27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Young Apes Resemble Human Children
Hartmann, in his work on the Anthropoid Apes (289, p. 301), quotes, approvingly, the words of Vogt: ‘When we consider the principles of the modern theory of evolution, as it is applied to the history of development, we are met by the important fact that in every respect the young ape stands nearer to the human child than the adult ape does to the adult man. The original differences between the young creatures of both types are much slighter than in their adult condition : this assertion, ma...Folksonomies: evolution child development
Folksonomies: evolution child development
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notes31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Universality of Analogy
This reversibility and this polyvalency endow analogy with a universal field of application. Through it, all the figures in the whole universe can be drawn together. There does exist, however, in this space, furrowed in every direction, one particularly privileged point: it is saturated with analogies (all analogies can find one of their necessary terms there), and as they pass through it, their relations may be inverted without losing any of their force. This point is man: he stands in propo...Folksonomies: analogy similarity
Folksonomies: analogy similarity
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notes30 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Violence Must be Considered Proportionally When Compared ...
In absolute numbers, of course, civilized societies are matchless in the destruction they have wreaked. But should we look at absolute numbers, or at relative numbers, calculated as a proportion of the populations? The choice confronts us with the moral imponderable of whether it is worse for 50 percent of a population of one hundred to be killed or 1 percent of a population of one billion. In one frame of mind, one could say that a person who is tortured or killed suffers to the same degree ...Folksonomies: violence quantification
Folksonomies: violence quantification
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notes05 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The Monte Carlo Method and Evolutionary Algorithms
Back then, I thought of one thing: Have you heard of the Monte Carlo method? Ah, it’s a computer algorithm often used for calculating the area of irregular shapes. Specifically, the software puts the figure of interest in a figure of known area, such as a circle, and randomly strikes it with many tiny balls, never targeting the same spot twice. After a large number of balls, the proportion of balls that fall within the irregular shape compared to the total number of balls used to hit the ci...Folksonomies: algorithms evolutionary algorithms
Folksonomies: algorithms evolutionary algorithms
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notes29 MAY 2014 by ideonexus
The Importance of Altruism in Human Evolution
In proportion as physical characteristics become of less importance, mental and moral qualities will have an increasing importance to the well-being of the race. Capacity for acting in concert, for protection of food and shelter; sympathy, which leads all in turn to assist each other; the sense of right, which checks depredation upon our fellows ... all qualities that from earliest appearance must have been for the benefit of each community, and would therefore have become objects of natural ...
1 Behaviors benefiting the community benefited the species.
21 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Understanding is Music
Sure there is music even in the beauty, and the silent note which Cupid Strikes, far sweeter than the sound of an instrument. For there is music wherever there is harmony, order and proportion; and thus far we may maintain the music of the spheres; for those well ordered motions, and regular paces, though they give no sound unto the ear, yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony. 1 notes
notesKnowledge brings us harmony everywhere.
21 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Science Does Not Require Talent
Anyone of common mental and physical health can practise scientific research .... Anyone can try by patient experiment what happens if this or that substance be mixed in this or that proportion with some other under this or that condition. Anyone can vary the experiment in any number of ways. He that hits in this fashion on something novel and of use will have fame .... The fame will be the product of luck and industry. It will not be the product of special talent. Folksonomies: scientific method process
Folksonomies: scientific method process
1 notes
notesIt is a simple process of thoroughness, any discoveries are just luck.
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
When Memes and Genes Conflict
Memes and genes may often reinforce each other, but they sometimes
come into opposition. For example, the habit of celibacy is presumably
not inherited genetically. A gene for celibacy is doomed to failure in the
gene pool, except under very special circumstances such as we find in
the social insects. But still, a meme for celibacy can be successful in the
meme pool. For example, suppose the success of a meme depends
critically on how much time people spend in actively transmitting it to
othe... 1 notes
notesMemes can override genes, which means a meme like 'celibacy' can prevent the genes from reproducing.
26 SEP 2013 by ideonexus
Skepticism in Science has Grown
In 1982, polls showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created human beings in their present form. Thirty years later, the fraction of the population who are creationists is 46 percent.
In 1989, when “climate change” had just entered the public lexicon, 63 percent of Americans understood it was a problem. Almost 25 years later, that proportion is actually a bit lower, at 58 percent.
The timeline of these polls defines my career in science. In 1982 I was an undergraduate phy... 1 notes
notesOver time people are growing more skeptical of scientific truth.
17 AUG 2013 by ideonexus
Zhodani Religion
Death, to the Zhodani, is not a complete ending. The "evil" (that is, failure of duty) of the individual spirit will be lost. The "good" of the spirit will merge for a time with the universal energy field, the Tavrian, and then return to another member of the race. The more dutiful the spirit, the more personality (and possibly even memory) will remain; this resembles reincarcation. An undutiful spirity will be diminished in proportion to its failures. However, actual demotion on the "chain o... 1 notes
notesInteresting concept, that our good survives to live more lifetimes, while our bad dies with us. The more good, the more of us to continue, while the more bad, the less we will exist. Similar to evolution, where our good survives into future generations.
