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Brain
food. Something to appeal to the mind interested in the sciences,
the arts, the arcane, and the fascinating. Nothing directly to do
with cities, but of interest to inquiring minds. Many things
impact on people and cities: one of these seemingly non-urban
items may just spark a brilliant thought.
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Ancient Global Warming Drove Early Primates' Dispersal |
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HUMAN
ORIGINS: Science
Daily: The continent-hopping habits of early primates have long
puzzled scientists, and several scenarios have been proposed to
explain how the first true members of the group appeared virtually
simultaneously on Asia, Europe and North America some 55 million
years ago. But new research using the latest evidence suggests a
completely different migration path from those previously proposed
and indicates that sudden, rapid global warming drove the dispersal.
Read
more...
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Quantum Honeybees |
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MATHEMATICS:
Discover:
How could bees of little brain come up with anything as complex as a
dance language? The answer could lie not in biology but in
six-dimensional math and the bizarre world of quantum mechanics.
Read
more...
Comment:
On its own this is an interesting article. The perceptions of bees
seem to be related to a 6-D view of their world, and a few senses
that we don't have. However, this puts me in mind of a book called
“Emergence:
The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software”,
which notes how seemingly random and complex physical and social
structures can be constructed from a simple “language”. I
addressed this topic in part of a conference
paper, where I speculated about a similarly “simple behavioural
language” to describe how the people of a city maintain and operate
such an elaborate social and physical entity, which seems to keep
going in a ground-up manner no matter what top-down policies try to
control. I wonder what mathematical framework exists to describe
human behaviour?
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The case of the disappearing teaspoons: |
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EPIDEMIOLOGY:
Burnet
Institute (Australia): Full Title: The
case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the
displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute.
In January 2004 the authors found their tearoom bereft of teaspoons.
Although a flunky (MSCL) was rapidly dispatched to purchase a new
batch, these replacements in turn disappeared within a few months.
Exasperated by our consequent inability to stir in our sugar and to
accurately dispense instant coffee, we decided to respond in time
honoured epidemiologists’ fashion and measure the phenomenon. Read
more...
Comment:
Those with a scientific mindset will have noted this phenomenon,
even without the seminal work done by D. Adams in his seminal 1979
work. In its full urban context, as residential and commercial
densities increase, this is likely to become a serious problem. The
obvious conclusion seems to be personal investment in the shares of
local teaspoon manufacturing companies. Such shares can only grow as
this problem reaches pandemic proportions. Such companies are also
likely to be worthwhile investments for economic development agencies
keen to boost local employment in export oriented industries,
especially in rapidly urbanizing countries.
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The Political Compass™ |
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 Welcome to The Political Compass™.
There's abundant evidence for the need of it.
The old one-dimensional categories of 'right' and 'left', established for
the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789, are overly
simplistic for today's complex political landscape. For example, who are the
'conservatives' in today's Russia? Are they the unreconstructed Stalinists,
or the reformers who have adopted the right-wing views of conservatives like
Margaret Thatcher ?
On the standard left-right scale, how do you distinguish leftists like
Stalin and Gandhi? It's not sufficient to say that Stalin was simply more
left than Gandhi.
There are fundamental political differences between them that the old
categories on their own can't explain.
Similarly, we generally describe social reactionaries as 'right-wingers',
yet that leaves left-wing reactionaries like Robert Mugabe and Pol Pot
off the hook.
That's about as much as we should tell you for now. After you've responded
to the following propositions during the next 3-5 minutes, all will be
explained. In each instance, you're asked to choose the response that best
describes your feeling: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree or Strongly
Agree. At the end of the test, you'll be
given the compass, with your own special position on it.
The test is entirely anonymous. None of your personal details
are required, and nothing about your result is recorded or logged in any
way. The answers are only used to calculate your reading, and cannot be
accessed by anyone, ever.
The idea was developed by a political journalist with a university
counselling background,
assisted by a professor of social history. They're indebted to people like
Wilhelm Reich and Theodor Adorno for their ground-breaking work in this
field. We believe that, in an age of diminishing ideology, a
new generation in particular will get a better idea of where they
stand politically - and the sort of political company they keep.
So are you ready to take the test?
Remember that there's no right, wrong or ideal response.
It's simply a measure of attitudes and inevitable human contradictions to
provide a more integrated definition of where people and parties are really
at. Click here to start.
If you wish to contact us, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Scientists Predict How To Detect A Fourth Dimension Of Space |
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COSMOLOGY:
Source: Spacedaily:
Scientists at Duke and Rutgers universities have developed a
mathematical framework they say will enable astronomers to test a new
five-dimensional theory of gravity that competes with Einstein's
General Theory of Relativity. ... The
theory holds that the visible universe is a membrane (hence
"braneworld") embedded within a larger universe, much like
a strand of filmy seaweed floating in the ocean. Read
more...
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Sleep your way to a slimmer body |
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HEALTH:
Source: New
Scientist:
Women
who sleep less than 5 hours per night gain more weight than those who
sleep for 7 hours per night, a new study reveals Read
more...
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Nigerian Monkeys Drop Hints on Language Origin |
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LANGUAGE: Source: New York Times: "Researchers taping calls of the putty-nosed
monkey in the forests of Nigeria may have come a small step
closer to understanding the origins of human language. The researchers
have heard the monkeys string two alarm calls into a combined sound with a
different meaning, as if forming a word, Kate Arnold and Klaus Zuberbühler
report in the current issue of Nature." Read
more…
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Ancient shrub unlocks a clue to Darwin's 'abominable mystery' |
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EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY: Source: CS
Monitor: Biologist Dr. William Friedman "says he's discovered a unique trait in an ancient line of
plants that could represent a "missing link" between flowering plants
and more-ancient seed plants, such as pines, ginkos, and cycads, some of which
can be mistaken for palms." Read more…
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Shape-shifting car will brace for impact |
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MOTORING: Source: New
Scientist: "The car will use hood-mounted cameras and
radar to spot a vehicle on course for a side-on collision. Once it realises an
impact is imminent it will activate a shape-shifting metal in the door."
Read
more…
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Myanmar astrologers storming ahead |
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 DISASTER PREDICTION: Source: Al Jazeera: Astrologers in Myanmar hope to be able to
forecast storms and earthquakes by observing
the stars and planets, a national newspaper has reported. A group of local astrologers is comparing
their 2006 storm predictions with data from the meteorology department." Read more...
Comment: Interesting. The word “disaster” mean “Bad Stars”. Take it how you will.
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Not-so-constants? |
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PHYSICS: Source: CS
Monitor: "Physicists live with the
never-ending threat that new data will puncture cherished assumptions. That's
the way it is with the fundamental constants of nature." Read more…
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