29 NOV 2016 by ideonexus
Earthseed 61-65
61. What others say
Beware:All too often,We sayWhat we hear others say.We thinkWhat we’re told that we think.We seeWhat we’re permitted to see.Worse!We see what we’re told that we see.Repetition and pride are the keys to this.To hear and to seeEven an obvious lieAgainAnd again and againMay be to say it,Almost by reflexThen to defend itBecause we’ve said itAnd at last to embrace itBecause we’ve defended itAnd because we cannot admitThat we’ve embraced and defendedAn obvious lie. ... 1 
notes
notes06 MAR 2016 by ideonexus
Iron and Fever
Warm-blooded animals have an elaborate physiological control
system to maintain a constant body temperature. In man, this temperature
is about 37°C. Any significant deviation from this temperature puts
stress on the body and makes it difficult to maintain metabolic processes
at their normal rates. Why then, during sickness, should the temperature
rise? It would seem that development of fever would cause things to go
from bad to worse, and make it more difficult for the body to recuperate.
Fe...
1 Fever prevents bacteria from obtaining iron in the from the blood stream,
17 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Fun With the German Response to a Sneeze
Do you guys in the US really say ‘Gesundheit’ ? It is so cute to see one of our words (particularly one unrelated to war or anything like that) put to good use in a foreign language.
As somebody pointed out, ‘gesundheit’ just means ‘health’, and I am sure that this is already an abbreviation of an older habit of saying ‘may you be in good health’ (which just takes too long to say).
There are some other interesting cultural differences: I had no idea that ‘achoo’ is the s... 1 notes
notesGesundheit, Schonheit, Klugheit: Health, Beauty, Wisdom.
04 MAY 2013 by mxplx
Nonconceptual awareness
When we spend time in the wilderness, it can be tempting to focus our awareness on "doing" something: taking pictures; getting a certain amount of physical exercise; traveling from point A to point B; naming all the species of birds we encounter. While nature photography is a lovely craft, and we need to exercise for good health, and understanding what lives in our environment is a valid part of deepening our relationship with the land, these activities can separate us from a more intimate ex...Folksonomies: meaning perception
Folksonomies: meaning perception
"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”
richard feynmann
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
The Market is Not Darwinian
What is a market? And what does it have to do with the Internet? The fashion right now, one I follow, is to think of the Internet as a living environment, a place for societies, communities, and institutions to grow--rather than as something constructed, a superhighway, for example. That leads to appropriate metaphors, looking at the Net as something to be cultivated and nurtured rather than built or engineered. (Only its rules need to be designed so that it can grow in good health.) The stru... 1 notes
notesThe marketplace is not survival of the fittest, where an invisible hand allows for the emergence of the best strategies, but an artificial system where strategies, good or bad, are perpetually nurtured.
