30 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Chemistry Logic is a Triumph of the Human Mind
The ingenuity and effective logic that enabled chemists to determine complex molecular structures from the number of isomers, the reactivity of the molecule and of its fragments, the freezing point, the empirical formula, the molecular weight, etc., is one of the outstanding triumphs of the human mind. 1 
notes
notesIt is ingenius and effective logic.
18 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Science of Reconstructing Fossils
In my work on Fossil Bones, I set myself the task of recognizing to which animals the fossilized remains which fill the surface strata of the earth belong. ... As a new sort of antiquarian, I had to learn to restore these memorials to past upheavals and, at the same time, to decipher their meaning. I had to collect and put together in their original order the fragments which made up these animals, to reconstruct the ancient creatures to which these fragments belonged, to create them once more...Folksonomies: archaeology
Folksonomies: archaeology
1 notes
notesCuvier describes an art that he pioneered(?)
03 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
We Are Moving to a World Where Only Advertising is Worth ...
If you want to know what’s really going on in a society or ideology, follow the money. If money is flowing to advertising instead of musicians, journalists, and artists, then a society is more concerned with manipulation than truth or beauty. If content is worthless, then people will start to become empty-headed and contentless.
The combination of hive mind and advertising has resulted in a new kind of social contract. The basic idea of this contract is that authors, journalists, musicians... 1 notes
notesArtists are being forced to give away their content for free, making it essentially worthless. When content is worthless, people will become contentless.
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.
30 AUG 2011 by ideonexus
Geology is Like Putting a Puzzle Together
The world is the geologist's great puzzle-box; he stands before it like the child to whom the separate pieces of his puzzle remain a mystery till he detects their relation and sees where they fit, and then his fragments grow at once into a connected picture beneath his hand. 1 notes
notes...to find a complete picture form under the scientist's hands.
19 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Juxtaposition is the Spice of Life
Let me suggest a new axiom: juxtaposition is the spice of life.
Humanity’s biggest talent, unique to us, is juxtaposing, finding and
operating novel relationships between things or ideas... Recent ideas on neural activity suggest that the brain operates
in a very associative way, with small neuron clusters containing
core concepts, rather in the way a battery holds a trickle charge.
These core concepts would be irreducibly small fragments of sounds
or sights, or any phenomena that you exper... 1 notes
notesThe brain can be wired more ways then there are atoms in the Universe, and new combinations create new ideas and innovations.
