9/30/10
Mõte
We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not in the sense that our grandparents had a future, or thought they did. Fully imagined cultural futures were the luxury of another day, one in which 'now' was of some greater duration. For us, of course, things can change so abruptly, so violently, so profoundly, that futures like our grandparents' have insufficient 'now' to stand on. We have no future because our present is too volatile. ... We have only risk management. The spinning of the given moment's scenarios. Pattern recognition.
William Gibson - Pattern Recognition
Paolo Bacigalupi intervjuu
Lev Grossman lobiseb saidil Techland end kindlalt ulmekirjanike kuldsesse eliiti kirjutanud ja esikromaaniga The Windup Girl nii Hugo kui ka Nebula võitnud Paolo Bacigalupiga, kes räägib muuhulgas oma kirjutamistest, Gibsonist ja muidu tegemistest ka.
It's all so far outside of what I expected for this book. When I wrote Windup Girl originally…I mean, I finished it, and I remember the exact feeling I had when I was going through the final copy edits and cleaning the manuscript before it was supposed to go out. It was done, and I'm looking at the page proofs, and I remember reading the book and just feeling this incredible sense of embarrassment about it...
It's all so far outside of what I expected for this book. When I wrote Windup Girl originally…I mean, I finished it, and I remember the exact feeling I had when I was going through the final copy edits and cleaning the manuscript before it was supposed to go out. It was done, and I'm looking at the page proofs, and I remember reading the book and just feeling this incredible sense of embarrassment about it...
vaata veel
Leiti esimene Maad meenutav kaugplaneet
Irene Klotz teatab Discovery Channeli veebisaidil, et leitud on esimene kaugplaneet, mis meenutab oma suuruselt ja asukohalt oma tähesüsteemis Maad ning millel võib seetõttu leiduda elu.
Gliese 581g is the first world discovered beyond Earth that's the right size and location for life. "Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say that the chances for life on this planet are 100 percent. I have almost no doubt about it," Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of California Santa Cruz, told Discovery News.
Gliese 581g is the first world discovered beyond Earth that's the right size and location for life. "Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say that the chances for life on this planet are 100 percent. I have almost no doubt about it," Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of California Santa Cruz, told Discovery News.
9/29/10
Kas aeg või lõppeda?
Rachel Courtland tutvustab New Scientistis nobelist Ben Freivogeli teooriat, mille kohaselt võib aeg ligikaudu viie miljardi aasta pärast lihtsalt lõppeda ja viia sealjuures kõik olemasoleva enesega unustusse.
The nature of time, our perception of it and even whether it exists at all are hot topics for both physicists and philosophers. But Freivogel isn't pushing a strange new concept of time.
His idea is arguably even more baffling. He thinks that time, as described by Einstein's theory of general relativity, could simply end in our universe, taking us with it. He gives us another 5 billion years or so before the axe falls.
The nature of time, our perception of it and even whether it exists at all are hot topics for both physicists and philosophers. But Freivogel isn't pushing a strange new concept of time.
His idea is arguably even more baffling. He thinks that time, as described by Einstein's theory of general relativity, could simply end in our universe, taking us with it. He gives us another 5 billion years or so before the axe falls.
IVF tõstab poisi sünnitamise tõenäosust
Michelle Roberts tutvustab BBC värsket teadustööd, mille kohaselt tõstab kunstliku viljastamise protseduur mõnevõrra poisslapse sünnitamise tõenäosust.
In their study, the likelihood of an IVF birth resulting in a boy was between 53% and 56%, depending on how soon the fertilised egg was put back into the woman. Taking the higher value, this would mean that in every hundred births, 56 would be baby boys and 44 would be girls.
In their study, the likelihood of an IVF birth resulting in a boy was between 53% and 56%, depending on how soon the fertilised egg was put back into the woman. Taking the higher value, this would mean that in every hundred births, 56 would be baby boys and 44 would be girls.
Kuidas ja miks olla õnnelik
Dan Jones uurib New Scientistis, mida peaks tegema, et olla õnnelik, ja milleks meil seda õnnelikkuse tunnet üldse vaja on.
