31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Flatland Science: Dimensions
What and where is Flatland? A Square gives
us several interesting answers, many of th
contradictory. We know that it’s flat, big (but
how big?), and very thin, the most important question
of all is “how thin?” A lot depends on the answer…
A Square himself eliminates the version that’s easiest
for three-dimensional readers to understand; a world
that’s thin – maybe only a few atoms thick - but
nevertheless has some physical height. It would have
some sort of solid or semi-solid ...Folksonomies: science fiction otherness
Folksonomies: science fiction otherness
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
We are Machines that Carry Genes
We are survival machines, but 'we' does not mean just people. It
embraces all animals, plants, bacteria, and viruses. The total number of
survival machines on earth is very difficult to count and even the total
number of species is unknown. Taking just insects alone, the number of
living species has been estimated at around three million, and the
number of individual insects may be a million million million.
Different sorts of survival machine appear very varied on the outside and
in their i...The Gene's-eye view of evolution is very useful.
18 APR 2011 by ideonexus
A Story of Intellectual Wits from Arabian Nights
Moslem women scholars are not recorded in the historical texts, their existence is at least testified to by stories from the / Arabian Nights.^^
The compelling legend of the Arab slave-girl Tawaddud reminds us that even the most patriarchal of cultures have recognised the scholarly achievements of women. Her story occupied Shaharazad from the 436th through the 462nd of the Arabian nights. When Abu al-Husn of Baghdad found himself destitute, his beautiful young slave Tawaddud proposed that h...The slave girl Tawaddud bests a collection of scholars in a battle of knowledge.