23 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Invasive Species Increase Biodiversity
Life becomes different, and it carries on. Since the majority of invasive species are relatively benign, they add to an island’s overall biodiversity. The ecologist Dov Sax at Brown University in Rhode Island points out that non-native plants have doubled the botanical biodiversity of New Zealand – there are 2,104 native plants in the wild, and 2,065 non-native plants. Ascension Island in the south Atlantic, once a barren rock deplored by Charles Darwin for its ‘naked hideousness’, now has a ...Folksonomies: environmentalism ecology
Folksonomies: environmentalism ecology
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notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Science Communication: Definitions VS Metaphors
A hundred years ago, Charles Darwin could write books discussing the central problems of biology in language which was scientifically precise and still accessible to the general public. In those days the subject matter of biology was plants and animals. The language of Darwin was intelligible to experts and non-experts alike. One did not need a degree in {55} botany to understand the difference between a fern and a flower. Darwin could assume that his readers were familiar with the world of...Folksonomies: science communicatoin
Folksonomies: science communicatoin
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notes24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Synchronicity in Science
The famous Canadian physician William Osler once wrote, “In science the credit goes to the man who convinced the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs.” When we examine discoveries in science and mathematics, in hindsight we often find that if one scientist did not make a particular discovery, some other individual would have done so within a few months or years of the discovery. Most scientists, as Newton said, stood on the shoulders of giants to see the world just a bit farthe... 1 notes
notesClifford Pickover on the phenomenon of many scientists making the same discovery at once, because new knowledge has allowed them to see further over the horizon to see the same things.
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
The Meme-Unit
It is possible that this appearance of non-particulateness is illusory, and
that the analogy with genes does not break down. After all, if we look at
the inheritance of many genetic characters such as human height or
skin-colouring, it does not look like the work of indivisible and
unblendable genes. If a black and a white person mate, their children do
not come out either black or white: they are intermediate. This does not
mean the genes concerned are not particulate. It is just that there ... 1 notes
notesLike genes, there is no particulate unit for memes. Sometimes we must look at a whole symphony, sometimes it's just a few notes.
22 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Observing Human Body-Language is Like Birdwatching
As we approach the end of the twentieth century, we are witnessing the emergence of a new kind of social scientist-the non-verbalist. Just as the birdwatcher delights in watching birds and their behaviour, so the non-verbalist delights in watching the non-verbal cues and signals of human beings. He watches them at social functions, at beaches, on television, at the office or anywhere that people interact. He is a student of behaviour who wants to learn about the actions of his fellow humans s...Folksonomies: anthropology body language
Folksonomies: anthropology body language
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notesThe science of body language is relatively young, despite the communication form going back millions of years.
14 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Celebrity Economy
This century's last great trend was noted by acute observers in 1996, yet most people failed to appreciate it. While business gurus were proclaiming the new dominance of creativity and innovation over mere production, the growing ease with which information was transmitted and reproduced made it harder for creators to profit from their creations. Nowadays, if you develop a marvelous piece of software, everyone will have downloaded a free copy from the Net the next day. If you record a magnifi...Folksonomies: art information economy
Folksonomies: art information economy
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2 Endless channels of media allow for more celebrities, but to smaller audiences. In order to make money from media, celebrities must sell more than their works. Their works must serve as advertisements for something else, like paid performances or lectures.
13 APR 2013 by ideonexus
Conclusions of the IPCC
This IPCC finding makes several different assertions, each of which is worth considering in turn.
First, it claims that atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like CO2 are increasing, and as a result of human activity. This is a matter of simple observation. Many industrial processes, particularly the use of fossil fuels, produce CO2 as a by-product.18 Because CO2 remains in the atmosphere for a long time, its concentrations have been rising: from about 315 parts per million (ppm) wh...Folksonomies: global warming
Folksonomies: global warming
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notesThe organization concludes that Global Warming, which is a very simple theory, is true.
12 JUL 2012 by ideonexus
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Reading List
1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook) – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans... 1 notes
notesEight books everyone should read to understand the forces at work in the world.
13 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Darwin and Abraham Lincoln Were Born on the Same Day
Charles Darwin (fig. 4.1) was bom on the same day as Abraham Lincoln—February 12,1809. Like Lincoln, he was a liberating force for humankind, but instead of freeing people from slavery, he freed biology from the bondage of supernaturalism. Philosophers of science have long pointed to Darwinian evolution as the greatest scientific revolution within biology, comparable to the role of Newton's or Einstein's revolutionary ideas in physics or the plate tectonics revolution in geology. Before Darwi... 1 notes
notesAnd they both freed humans from chains that bound them.
24 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Experiments Were Sacred to Darwin
Although [Charles Darwin] would patiently go on repeating experiments where there was any good to be gained, he could not endure having to repeat an experiment which ought, if complete care had been taken, to have told its story at first—and this gave him a continual anxiety that the experiment should not be wasted ; he felt the experiment to be sacred, however slight a one it was. He wished to learn as much as possible from an experiment, so that he did not confine himself to observing the s... 1 notes
notesHe hated to repeat them if he felt he had gained all the knowledge there was to gain from one, so he paid very close attention when performing one.
