Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on May 17, 2012 at 8:59pm

Not entirely correct, Doone - another way would be to increase the rotational speed of the planet, something I agree that we, at present, have not the technology to do, but that may not always be the case.

pax vobiscum,
archaeopteryx
www.in-His-own-image.com

Permalink Reply by doone on May 17, 2012 at 9:09pm

Sorry, gravitational speed has zero effect on the gravity of a planet.  It would increase the coriolis effect and the weather on the planet if the planet had enough weather.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars

Permalink Reply by doone on May 17, 2012 at 11:04pm

Looking at Mom with Love

By Miss Cellania on May 12, 2012 at 9:00 am

A tender mother-child moment, brought to you by the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. This picture was taken at Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesia. The contest is open for entries until June 28, or even later with an additional fee, but oy, look at the competition! Link -Thanks, Marilyn!

(Image credit: miranda rachellina)

Permalink Reply by doone on May 18, 2012 at 8:53am

THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE

Martin Rees in New Statesman:

Einstein averred that “the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible”. He was right to be astonished. It seems sur­prising that our minds, which evolved to cope with life on the African savannah and haven’t changed much in 10,000 years, can make sense of phenomena far from our everyday intuitions: the microworld of atoms and the vastness of the cosmos. But our comprehension could one day “hit the buffers”. A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space and time, and the structure of our entire universe, may remain “open frontiers” beyond human grasp. Indeed, our everyday world presents intellectual challenges just as daunting as those of the cosmos and the quantum, and that is where 99 per cent of scientists focus their efforts. Even the smallest insect, with its intricate structure, is far more complex than either an atom or a star.

Everything, however complicated – breaking waves, migrating birds, or tropical forests – is made up of atoms and obeys the equations of quantum physics.

More here.

Posted by Azra Raza at 06:28 AM | Permalink

Permalink Reply by doone on May 18, 2012 at 9:09pm

I Need These in Sticker Form!

May. 18, 2012

Permalink Reply by doone on May 20, 2012 at 11:48am

Browse more data visualizations.

Permalink Reply by doone on May 20, 2012 at 1:45pm

EXPERIMENT, EVIDENCE, AND THEORY

 

Continue reading here.

Posted by Abbas Raza at 08:11 AM | Permalink |

Permalink Reply by doone on May 21, 2012 at 8:58am

The USA would do well to emulate Germany, though Nuclear is falling off a cliff

Browse more Environment infographics.

Permalink Reply by doone on May 21, 2012 at 9:00am

THE INNER LIVES OF ANIMALS

by Namit Arora

It is often said that humans are the only animals to use symbols. So many other claims of human uniqueness have fallen away—thoughts, emotions, intelligence, tool use, sense offairness—what's so special about symbols, you ask? I share your skepticism, dear reader, and in the next few paragraphs I'll tell you why.

Let's begin by clarifying what "symbol" means here. One way to do this is to contrast symbols with signs. A sign, such as a red light, a grimace, a growl, or a thunderstorm, signifies something direct and tangible, making us think or act in response to the thing signified. Issuing and responding to signs is commonplace in Animalia. A symbol, on the other hand, is "something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention". A symbol allows us to think about the thing or idea symbolized outside its immediate context, such as the word "water" for the liquid, "7" for a certain quantity, and "flag" for a community. What is symbolized doesn't even have to be real, such as God, and herein lies the power of symbols—they are the building blocks of abstract and reflective thought. Evidence of material symbols used by humans dates back at least 60-100K years, when burial objects and decorated beads start to appear in archaeological finds. Linguistic symbols were almost certainly in use long before then.

According to Susanne Langer, symbols serve "to liberate thought from the immediate stimuli of a physically present world; and that liberation marks the essential difference between human and nonhuman mentality ... Words, pictures, and memory images are symbols that may be combined and varied in a thousand ways." It is only through symbolic thought that we imagine the past or the future—mental time-travel, including episodic memory, requires the use of symbols. Indeed, language is really a system of symbolic communication, combining words (which are symbols) and syntax. If non-human animals lack symbols, what and how do they really think?

Continue reading "The Inner Lives of Animals"

Posted by Namit Arora at 12:35 AM | Permalink |

Permalink Reply by Adriana on May 21, 2012 at 9:10am

IMAGE OF THE WEEK:

The epidermis of a mouse tail imaged with confocal microscopy after immunostaining. The "bulge" region of the hair follicle (red) harbors the hair follicle stem cells. Blue marks the DNA in the nucleus, and the basal cells of the epidermis are labeled green via an antibody to integrin α6.

Permalink Reply by Michel on May 21, 2012 at 10:16am

Hoping it will make it to the next Fix =)

Permalink Reply by Adriana on May 21, 2012 at 10:49am

Definitively

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