like it? click it!
i spotted this as i left my friend's office building.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
the poetry of reality
yay! another wonderful video from melody sheep and the symphony of science!
lyrics:
[michael shermer]
science is the best tool ever devised
for understanding how the world works
[jacob bronowski]
science is a very human form of knowledge
we are always at the brink of the known
[carl sagan]
science is a collaborative enterprise
spanning the generations
we remember those who prepared the way
seeing for them also
[neil degrasse tyson]
if you're scientifically literate,
the world looks very different to you
and that understanding empowers you
refrain:
[richard dawkins]
there's real poetry in the real world
science is the poetry of reality
[sagan]
we can do science
and with it, we can improve our lives
[jill tarter]
the story of humans is the story of ideas
that shine light into dark corners
[lawrence krauss]
scientists love mysteries
they love not knowing
[richard feynman]
i don't feel frightened by not knowing things
i think it's much more interesting
[brian greene]
there's a larger universal reality
of which we are all apart
[stephen hawking]
the further we probe into the universe
the more remarkable are the discoveries we make
[carolyn porco]
the quest for the truth, in and of itself,
is a story that's filled with insights
(refrain)
[greene]
from our lonely point in the cosmos
we have through the power of thought
been able to peer back to a brief moment
after the beginning of the universe
[pz meyers]
i think that science changes the way your mind works
to think a little more deeply about things
[dawkins]
science replaces private predjudice
with publicly verifiable evidence
(refrain)
lyrics:
[michael shermer]
science is the best tool ever devised
for understanding how the world works
[jacob bronowski]
science is a very human form of knowledge
we are always at the brink of the known
[carl sagan]
science is a collaborative enterprise
spanning the generations
we remember those who prepared the way
seeing for them also
[neil degrasse tyson]
if you're scientifically literate,
the world looks very different to you
and that understanding empowers you
refrain:
[richard dawkins]
there's real poetry in the real world
science is the poetry of reality
[sagan]
we can do science
and with it, we can improve our lives
[jill tarter]
the story of humans is the story of ideas
that shine light into dark corners
[lawrence krauss]
scientists love mysteries
they love not knowing
[richard feynman]
i don't feel frightened by not knowing things
i think it's much more interesting
[brian greene]
there's a larger universal reality
of which we are all apart
[stephen hawking]
the further we probe into the universe
the more remarkable are the discoveries we make
[carolyn porco]
the quest for the truth, in and of itself,
is a story that's filled with insights
(refrain)
[greene]
from our lonely point in the cosmos
we have through the power of thought
been able to peer back to a brief moment
after the beginning of the universe
[pz meyers]
i think that science changes the way your mind works
to think a little more deeply about things
[dawkins]
science replaces private predjudice
with publicly verifiable evidence
(refrain)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
cognitive dissonance on 'for good reason'
dj grothe interviews carol travis:
'carol tavris describes dissonance theory and how self-justification and self-deception often keep people from changing their minds even in the light of compelling contrary evidence, because the evidence is often dissonant with one’s self-image. she details the implications of dissonance theory for the persistence of psychic charlatans and other peddlers of the paranormal, and how it may explain how someone like sylvia brown can live with herself, and also how it may explain how believers remain so gullible about such unsupportable claims. she describes confirmation bias as a component of dissonance theory. she talks about how dissonance theory applies to the skeptic movement, both in terms of suggesting the best strategies for engaging the credulous, and in terms of fostering skepticism about one’s own skeptical views. and she argues that skepticism should be affirmative rather than destructive in its approach, and focused on both critical thinking and creative thinking alike.'
EDIT: i really loved this, btw.
'carol tavris describes dissonance theory and how self-justification and self-deception often keep people from changing their minds even in the light of compelling contrary evidence, because the evidence is often dissonant with one’s self-image. she details the implications of dissonance theory for the persistence of psychic charlatans and other peddlers of the paranormal, and how it may explain how someone like sylvia brown can live with herself, and also how it may explain how believers remain so gullible about such unsupportable claims. she describes confirmation bias as a component of dissonance theory. she talks about how dissonance theory applies to the skeptic movement, both in terms of suggesting the best strategies for engaging the credulous, and in terms of fostering skepticism about one’s own skeptical views. and she argues that skepticism should be affirmative rather than destructive in its approach, and focused on both critical thinking and creative thinking alike.'
