ideonexus

interweaving ideas

  • Evolve Culturally or Die

    Cavefish and Zebrafish Embryos Credit: wellcome images An important rule of evolution is that species lose adaptations they aren’t using. Cave fish have eyes that do not work because they live in an environment without light. Crocodile icefish blood has lost its hemogloblin because they live in oxygen-rich water where they don’t need the protein…

  • Science Yearbook 2011

    I used to provide a daily list of links on this blog of science stories I found interesting. I gave that up and took down the link-posts to focus on my personal writing, but I still share links through social media. Here’s my favorite science stories of 2011. Space So Long Space Shuttle Credit: Trey…

  • GMO Foods and the Promise a Second Green Revolution

    Maize tassel with anthers emerging Credit: CIMMYT In 1968, Dr. Paul Ehrlich predicted a population explosion on planet Earth would result in mass starvation in his book The Population Bomb. While millions die each year of starvation, Dr. Ehrlich’s dire predictions did not come true. Many critics of environmentalism often cite Ehrlich’s failed predictions to…

  • Powers of Eleven Day

    Pascal’s Triangle, Odd Numbers Highlighted One of the great joys of being human is our incredible powers of pattern recognition. Our brain’s ability to manifest meaningful associations out of the complex morass of sensory stimuli perpetually assaulting us is a cognitive expertise into which computers are only just starting to venture successfully. It’s what allows…

  • Archeological Narratives that Enchant the Imagination

    Shonisaur vertebral disks arranged in curious linear patterns Credit: Mark McMenamin I admit it. I knew better when I posted the story about the kraken lair to my Facebook for my less scientifically literate friends to awe and wonder at. I could tell from the scant evidence provided in the press release that there really…

  • Reinventing Radio: An Evening with Ira Glass

    This American Life (TAL) is one of the most successful shows on NPR, it started in 1995, has won numerous awards, and one of my conservative friends even described the show as “single-handedly justifying the existence of NPR.” I’ve heard shows from time to time over the years, but a few months ago I downloaded…

  • Our Childbirth Experience

    Jump To: Researching Pregnancy Pregnancy Lifestyle Where to Deliver Labor and Delivery Our Parenting Choices What We’ve Learned Further Reading Stages of Fetal Development Credit: NHS Pregnancy Desktop One of the first things Vicky and I established when we first became romantically involved is that we both wanted to have children. We share a deep…

  • The 2011 National Book Festival on the Washington DC Mall

    Book Festival Poster “I cannot live without books.” ~ Thomas Jefferson I had the great joy of attending this year’s National Book Festival on the Washington DC Mall. With over 100 authors in attendance, CSPAN’s BookTv.org covering the event, PBS Kids, Scholastic, and the greatest library on Earth providing educational materials, this was a fun…

  • Science Fiction Versus Fantasy – Uncensored

    This is the uncensored version of my Science Fiction VS Fantasy piece I wrote for the Science Creative Quarterly several years ago. I’ve also written much more extensively on this topic in the past. This is the abbreviated version with 10% more snark: I Fanboy: Hey gang! Did you read The Sword of Shanara? The…

  • Celebrating the UN’s “International Day of Peace” with Dr. Jane Goodall

    Jane Goodall Vicky and I had the great honor of seeing Jane Goodall at American University in Washington DC this last weekend. The event was a sort of town hall meeting held outdoors in the cool fall air titled Conversation on Peace just a few days before the United Nations’ International Day of Peace. Dr.…

  • 9/11 by the Numbers

    [It is] easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaeda, in order to make the generals race there and cause America to suffer human, economic, and political…

  • The Science of Social Welfare

    Malnutrition Affects the Mind Credit: REL Waldman For thousands of years civilizations have extended social safety nets to its most disadvantaged members in order to ensure a minimal level of wellbeing. The Roman Empire, ancient Judaism, the Chinese Song Dynasty, the Catholic Church, Islam and many many other civilizations have a history of providing social…