14 SEP 2011 by ideonexus

 Early Description of What Would Become DNA

Knowing what we know from X-ray and related studies of the fibrous proteins, how they are built from long polypeptide chains with linear patterns drawn to a grand scale, how these chains can contract and take up different configurations by intramolecular folding, how the chain- groups are penetrated by, and their sidechains react with, smaller co-operating molecules, and finally how they can combine so readily with nucleic acid molecules and still maintain the fibrous configuration, it is but...
Folksonomies: dna molecular biology
Folksonomies: dna molecular biology
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"they form the long scroll on which is written the pattern of life."

28 JUL 2011 by ideonexus

 The Baby's Brain is Interested in Surviving

Many well-meaning moms and dads think their child’s brain is interested in learning. That is not accurate. The brain is not interested in learning. The brain is interested in surviving. Every ability in our intellectual tool kit was engineered to escape extinction. Learning exists only to serve the requirements of this primal goal. It is a happy coincidence that our intellectual tools can do double duty in the classroom, conferring on us the ability to create spreadsheets and speak Fre...
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This is an important thing to remember when trying to teach children: first provide them a safe environment.

29 MAR 2011 by ideonexus

 Requirements for a Science Bible

Creating a permanent record of our civilization may not be as difficult as we imagine. What we need is a primer on science, clearly written and unambiguous in its meaning—a primer for anyone interested in the state of the Earth and how to survive and live well on it. One that would serve also as a primary school science text. It would be the scientific equivalent of the Bible. It would contain practical information such as how to light a fire, and things to wonder about when it was lit. It ...
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What are some of the most basic and important things that would need to go into a completely introductory book on Science?

01 JAN 2010 by ideonexus

 A Programmer's Basic Material is Knowledge

As Pragmatic Programmers, our base material isn't wood or iron, it's knowledge. We gather requirements as knowledge, and then express that knowledge in our designs, implementations, tests, and documents. And we believe that the best format for storing knowledge persistently is plain text. With plain text, we give ourselves the ability to manipulate knowledge, both manually and programmatically, using virtually every tool at our disposal.
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And we express that knowledge in our designs.