EDIT: i really loved this, btw.
double-published
my work's appearing twice in the march 2010 issue of digital SLR photogaphy magazine. i'm featured in the reader showcase and i've also written a do-it-yourself!
click pic to source
check it out!
click pic to source
check it out!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
lucy and kanzi on radiolab
i just spent an hour listening to this radiolab podcast which features two stories of beings that blurred the boundaries between humans and other animals.
the creators of the podcast, as always, do a great job of telling this fascinating, sweet, and ultimately heartbreaking story.
pictures of lucy:
(don't miss the final picture of... a hug...)
pictures of lucy:
(don't miss the final picture of... a hug...)
click image to source at the great ape trust
the second part of the podcast is all about kanzi, the bonobo... who speaks english!
the striking thing about both these stories isn't about the mechanics of eating, clothing or language... it's how humans and primates coexist and interact in a newly created intermediate culture in which the interpersonal relationships between beings matter more than the particular differences between species.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
welcoming the year of the tiger
related specifically to the above picture, a video i made of still pictures at yong he gong in october 2007:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
greta christina on atheism and sexuality
i'm about halfway through this. it's long but highly interesting.
from the video description:
'the sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex god does and doesn't want people to have. and while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. what are some atheist alternatives to these views? how can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in god? and how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?'
via pharyngula
from the video description:
'the sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex god does and doesn't want people to have. and while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. what are some atheist alternatives to these views? how can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in god? and how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?'
via pharyngula
Sunday, February 14, 2010
a pale blue valentine
like it? click it!
part 1:
carl sagan championed it but not everyone wanted to risk it. the sun might have burned the sensitive instruments on voyager 1. to get into a better position, it was delayed for five years. but finally, voyager's camera turned from its position ahead, back to take a picture of us.
one of the most important pictures humanity has taken: the pale blue dot, shot twenty years ago today, on february 14, 1990.
a valentine, from us, to us.
where are we? look at it carefully:
click pic to source on NASA
see it? a few pale blue pixels... over there -- to the right?
there we are!
'suspended in a sunbeam.'
well, not quite... that is an accident on voyager's optics.
'look again at that dot. that's here, that's home, that's us. on it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. the aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
the earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. in our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
the earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. there is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. visit, yes. settle, not yet. like it or not, for the moment the earth is where we make our stand.
it has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. to me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.' - the eloquence of carl sagan
part 2:
in november of last year, i linked to an interview of ann druyan on radiolab.
on friday, NPR published not one -- but two -- articles on the pale blue dot, voyager and a cosmic love story -- the one in how ann druyan and carl sagan fell in love while they were working on 'the ultimate mix tape', the sounds of earth to be carried by the voyagers on a golden record.
both articles contain an excerpt of the interview... with a transcript.
here's an excerpt of the excerpt:
'so i called carl, who was traveling. and we had been alone many times during the making of the record, and as friends for three years. and we'd had these wonderful, soaring conversations, but we had been both been completely just professional about everything and as friends. and he wasnt there. left a message. hour later, the phone rings, pick up the phone, and i hear this wonderful voice. and he said, i get back to my hotel room and i find this message, and it says annie called. and i say to myself - why didnt you leave me this message 10 years ago.
and my heart completely skipped a beat. i can still remember it so perfectly. and i said, for keeps? and he said you mean get married? and i said yes. and we had never kissed. wed never, you know, had any kind of personal discussions before. we both hung up the phone and i just screamed out loud. i remember it so well, because there was this great eureka moment. and then the phone rang and i was thinking oh, you know, i - and the phone rang, and it was carl, and he's like, just want to make sure that really happened. were getting married, right?' - annie druyan
what a story.
this wasn't fate... and i don't believe in soulmates. both ideas devalue an extaordinary experience.
no... this was two highly perceptive people who found themselves by chance at the same point in space and time, who recognized extraordinary qualities in each other, had the courage to express their thoughts and the strength to hold onto their love.
more images of us:where are we? look at it carefully:
click pic to source on NASA
see it? a few pale blue pixels... over there -- to the right?
there we are!
'suspended in a sunbeam.'
well, not quite... that is an accident on voyager's optics.
'look again at that dot. that's here, that's home, that's us. on it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. the aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
the earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. in our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
the earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. there is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. visit, yes. settle, not yet. like it or not, for the moment the earth is where we make our stand.
it has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. to me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.' - the eloquence of carl sagan
in november of last year, i linked to an interview of ann druyan on radiolab.
on friday, NPR published not one -- but two -- articles on the pale blue dot, voyager and a cosmic love story -- the one in how ann druyan and carl sagan fell in love while they were working on 'the ultimate mix tape', the sounds of earth to be carried by the voyagers on a golden record.
both articles contain an excerpt of the interview... with a transcript.
here's an excerpt of the excerpt:
'so i called carl, who was traveling. and we had been alone many times during the making of the record, and as friends for three years. and we'd had these wonderful, soaring conversations, but we had been both been completely just professional about everything and as friends. and he wasnt there. left a message. hour later, the phone rings, pick up the phone, and i hear this wonderful voice. and he said, i get back to my hotel room and i find this message, and it says annie called. and i say to myself - why didnt you leave me this message 10 years ago.
and my heart completely skipped a beat. i can still remember it so perfectly. and i said, for keeps? and he said you mean get married? and i said yes. and we had never kissed. wed never, you know, had any kind of personal discussions before. we both hung up the phone and i just screamed out loud. i remember it so well, because there was this great eureka moment. and then the phone rang and i was thinking oh, you know, i - and the phone rang, and it was carl, and he's like, just want to make sure that really happened. were getting married, right?' - annie druyan
what a story.
