11 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
The Library of Babel
Like all men of the Library, I have traveled in my youth; I have wandered in search of a book, perhaps the catalogue of catalogues; now that my eyes can hardly decipher what I write, I am preparing to die just a few leagues from the hexagon in which I was born. Once I am dead, there will be no lack of pious hands to throw me over the railing; my grave will be the fathomless air; my body will sink endlessly and decay and dissolve in the wind generated by the fall, which is infinite. I say that...The library contains every permutation of 25 characters that can fit in a book, resulting in 25^1,312,000 books. The librarians investigating the library search for books of ultimate meaning, but the author notes for every book containing a fact a book exists containing the opposite assertion.
05 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Benzene and Bee Hives
People have wracked their brains for an explanation of benzene and how the celebrated man [Kekulé] managed to come up with the concept of the benzene theory. With regard to the last point especially, a friend of mine who is a farmer and has a lively interest in chemistry has asked me a question which I would like to share with you. My 'agricultural friend' apparently believes he has traced the origins of the benzene theory. 'Has Kekulé,' so ran the question, 'once been a bee-keeper? You certa...The hexagon shape of bee hives inspires the idea of hexagon shapes for benzene rings.