06 APR 2015 by ideonexus
The Need for an Internal Skeleton
The need for an internal skeleton stems largely from the nature of muscle tissue, which can exert force only by contracting and is therefore much more effective with a good lever system to work with. I belittle neither the intelligence nor the strength of the octopus; but in spite of Victor Hugo and most other writers of undersea adventure, the creature's boneless tentacles are not all that effective as handling organs. I don't mean that the octopus and his kin are helpless hunks of meat; but... 1 
notes
notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Science Fiction Genetic Engineering
It is difficult to speak of specific examples of things genetic engineering may do for us. Specific examples always sound like stories out of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. Here are three long-range possibilities. First, the energy tree, programmed to convert the products of photosynthesis into conveniently harvested liquid fuels instead of cellulose. Second, the mining worm, a creature like an earthworm, programmed to dig into any kind of clay or metalliferous ore and bring to the surf...Folksonomies: science fiction
Folksonomies: science fiction
1 notes
notes24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Q
The hypothesis of {108} abstraction says that every living creature is characterized by a number Q which is a measure of the complexity of the creature. To measure Q, we do not need to know anything about the internal structure of the creature. Q can be measured by observing from the outside the behavior of the creature and its interaction with its environment. Q is simply the quantity of entropy produced by the creature's metabolism during the time it takes to perform an elementary respons...Folksonomies: complexity quantification
Folksonomies: complexity quantification
1 notes
notes11 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
The Dinosaur: A Poem
Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his power and strength
But for his intellectual length.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains—
One in his head (the usual place),
The other at his spinal base.
Thus he could reason 'A priori'
As well as 'A posteriori'.
No problem bothered him a bit
He made both head and tail of it.
So wise was he, so wise and solemn,
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure s...
1 About how dinosaurs have two brains, one in the rear (don't know if this is true or not, but I remember hearing this).
23 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Embryonic Recapitulation
By considering the embryological structure of man - the homologies which he presents with the lower animals - the rudiments which he retains - and the reversions to which he is liable, we can partly recall in imagination the former condition of our early progenitors; and we can approximately place them in their proper position in the zoological series. We thus learnt that man is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habit, and an in... 1 notes
notesDarwin seems to hint at it in this passage.
13 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Animals are "Other Nations"
We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world old... 1 notes
notesThey are not below us or above or even our bretheren, they see and feel completely alien to us.
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Dr. Frankenstein is a Amalgam of Scientists of the Time
The actual writing of Mary’s novel can be followed fairly closely from her journal in Switzerland, and then back in England at Great Marlow on the Thames. What is less clear is where she gathered her ideas and materials from, and how she created her two unforgettable protagonists: Dr Frankenstein and his Creature. One is tempted to say that the Creature – who is paradoxically the most articulate person in the whole novel — was a pure invention of Mary’s genius. But in Victor Frankenst...Folksonomies: fiction inspiration
Folksonomies: fiction inspiration
1 notes
notesFrom Shelley's journals.
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
How Ballooning Changed Our Perspective of the Earth
Ballooning produced a new, and wholly unexpected, vision of the earth. It had been imagined that it would reveal the secrets of the heavens above, but in fact it showed the secrets of the world beneath. The early aeronauts suddenly saw the earth as a giant organism, mysteriously patterned and unfolding, like a living creature. For the first time the impact of man on nature was clearly revealed: the ever-expanding relationship of towns to countryside, roads to rivers, cultivated fields to fore... 1 notes
notesThe same way the "Earthrise" photo changed our perspective, ballooning revealed the Earth to be a dynamic, interconnected organism.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Humans Should be Proud
Evolution is neither moral nor immoral. It just is, and we make
of it what we will. I have tried to show that two things we can make of
it are that it’s simple and it’s marvelous. And far from constricting our
actions, the study of evolution can liberate our minds. Human beings
may be only one small twig on the vast branching tree of evolution,
but we’re a very special animal. As natural selection forged our brains,
it opened up for us whole new worlds. We have learned how to improve
ou...We are the one species of 3.5 billion years of evolution that has figured out how we got here.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Australopithecus afarensis' Hip Bone Indicates She Could ...
When Lucy’s hundreds of fragments were assembled, she turned out
to be a female of a new species, Australopithecus afarensis, dating back
3.2 million years. She was between 20 and 30 years old, 3.5feet tall,
weighing a scant 60 pounds, and possibly afflicted with arthritis. But
most important, she walked on two legs.
How can we tell? From the way that the femur (thighbone) connects to
the pelvis at one end and to the knee at its other. In a bipedally
walking primate like ourselves, the fem... 1 notes
notesThe bone tilts to bring the knees inward, like it does in humans, but not in chimps, who waddle because they are bow-legged.
