Came across this enchanting Alfred Russel Wallace quote while watching Attenborough in Paradise:

I thought of the long ages of the past, during which the successive generations of [the King Bird-of-Paradise] had run their course — year by year being born, and living and dying amid these dark and gloomy woods, with no intelligent eye to gaze upon their loveliness; to all appearance such a wanton waste of beauty. …It seems sad that on the one hand such exquisite creatures should live out their lives and exhibit their charms only in these wild inhospitable regions. This consideration must surely tell us that all living things were not made for man. Many of them have no relation to him. Their happiness and enjoyments, their loves and hates, their struggles for existence, their vigorous life and early death, would seem to be immediately related to their own well-being and perpetuation alone.
Alfred Russel Wallace

Birds of Paradise:

More video: David Attenborough on the Twelve wired bird of paradise

Flame Bowerbird:

More video: David Attenborough on the Australian Bower Bird

The NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam was my first opportunity to see science education in another country. NEMO is by far the largest and most unique science center I have ever experienced, with huge interactive displays and a delightful, playful architecture.

I was also impressed with how deep much of the material went. There was no attempt to dumb down subject matter or render it “kid safe” (read: non-controversial). Topics such as reproduction and displays that might be considered disturbing were present amongst the standard cartoonish displays:

Nias Islanders

In the “Codename DNA” display area, there was the above fairly creepy plaster casts of the faces of the Indonesian island of Nias’ inhabitants from the 19th century by J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan.

There were also some awesome primary source material, like this gem from history, complete with signature:

Rosalind Franklin’s DNA X-Ray Diffraction Photo

See the complete flickr set here. I’ll be posting more photos from this science center over the next several weeks, exploring its many offerings.

A recent study at the Universite Laval in Quebec found that students consume 203 to 253 more calories after 45 minutes of activity requiring intense thought than students who relaxed for the same 45 minutes. Although the brain accounts for less than 2% of a person’s weight, it consumes 20% of the body’s energy. That’s 480 calories of a 2400 calorie diet, and if that energy supply is cut off for just four minutes, permanent brain damage can occur. There is no other organ nearly as sensitive to changes in its energy supply.

Intense physical exercise improves cognition in a variety of ways including staving off mental deterioration in seniors. This may be the result of increased oxygen flow to the brain and the recently discovered phenomena of the brain consuming lactate in addition to glucose during periods of intense exercise.

Homo floresiensis Credit: Kirk E. Smith

Comparisons with human brains found that a race of hobbit-like humans, Homo floresiensis, living in Indonesia 18,000 years ago had smaller brains in addition to their smaller size. Homo floresiensis lived on the island with pygmy elephants, and the two species probably shrank in size due to a scarcity of resources. When times got tough, this branch of humans quickly evolved smaller bodies and smaller brains to feed.

Colony of Tiny Sea Squirts Credit Nick Hobgood

Sea Squirts start life resembling a tadpole. It swims around until it find a suitable rock to affix itself, and then digests its cerebral ganglion, which controlled its movement. In other words, the sea squirt eats its brain when it doesn’t need it anymore. The Evolutionary Philosopher Daniel Dennet observed that this behavior resembles Professors having received tenure.

We tend to take it for granted that intelligence would naturally evolve from life, but the expense in energy does not always justify the gains in survival fitness. All the behavioral malleability that comes with the intelligence our hungry brains provide could conceivably be outwitted by some dumb but elaborate algorithm in another species, such as a virus or bacteria. We have to keep feeding our heads energy and ideas to prevent their being undone.

When we use a cellphone, we and the person on the other end of the line are two distant points in space that are brought together, ear to ear. Television connects us visually and audibly with places and people all over the world. Video, audio, and pictures connect us with moments in time. With computers, we are connected to the world in all of these ways and more.

We are living in “hybrid space.” we are no longer confined to three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension of time. We are able to traverse space with a phone call, text message, or e-mail. We are able to reach back in time by listening to a voice message, tivo a news program, or take a family photograph.

The hybridization of physical and virtual space works both ways. For instance, GPS and mapping software must successfully incorporate the physical world into its model. It’s algorithms must take into account the way distances are traversed in physical space, that floors are connected at points where there are stairwells and one-way streets may be walked any direction, but driven only one, when giving directions.

Geocaching goes from the digital to the physical world, plotting coordinates online for others to locate in real life. With headphones and a GPS, people are starting to create virtual tours in real space and augmented urban experiences. Mobile phones with GPS provide a means of playing games outside with friends, while other devices bring online social networking into real life.

“Hybrid Space,” as a new term, is most commonly used in art and architecture, challenging the common view of the real and digital worlds being separate and distinct. The concept of hybrid space tries to illustrate that virtual life and real life are so interconnected that it is erroneous to think of them as two separate domains. Digital information has become so ingrained in real life, and real life so ingrained in digital interaction, that the two worlds are, or soon will be, one.

This is by far the best kept secret of all the amazing cultural attractions on the Washington DC mall. If you appreciate knowledge, Enlightenment values, and science, then you MUST spend an afternoon in this room, appreciating every nook and cranny. America’s Founding Father’s were very wise individuals with a strong appreciation for education and knowledge.

Jefferson Room (Click for Flickr Set) Credit: Moi

There are names of philosophers, naturalists, and scientists everywhere. Proverbs meditating on Deism and knowledge abound. There are cherubs representing the American professions, including one chasing a butterfly with a net, representing entymology. There are paintings of women representing the different types of literature, from history to erotica. There are statues and paintings representing the different nations of the world, and what each contributes to world culture, where America is found contributing science.

My favorite of all these are the murals of women representing the different branches of the sciences. It took me four trips to this room to get photos of these murals, which I have not been able to find anywhere else on the Internet. I’m licensing these Creative Commons, so please reuse and redistribute!

Women of Science Top: Chemistry, Zoology, Astronomy, Geology Bottom: Botany, Physics, Mathematics, Archaeology (Click for Flickr Set) Credit: Moi

I love the fact that Mathematics is pretty much naked. : )

See the complete flickr set here. Very high resolution photos included.

The Science Fiction author, author of over 500 SF and general science books, Vice President of Mensa, and President of the American Humanist Society would be 88 today.

Isaac Asimov Credit: Rowena Morrill License

An interesting fact about Asimov and other great minds like Richard Feynman, was that they were supporters of reforming the spelling of English words. Asimov argued that the inconsistent and non-phonetic way we spell words in English contributes to illiteracy in American children.

Why don’t “comb,” “tomb,” and “bomb” rhyme/rime? Why do “they,” “say,” and “weigh” rhyme/rime? Our children don’t have difficulty learning to read and write because they are lacking in intelligence or proper study-habits, they have difficulty because they are learning a spelling system maintained by idiots.

Here’s a fantastic video illustrating the preposterousness of English spelling (ht oranchak).

The Spelling Society works to raise awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling and improve literacy through spelling reform.

Our calendar is not perfect, which is why we have leap years and leap seconds. While our New Year started on January 1, 2009 at 00:00:01, other calendars had a different take on this moment in time:

Fourmilab Switzerland has More on these Dates

Plus Wikipedia lists lots and lots more calendars.