Category: science
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Visualising Four Dimensions
Need help in visualising four dimensions? Étienne Ghys has now created a series of videos for ‘teaching’ others how to visualise objects in the fourth dimension (the spatial, not temporal, fourth dimension). How on earth can we visualize such a thing? [The] challenge in visualizing four dimensions is very similar to the one that would…
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Computing and Neuroscience Links
At 24 I firmly believe that I’m still young enough to completely change my professional ‘direction’ and for it to have no discernible effect on my future earning power. As such I always have these fantastic ideas that one day soon I will go back to university and complement my CS degree with another degree…
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Applying Mathematics to Escher’s Print Gallery
Prentententoonstelling—or Print Gallery—is a recursive M. C. Escher drawing. For Mathematics Awareness Month 2003, Escher and the Droste Effect delves into the mathematics behind one of Escher’s more intriguing pieces. The following from the published article. [Prentententoonstelling] shows a young man standing in an exhibition gallery, viewing a print of a Mediterranean seaport. As his…
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Our True Ancestors
Based on molecular genetic sequence analysis, as a human our nearest relatives are—in order—primates, flying lemurs (colugos), treeshrews and then rabbits and rats. These are the Euarchontoglires, or Supraprimates.
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The Seed Salon
I’ve just discovered Seed Magazine’s Seed Salon and am enthralled. Each ‘episode’ is a short, ten-minute conversation between a scientist and an artist or humanist. It’s like a conversational TED Talk. via Kottke
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Imagining the Tenth Dimension
Another one from the year-old+ StumbleUpon archives: a video to help in imagining the tenth dimension. Apparently the book isn’t scientifically up-to-par and wouldn’t survive the remotest hint of peer review, but the video is interesting nonetheless.
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Interview with a Self-Trepanner
Self-trepanation seems the realm of low budget horror films and historic medical literature. However Neurophilosophy has a transcript of an interview with a recent self-trepanner. M: How exactly did you perform the trepanation? HP: I used a hand trepan initially, but that wasn’t proving to be terribly successful. Then there was a problem with the…
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The Periodic Table of Videos
The Periodic Table of Videos, from Nottingham University, UK: click on an element to watch an interesting video on it. via Kottke
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How Our Bodies Age
The Washing ton Post has an interesting infographic on How Our Bodies Age (And What You Can Do About It). Aging is the natural wear and tear of the body’s component parts. It’s inevitable, and endlessly intriguing. While many age-related changes cannot be prevented, a lifestyle that includes exercise and a well-balanced diet will slow…
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The Best of Neurophilosophy
The Best of Neurophilosophy is a roundup of the best posts from the blog of the same name. Posts highlighted include those on brainwashing, prefrontal lobotomies, trepanation,and the psychology of Alfred Hitchcock.