this wasn't fate... and i don't believe in soulmates. both ideas devalue an extaordinary experience.
no... this was two highly perceptive people who found themselves by chance at the same point in space and time, who recognized extraordinary qualities in each other, had the courage to express their thoughts and the strength to hold onto their love.
clickable
Saturday, February 13, 2010
tauron is ancient greek on 'caprica'
i was picking up greek phrases in the first episodes of caprica, such as 'adelfe mou' (my brother) 'yia mas' (to our health), 'nothos' (bastard), 'aima anti aimatos -- h diki ton tauronion' (blood for blood -- tauron justice), etc... with a strange american-sounding accent, mind you, so it's hard to discern some individual words. after googling around a bit, i fell on bear mcreary's battlestar galactica blog.
apparently, i'm right.
apparently, i'm right.
Friday, February 12, 2010
save the newspaper! not.
a couple of days ago someone rang my doorbell and asked me if i could answer some questions for a poll. i was curious so i agreed...
in summary, he asked me if i read this or that magazine and this or that newspaper and how often. i surprised myself in realizing that i no longer purchase or read any greek newpapers or magazines. at all. none.
it was kind of funny how i gave him a pile of 'no' answers.
he also asked me if i watch TV. i don't. more no's...
then he asked me if i use the internet... yeah.
google, blogger, flickr, etc., etc.
how often? continuously.
via boingboing
derren brown: the system
... or... the anthropic principle.
does derren brown have a full-proof system for winning at the horse races?
in 7 parts.
btw, i'd once embedded a wonderful video illustrating this belief system but the user has pulled it from youtube. i'd appreciate any clue to locate it again.
does derren brown have a full-proof system for winning at the horse races?
in 7 parts.
btw, i'd once embedded a wonderful video illustrating this belief system but the user has pulled it from youtube. i'd appreciate any clue to locate it again.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
90deg included angle
like it? then click it!
i shot this last year when i was taking taking pictures of various gerberas, discovering what great subjects flowers are for pictures... but i never posted. i like the image and i've been wanting to post, but feel that i'd do it differently today.
i'd probably have the light more to the side and add second, less intense light from the back or left to define the outline of the petals. maybe. i'd also be more confident about focusing manually and exactly with live view instead of using autofocus. finally, i'd tighten the aperture in order to get the entire flower into focus instead of just the petals.
still, it's a shame to have it sit all alone in a dark, hard disk, so here it is.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
hangin' around
like it? click it!
look what i picked up on the internets... i've been wearing them constantly all week.
btw, if you pick up a copy of the march issue of Digital SLR Photography magazine, and check out page 22 and the DIY section... you'll see meeeee!
this is the fifth publication for me. but who's counting?
sketching capabilities in autoCAD
i don't post too many autoCAD-related topics on this blog -- i see too much of it all day, every day -- but this looked very cool and different:
from lynn allen's blog.
from lynn allen's blog.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
science: auto-tuned
on the scientist:
'it's carl sagan like you've never heard him: his digitized, remixed voice sounds more like something emanating from a radio tuned to a pop music station than from a tv playing a public television documentary. footage of the scientist in his award-winning pbs series cosmos mingles with stunning computer animations depicting complex scientific concepts. this is all part of a novel project called symphony of science, which is meant to bring science to the masses with the use of modern media. nearly five million youtube users have already tuned in to watch.'
read more...
all the videos are at the symphony of science.
'it's carl sagan like you've never heard him: his digitized, remixed voice sounds more like something emanating from a radio tuned to a pop music station than from a tv playing a public television documentary. footage of the scientist in his award-winning pbs series cosmos mingles with stunning computer animations depicting complex scientific concepts. this is all part of a novel project called symphony of science, which is meant to bring science to the masses with the use of modern media. nearly five million youtube users have already tuned in to watch.'
read more...
all the videos are at the symphony of science.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
petition to tax churches in greece
if you're a greek national, you can help by signing this petition.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
an infrared view of the galaxy
more space porn:
click pic to source at NASA
'this composite color infrared image of the center of our milky way galaxy reveals a new population of massive stars and new details in complex structures in the hot ionized gas swirling around the central 300 light-years. this sweeping panorama is the sharpest infrared picture ever made of the galactic core and offers a laboratory for how massive stars form and influence their environment in the often violent nuclear regions of other galaxies.'
click pic to source at NASA
'this composite color infrared image of the center of our milky way galaxy reveals a new population of massive stars and new details in complex structures in the hot ionized gas swirling around the central 300 light-years. this sweeping panorama is the sharpest infrared picture ever made of the galactic core and offers a laboratory for how massive stars form and influence their environment in the often violent nuclear regions of other galaxies.'
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