27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
The Great Lifespan Escape
At the time when the lines begin, in the mid-18th century, life expectancy in Europe and the Americas was around 35, where it had been parked for the 225 previous years for which we have data.3 Life expectancy for the world as a whole was 29. These numbers are in the range of expected life spans for most of human history. The life expectancy of hunter-gatherers is around 32.5, and it probably decreased among the peoples who first took up farming because of their starchy diet and the diseases ... 1 
notes
notes12 DEC 2017 by ideonexus
Two Kinds of Science-Fiction Innovations
Most common are the fictions that begin with Jules Verne, and concern the single artifact—a submarine, flying machine, or death ray—and its consquence for all of humanity. These extraordinary voyages—to use Verne's term—play along the fault line between what we think we are and what we can do. Nemo is no accident, or a tragic figure, but the natural consequence of the intersection between present-day humanity and extraordinary technology. Even 2001: A Space Odyssey plays on the same t...Folksonomies: futurism science fiction
Folksonomies: futurism science fiction
1 notes
notes27 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
History of the Concept of Art
Nowadays when someone speaks of "art" you probably think first of "fine arts" such as painting and sculpture, but before the twentieth century the word was generally used in quite a different sense. Since this older meaning of "art" still survives in many idioms, especially when we are contrasting art with science, I would like to spend the next few minutes talking about art in its classical sense.
In medieval times, the first universities were established to teach the seven so-called "liber... 1 notes
notes21 JUN 2014 by ideonexus
Religious Organizations Must have Connections to the Secu...
Science, with its naturalistic approach to understanding the empirical world, has become the dominant standard against which alternative systems of knowledge production must argue. Over the course of the twentieth century, some denominations have reconciled particular truths of Christianity and science. However, fundamentalist Protestant Christians in the U.S. continue to wrestle with contradictions between their literal interpretations of the Bible and alternative cosmologies produced throug... 1 notes
notes24 FEB 2014 by ideonexus
The Problem of Scientific Literacy
In 1905, at a gathering of the world’s greatest minds in the physical sciences, Henri Poincare´ reflected on the rapid progress of scientific inquiry and the means through which the scientific community at the turn of the twentieth century and beyond would refine our understanding of the world. In his historical address, Poincare´ warned against the seduction of reducing science to a domain of seeming facts, stating, "Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an acc...Folksonomies: education scientific literacy
Folksonomies: education scientific literacy
1 notes
notesWe are failing students by treating science as a collection of facts rather than a method of thought.
22 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Observing Human Body-Language is Like Birdwatching
As we approach the end of the twentieth century, we are witnessing the emergence of a new kind of social scientist-the non-verbalist. Just as the birdwatcher delights in watching birds and their behaviour, so the non-verbalist delights in watching the non-verbal cues and signals of human beings. He watches them at social functions, at beaches, on television, at the office or anywhere that people interact. He is a student of behaviour who wants to learn about the actions of his fellow humans s...Folksonomies: anthropology body language
Folksonomies: anthropology body language
1 notes
notesThe science of body language is relatively young, despite the communication form going back millions of years.
29 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Gravity Travels at the Speed of Light
Here's the rub. In Newton's theory of gravity, one body exerts a gravitational pull on another with a strength determined solely by
the mass of the objects involved and the magnitude of their separation. The strength has nothing to do with how long the objects
have been in each other's presence. This means that if their mass or their separation should change, the objects will, according to
Newton, immediately feel a change in their mutual gravitational attraction. For instance, Newton's theor... 1 notes
notesAccording to Einstein, overturning Newton.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Century When the Dreams of Man are Realized
At the very beginning of the twentieth century competent scientific and lay
opinion held that airplanes were impossible. The end of the century, barring the
dark specter of nuclear or ecological catastrophes, will probably see joint Soviet
and American manned space expeditions to the nearer planets.
This is the century in which some of the oldest dreams of Man have been
realized, in which mankind has sprouted wings and realized the aspirations of
Daedalus and da Vinci. Air-breathing, man-car...Folksonomies: culture space exploration
Folksonomies: culture space exploration
1 notes
notesSpace Exploration only happens to one generation, and when it did, there were people alive for whom the planets were only distant untouchable points.
20 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Boundary of Life
The harder we look at the border between life and non-life, the
more elusive does the distinction become. Life, the animate, was supposed to have some sort of
vibrant, throbbing quality, some vital essence - made to sound yet more mysterious when dropped
into French: elan vital. Life, it seemed, was made of a special living substance, a witch's brew
called 'protoplasm'. Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger, a fictional character even more
preposterous than Sherlock Holmes, discovered that the ... 1 notes
notesDifferent attempts to define it over the years.
18 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Primitive Women were Scientists
rhe systematic development of knowledge and technology that we all 'science' originated in the millennia of prehistory, and early vomen were among these first 'scientists'. They invented tools, accumulated knowledge about edible and medicinal plants, and 3robably discovered 'the chemistry of pot-making, the physics of spinning, the mechanics of the loom, and the botany of flax anc ;otton'.i These developments occurred over long periods of time arising independently in different parts of the w... 1 notes
notesWith gathering being our primary mode of operation in primitive society, the responsibility fell on women to do the scientific research.
