A couple of weeks ago, Betty, Bob Andrews and I drove to Pinehurst to listen to a talk given by Dr. Jose D’Arruda, the past chairman of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Chemistry and Physics Department. He was going to tell us about the beginnings of the universe, parallel universes, the age of the stars, dark matter and black holes. On the way over, Betty told me to take 10 minutes and brief her on dark matter and black holes. She wanted to have some background so she could understand the talk. So, I told her all I knew. We had a lot of those allotted 10 minutes left at the end of my explanation.
Scientists have an understandable explanation for the existence of black holes. They have a pretty good idea of the age of the universe. They can tell you about the life span of the sun. But then there is dark matter, parallel universes and the String Theory. Potentially, there is more dark matter in the universe than matter we can see. There are theories that ours is not the only universe (explain that to an English teacher — how can we have another something that is an everything?).
There is a program on one of the educational channels that tries to explain String Theory. It is two hours long. The first time I saw it, they lost me at the 20-minute mark. I lasted 30 minutes into the program the second time and about 40 minutes the third time I watched. I’m not sure I could ever understand the program let alone the factors and observations that went into forming the theory.
However, Jose’s talk was very informative and a lot of fun. If you ever see him on an agenda, try to attend one of his talks.
There are a lot of good programs taking place on the UNC-Pembroke campus. Last week, we attended the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance at the Givens Performing Arts Center with Bill and Mayme Tubbs. It was a very pleasant evening and we had a chance to talk with a number of our friends. That’s the best part of being in a community the size of Robeson County. When we attend a program such as that, we see people we know. But, we don’t know everyone we see.
The Friends of the UNC-Pembroke Library had a very entertaining program at the university library last Tuesday night. Mama Dip and her daughter were there to talk about her life, her restaurant in Chapel Hill, and her books. The public library has her books, and Lolita McMillan, our Audio Visual Department Head, recommends them.
The next author visit in the “Writers Rally in Robeson!” series will take place on Feb. 19 in the Osterneck Auditorium. Susan Sloate will be here at 7 p.m.
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