So just what is it that makes us happy? Happiness can take the form of many different positive emotions, and some hints of what makes us happy may come from work that questions why these emotions first evolved. The answer isn't as obvious as it is in the case of negative emotions. These are clearly beneficial in the rough and tumble of survival: anger readies us to fight an opponent, fear makes us run away from danger, and disgust steers us away from contaminated foods and other sources of infection. Although there is no shortage of evidence that feelings of pleasure - obtained by finding a tasty meal or a sexy mate, for example - are important in rewarding and consolidating beneficial behaviours, it is harder to explain how the more diffuse positive emotions such as awe, hope or gratitude evolved.
So just what is it that makes us happy? Happiness can take the form of many different positive emotions, and some hints of what makes us happy may come from work that questions why these emotions first evolved. The answer isn't as obvious as it is in the case of negative emotions. These are clearly beneficial in the rough and tumble of survival: anger readies us to fight an opponent, fear makes us run away from danger, and disgust steers us away from contaminated foods and other sources of infection. Although there is no shortage of evidence that feelings of pleasure - obtained by finding a tasty meal or a sexy mate, for example - are important in rewarding and consolidating beneficial behaviours, it is harder to explain how the more diffuse positive emotions such as awe, hope or gratitude evolved.
9/28/10
vaata veelKümme õnnelikku kosmilist õnnetust
New Scientist tutvustab kümmet kosmilist ja maisemat asjaolude kokkulangemist, mis tegid võimalikuks äärmiselt vähetõenäolise ning tekitasid meie maailma ja mõtleva inimese.
Here we are, small beings on a small planet orbiting an unremarkable star in a really rather ordinary galaxy in an otherwise undistinguished part of an unimaginably vast universe. Yet something about our existence feels, well, special. From the ructions of the early cosmos to the growing pains of our planet and life’s daring evolutionary leaps, not everything about how we got here seems obvious, or even likely.
Here we are, small beings on a small planet orbiting an unremarkable star in a really rather ordinary galaxy in an otherwise undistinguished part of an unimaginably vast universe. Yet something about our existence feels, well, special. From the ructions of the early cosmos to the growing pains of our planet and life’s daring evolutionary leaps, not everything about how we got here seems obvious, or even likely.
Kolmas tee ateismi ja religiooni kohal
David Eagleman selgitab New Scientistis, miks ei soovi ta end nimetada ei ateistiks ega ka religiooseks inimeseks, vaid valib kolmanda tee, mis jätab lahti kõik uksed ning vaatab kõiksusele mõnevõrra täiskasvanulikuma ja avatuma pilguga.
Consider the enormous "possibility space" of stories that can be dreamed up. Take the entirety of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition as a single point in this possibility space. The eastern religions are another point. Strict atheism is another point. Now think of the immense landscape of the points in between. Many of these points will contain stories that are crazy, silly, or merely wildly improbalbe. But in the absence of data, they can't be ruled out of that space. This is why I call myself a "possibilian".
Consider the enormous "possibility space" of stories that can be dreamed up. Take the entirety of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition as a single point in this possibility space. The eastern religions are another point. Strict atheism is another point. Now think of the immense landscape of the points in between. Many of these points will contain stories that are crazy, silly, or merely wildly improbalbe. But in the absence of data, they can't be ruled out of that space. This is why I call myself a "possibilian".
9/27/10
vaata veel
Uuring: neandertallased lõid ise tööriistu
Katia Moskvitch vahendab BBCs teadustööd, millest selgub, et neandertallased olid tööriistade väljanuputamises ja loovas mõtlemises tervikuna seni arvatust palju võimekamad.
"Basically, I am rehabilitating Neanderthals," said Julien Riel-Salvatore, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado in Denver, who led the seven-year study. "They were far more resourceful than we have given them credit for."
"Basically, I am rehabilitating Neanderthals," said Julien Riel-Salvatore, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado in Denver, who led the seven-year study. "They were far more resourceful than we have given them credit for."
9/26/10
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