a marvel is an amazing event.
this movie starring is not about internet trolls
the trolling involved inaccurate (incorrect, imprecise) accusations against bouman; that her participation in the project was less than reported. as the video describes at :39
it was the internet at its worst.
its is a possessive pronoun that refers to the internet. worst is the of bad; the most extreme bad.
at 1:00, nbc news reporter ben collins explains that…
if people with a louder megaphone who know how to corrupt the internet do a better job of explaining history they will win the rhetorical war here.
louder is the comparative for loud (easy to hear) is the comparative for good. a megaphone is a device used for amplifying voices is related to language and how it is used to convince or persuade.
corrupting the internet with a loud megaphone
deborah vagins of the american association of university women (1:20) contributes that
women continue to suffer discrimination. this is even moreso when u are a woman working in a male-dominated field.
means the discrimination women face in male-dominated fields is higher. not everybody agrees that moreso is actually a word, it is often written as two words: more so.
deborah vagins: discrimination against women is higher in male-dominated professions (zeenews.india.com)
the final observation in the video is that
humans can turn our planet into a giant telescope; photograph a one-way portal to eternity larger than our entire solar system. but we can’t protect each other from the web.
turn into means convert. larger is the comparative of large. each other describes a mutual action between members of a group, in this case people in general.
in fact, dr. bouman used facebook to give credit to her whole team.
pull off means have success, especially when the objective difficult. seemingly is the adverb equivalent of the verb seem (appear). a feat is an accomplishment. bouman’s post also uses present perfect continuous (have been working) and present perfect (have had the opportunity).
trolls claimed that one of bouman’s colleagues, andrew chael, deserved more credit than bouman for the black hole photo. but chael defended bouman’s work and the recognition she received in a series of seven tweets. the last two are presented here.
go away is a strong recommendation to leave. means if not. stick around means stay.
what are your feelings about the first ever picture of a black hole and the reaction to katie bouman’s role in the process? share under leave a reply
