21 JUN 2014 by ideonexus
Technology VS Nature is a False Dichotomy
The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology, that's impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is—not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both.
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The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer o... 1 
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notes02 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
The Oddball Effect
The more detailed the memory, the longer the moment seems to last. “This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,” Eagleman said—why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.
“Time is this rubbery thing,” Eagleman said. “It stretches out when you really turn your brain resources on, and when you...Folksonomies: perception time
Folksonomies: perception time
1 notes
notesNovel experiences make slows down our perception of time.
12 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Life is Rebellion Against Chaos
Life is order, death is disorder. A fundamental law of Nature states that spontaneous chemical changes in the universe tend toward chaos. But life has, during milliards of years of evolution, seemingly contradicted this law. With the aid of energy derived from the sun it has built up the most complicated systems to be found in the universe—living organisms. Living matter is characterized by a high degree of chemical organisation on all levels, from the organs of large organisms to the small...Folksonomies: complexity chaos
Folksonomies: complexity chaos
1 Death is chaos.
12 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
The Ideal of Collaboration
In a University we are especially bound to recognise not only the unity of science itself, but the communion of the workers in science. We are too apt to suppose that we are congregated here merely to be within reach of certain appliances of study, such as museums and laboratories, libraries and lecturers, so that each of us may study what he prefers. I suppose that when the bees crowd round the flowers it is for the sake of the honey that they do so, never thinking that it is the dust which ...Folksonomies: collectivism collaboration
Folksonomies: collectivism collaboration
1 notes
notesWe think of scientists at universities and laboratories as working for a greater good, but, in reality, they are like bees in a hive gathering honey without thought to the larger picture.
30 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Take a Break to Find a Solution
If a solution fails to appear ... and yet we feel success is just around the corner, try resting for a while. ... Like the early morning frost, this intellectual refreshment withers the parasitic and nasty vegetation that smothers the good seed. Bursting forth at last is the flower of truth. Folksonomies: investigation working
Folksonomies: investigation working
1 notes
notesWhen dealing with a complicated issue and you feel you are on the verge of a breakthrough, take a break and the solution will come to you.
19 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Prayer Should Validate Existence
Many films diminish us. They cheapen us, masturbate our senses, hammer us with shabby thrills, diminish the value of life. Some few films evoke the wonderment of life's experience, and those I consider a form of prayer. Not prayer "to" anyone or anything, but prayer "about" everyone and everything. I believe prayer that makes requests is pointless. What will be, will be. But I value the kind of prayer when you stand at the edge of the sea, or beneath a tree, or smell a flower, or love someone...Not ask for things.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
The Beauty of a Flower
I have a friend who's an artist and he's sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say, "Look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree, I think. And he says--"you see, I as an artist can see how beautiful this is, but you as a scientist, oh, take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing." And I think that he's kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me, too, I believe, although I might not be quite as r...Why science makes the world more beautiful by providing insights into its beauty. This doesn't just apply to something commonly considered beautiful, like a flower, but to all of the world, natural and technological, to simple rocks, sand, wind, stars, planets, the sun. We scientists are a keenly aware of the molecular organization, epic history, thermodynamics, universal scale, wave phenomena, and everything else that goes into even the most mundane details of our existence.
