There are some things that I am simply ignorant to—baseball, tops the list. I don’t understand the allure of the game beyond the fun of stadium seating, pretzels and adult beverages. My last memory of a baseball game, a friend spilled a Coke all over the woman in front of us and her husband tried to pick a fight. I quietly slunk away to see what was going on by the food vendors.

So, given my total ignorance on the subject, why am I dedicating this blog to baseball? Well, lets start with the fact that there is now something about baseball I find cool. A new program created by Hot Lava Software and the Kauffman foundation let’s users watch the game on their mobile devices while also learning about science– friction, drag, etc. So now you can actually learn about what’s happening while watching it happen. I like this for a variety of reasons.

First off, I get bored watching baseball. Now baseball becomes something more than a sports game, it becomes a way of introducing us to the science behind what we love

Secondly, its way cool technology that proves how innovative ideas can break into even the most timeless of sectors. So it got me to thinking, what if we could learn the science behind everything we see as we are watching it. How much better could I become at golf/frisbee/driving/field hockey/swimming if I could understand what the exact formula is to perfection? Given that I am innately clumsy, knowing the formula might not help me be perfect but it will help me understand why I’m not quite there.

So I don’t know anything about baseball, but next time I go, I’m going to learn the science behind the perfect pitch, the perfect hit and why I just can’t make it in the Majors (for I second there I sounded like I knew what I was talking about, eh?). So, take the time to look at science as not just the dusty old major in the background. Think of it instead as the way to revitalize those things you already love or like me to learn something totally new.

Tags: baseball, hot lava, Kauffman, science, STEM

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 10:21 am and is filed under Innovators. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.