Tool use in crocodylians: crocodiles and alligators use sticks as lures to attract waterbirds | Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blog Network “As described by Dinets et al. (2013), Mugger crocodiles Crocodylus palustris in India and American alligators Alligator mississippiensis in the USA have both been observed to lie, partially submerged, beneath egret and heron colonies with sticks balanced across their snouts. Birds approach to collect the sticks for use in nest building and… well, let’s just say that it doesn’t end well for the birds. If the crocodylians really are using the sticks as bait to attract their bird prey, this is tool use, since the sticks are objects that are being employed for a specific function.” tags: animal crocodile tools tool science adaptation weekly How meaning comes to technology: PCR at 30 | Jean-Baptiste Gouyon | Science | theguardian.com “More than a technique, PCR is a concept, that enables molecular biologists to think in new ways of their object of study, DNA, to ask genes new questions. Opening the way to new experiments, it literally frees the imagination. Some even use PCR machines as fridges. After all a thermocycler is nothing but an intelligent heating and cooling block. It can be set on 4ºC for 48 hours, to conserve the result of an experiment over the week-end. ” How meaning […]

Les Leftovers: The great Medieval water myth “The idea that Medieval people drank beer or wine to avoid drinking bad water is so established that even some very serious scholars see no reason to document or defend it; they simply repeat it as a settled truth. In fact, if no one ever documents the idea, it is for a very simple reason: it’s not true. “ tags: weekly truth lies reality history water A Cynic’s Glossary – Futility Closet “EDUCATION, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding. HABIT, n. A shackle for the free. HERS, pron. His. IMMIGRANT, n. An unenlightened person who thinks one country better than another. IMPUNITY, n. Wealth. OCEAN, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no gills.” tags: weekly definitions dictionary words language The Dangers of Certainty: A Lesson From Auschwitz – NYTimes.com “Dr. Bronowski thought that the uncertainty principle should therefore be called the principle of tolerance. Pursuing knowledge means accepting uncertainty. Heisenberg’s principle has the consequence that no physical events can ultimately be described with absolute certainty or with “zero tolerance,” as it were. The more we know, the less certain we are. In the everyday world, we do not just accept a lack […]

Explorable Explanations “Do & Show & Tell Don’t try to explain everything with something interactive. Use interactivity only when interactivity works best, otherwise, supplement it with text & images. Also keep in mind the overlaps of Do & Show & Tell: when text interacts with the diagrams (e.g. Tangle), and vice versa. Text: Best at describing very abstract concepts. Graphs: Best at showing broad relationships at a glance. Animations: Best at showing temporal relationships. Interactives: Best at showing processes, systems, models. (See final slide on Procedural Rhetoric)” tags: weekly interactive explorable_explanation explorable explanation Death by Coca Cola – Neatorama “A 31-year-old New Zealand woman died following a cardiac arrhythmia which the coroner blamed on her 2.2 gallon-a-day Coca Cola habit: “ tags: math health coke weekly wcydwt Small Is Beautiful – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Schumacher’s philosophy is one of “enoughness”, appreciating both human needs, limitations and appropriate use of technology. It grew out of his study of village-based economics, which he later termed Buddhist economics, which is the subject of the book’s fourth chapter. “ tags: weekly economics scale Quote by Freya Stark: “There can be no happiness if the things we beli…” ““There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” ? Freya Stark” tags: weekly quote happiness Outernet: […]