13 OCT 2013 by ideonexus

 The Hourglass

Not the flowing waters of time but the falling sands of time have given modern poets their favorite metaphor for the passing hours. In England, sandglasses were frequently placed in coffins as a symbol that life's time had run out. "The sands of time are sinking," went the hymn. "The dawn of heaven breaks." But the hourglass, measuring time by dripping sand, comes late in our story. Sand was, of course, less fluid than water, and hence less adapted to the subtle calibration required by the v...
Folksonomies: engineering invention
Folksonomies: engineering invention
  1  notes

Sand vs water, the evolving art and ingenuity involved in crafting this timepiece.

13 JAN 2012 by ideonexus

 Seeing Farther From the Shoulders of Giants

We are like dwarfs [the moderns] sitting on the shoulders of giants [the ancients]. Our glance can thus take in more things and reach farther than theirs. It is not because our sight is sharper nor our height greater than theirs; it is that we are carried and elevated by the high stature of the giants.
Folksonomies: quotes giants
Folksonomies: quotes giants
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Bernard of Chartres quoted, elaborating on Newton's famous quote.

09 JUN 2011 by ideonexus

 Compute Simulations of DNA are Cathedrals

Some images of the molecules of life, as they are displayed on the color computer screen, resemble the gorgeous stained-glass windows and soaring architectural members of the Gothic cathedrals. A cross-section of the B DNA double helix, for example, bears a likeness to the magnificent rose window at Chartres. The webbed vaulting of the clathrin protein and the flying buttresses of the sugar-phosphate side chains of the DNA evoke the same sense of architectural deja vu. No medieval architect c...
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Just as stained glass tried to represent the hidden wonders of the world, our computer simulations represent wonders we cannot see with our own eyes to instill reverence and awe.