Category Archives: Science

A first for Scientific American: endorsing a political candidate.

Posted on September 16, 2020 by pendantry

Originally posted on Bobbing Around:
“We’ve never backed a presidential candidate in our 175-year history — until now” This editorial from one of the world’s most respected journals is worth reading. Regardless of other matters that may influence your vote,…

Posted in ... wait, what?, Reblogs, Science | Tagged , | 11 Comments

The illusion of free will

Posted on August 31, 2020 by pendantry

First, watch this: Having watched it, you may now have an idea what the ‘many worlds’ hypothesis is about. Focusing on the Schrödinger’s Cat example: when the box is opened, the universe splits into two; one in which the cat … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, consciousness, Core thought, illusion, Phlyarology, Science | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Planet of The Idiots: a lecture by Carl Sagan

Posted on August 26, 2020 by pendantry

Disclaimer: this lecture is actually entitled ‘The Age of Exploration’, but I think my title is more appropriate. Let’s make a planet in which nobody is starving. Let’s make a planet in which men and women have equal access to … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Core thought, Education, History, Phlyarology, Science, Tributes | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A deep (very deep!) Mandelbrot set

Posted on June 19, 2020 by pendantry

This amazing five minute video illustrates the Mandelbrot set; an infinite geometric figure (a fractal). Obviously the video doesn’t delve into the entire set — if it were to do that, it would take a bit longer to watch than … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, art, Science | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Winners create history

Posted on June 6, 2020 by pendantry

Those who cannot learn from history are destined to repeat it. (– various attributions) Great quote. But learning from the past can be tricky… While thumbing through a copy of New Scientist I came across a reference to a German … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, Communication, Computers and Internet, Education, memetics, People, Phlyarology, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Exploring the deep and beyond for Earth Day!

Posted on April 22, 2020 by pendantry

Happy Earth Day, folks! Today is special, as it marks the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. To celebrate this event, I want to point you to a couple of thingies… Recently, Kavita Ramial introduced me to a deep dive (10 … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, art, Education, Environment, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The case for optimism on climate change

Posted on April 21, 2020 by pendantry

March, 2016: This video may be four years old, but it still shows promise…. (25 mins) November, 2018: Trump is on the scene now — but can he stop a steamroller? (6 mins) April 2020: Coronavirus and climate change (51 … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Communication, Core thought, Energy, Environment, GCD: Global climate disruption, People, Science, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

This is NOT natural

Posted on April 6, 2020 by pendantry

Originally posted on Open Mind:
This graph should be on every billboard in the U.S. Paleo from PAGES2K: https://figshare.com/collections/Global_mean_temperature_reconstructions_over_the_Common_Era/4507043 combined with the surface temperature from Cowtan & Way http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~kdc3/papers/coverage2013/had4_krig_std.temp

Posted in ... wait, what?, Climate, Communication, Core thought, Education, Environment, GCD: Global climate disruption, History, News and politics, Reblogs, Science, Strategy | Tagged , | 11 Comments

What Big Oil knew about climate change

Posted on April 5, 2020 by pendantry

This fifteen minute video details what the oil industry has known, for decades, about how its activities would affect the planet — and what they did about it. Their activities were profoundly successful, as evidenced by the multitudes who are, … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, Business, Climate, Communication, Core thought, Economics, Energy, Environment, GCD: Global climate disruption, memetics, People, Phlyarology, Science | Tagged , | 9 Comments

What you believe can affect your appetite

Posted on March 23, 2020 by pendantry

I learnt a new word today: ‘ghrelin‘. It’s a hormone produced by the stomach that regulates hunger. If you have more ghrelin in your system, you’ll tend to feel hungry; if you have less of it, then you’ll tend to … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, Education, Health, illusion, Phlyarology, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments