29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
The Origin of Life from Molecules
The account of the origin of life that I shall give is necessarily speculative;
by definition, nobody was around to see what happened. There are a
number of rival theories, but they all have certain features in common.
The simplified account I shall give is probably not too far from the truth.
We do not know what chemical raw materials were abundant on earth
before the coming of life, but among the plausible possibilities are water,
carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia: all simple compounds ... 1 
notes
notesHighlights from Dawkin's description of how molecules evolved through natural selection to eventually form life.
11 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
If Time is the Eiffle Tower, Then Man is the Paint on the...
Man has been here 32,000 years. That it took a hundred million years to prepare the world for him is proof that that is what it was done for. I suppose it is, I dunno. If The Eiffel Tower were now to represent the world's age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle knob at its summit would represent man's share of that age; and anybody would perceive that the skin was what the tower was built for. I reckon they would, I dunno. 1 notes
notesAnd would we assume the paint was the purpose of the tower?
13 APR 2012 by ideonexus
The Eiffel Tower as a Symbol of Time
Man has been here 32,000 years. That it took a hundred million years to prepare the world for him is proof that that is what it was done for. I suppose it is. I dunno. If the Eiffel tower were now representing the world's age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man's share of that age; & anybody would perceive that that skin was what the tower was built for. I reckon they would. I dunno.Folksonomies: big history time
Folksonomies: big history time
1 From Mark Twain, with the paint on the top of it as Man's time on Earth.
13 DEC 2011 by ideonexus
Stable Orbits are Impossible in More Than Three Dimensions
If one assumes that a few hundred million years in stable orbit are necessary for planetary life to evolve, the number of space dimensions is also fixed by our existence. That is because, according to the laws of gravity, it is only in three dimensions that stable elliptical orbits are possible. Circular orbits are possible in other dimensions, but those, as Newton feared, are unstable. In any but three dimensions even a small disturbance, such as that produced by the pull of the other planet...The force of gravity gets weaker the more dimensions you add to the Universe, making stable planetary orbits impossible.
19 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Difficulty of Defining Species
The Platonist regards any change in rabbits
as a messy departure from the essential rabbit, and there will always be resistance to change - as if
all real rabbits were tethered by an invisible elastic cord to the Essential Rabbit in the Sky. The
evolutionary view of life is radically opposite. Descendants can depart indefinitely from the
ancestral form, and each departure becomes a potential ancestor to future variants. Indeed, Alfred
Russel Wallace, independent co-discoverer with Darwin of e... 1 notes
notesThe Platonist view of species defines all members as imperfect examples of a perfect example of the species, when in reality, there is a bell curve of examples that blend into other species.
