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cortex | April 14, 2008Raymond Tallis recently launched a broadside against the nascent field of neuroaesthetics, especially as applied to literature:
A generation of academic literary critics has now arisen who invoke "neuroscience" to assist them in their work of explication, interpretation and appreciation. Norman Bryson, once a leading exponent of Theory and a social constructivist, has described his Damascene conversion, as a result of which he now places the firing of neurons rather than signifiers at the heart of literary criticism. Evolutionary theory, sociobiology and allied forces are also recruited to…
esiegel | April 14, 2008Over the past few months, I have been asked a number of questions about String Theory and the Universe, including from readers Benhead and Mastery Mistery. But now Jamie, whom I'm going to marry later this year, has been asking me about it, and so it's time to write something about the scientific topic of String Theory. (Send in your questions now, because I'll answer them all this week if there's enough interest.) Let's start with this pair of questions:
String theory has been around for over 20 years, and so far, there is not one shred of experimental or observational evidence in support of…
grrlscientist | April 14, 2008tags: Things I Didn't Know I Loved, Nazim Hikmet, poetry, National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month, and I plan to post one poem per day, every day this month (If you have a favorite poem that you'd like me to share, feel free to email it to me). My poetry suggestions are starting to run dry, which means I can start posting my own favorites (but you've seen many of those already) or you can send me your favorite poems, which I probably haven't read before! Today's poem was suggested by a reader who also is a poet, Digital Cuttlefish, who writes; "One poem stands out above all…
cortex | April 14, 2008When I mutter about the fourth culture, about the possibility of bridging the cultural chasms separating art and science, I should make it clear that I'm not talking about stuff like this. In fact, I think there's something mildly offensive about turning one of the more profound equations of modern physics into a lame, self-aggrandizing album title.
cmcclain | April 14, 2008The world below the brine,
Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds, the thick tangle openings, and pink turf,
Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold, the play of light through the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes, and the aliment of the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting with his flukes,
The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle…
cmcclain | April 14, 2008The unexpected warmth this weekend made diving in the cold Monterey waters just a little more tolerable. Jim on the other hand believes 50 degrees, windy, and drizzly is a reason to load up the car and head to the beach with the kids. What do you expect of someone with questionable invertebrate affinities? Jim kicks off the first beach excursion of the year to Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA.
Over at Island Rambles a post and pictures on a superpod! A superpod is a rare conglomerate of smaller orca pods that moves up and down the coast offing salmon, stealing children, tormenting…
gregladen | April 14, 2008I'm home sick, so I'm not going to be able to hug very many atheists... But you'all go hug each other now, ya hear?
Here is the facebook link to the event.
petnoyer | April 14, 2008As Kevin Zelnio mentions below, its National Poetry Month, but little did the man know its Copycat Day in Corpus Christi, too. Isn't it great when the stars align? Kevin and I must have been riding the same bow wave because cephalopods and great poets were on our mind. I heard this yesterday from the great American poet Bob Dylan, just one of a few thousand recently acquired to my (gotta love) ITunes.
115th Dream - Bob Dylan
I was riding on the Mayflower
When I thought I spied some land
I yelled for Captain Arab
I have yuh understand
Who came running to the deck
Said, "Boys, forget the whale…
kevin z | April 13, 2008Its National Poetry Month and the deep sea has struck the creativity and imagination of many passionate people, myself and my 2 blogging colleagues here as well. Here is a poem from Rudyard Kipling.
The Deep-Sea Cables
The wrecks dissolve above us; their dust drops down from afar --
Down to the dark, to the utter dark, where the blind white sea-snakes are.
There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts of the deep,
Or the great gray level plains of ooze where the shell-burred cables creep.
Here in the womb of the world -- here on the tie-ribs of earth
Words, and the words of men, flicker…
gregladen | April 13, 2008Do you know that this is National Poetry Month?
Inspired by national poetry month, I've gone ahead and written a poem. I call it "Ode to Ben Stein" ... but really, it is only a limerick.
There once was an actor named Ben
He wrote speeches for Nixon and then
Drank too much kool-ade
While on a crusade
He managed to become a has-been.
gregladen | April 13, 2008Shouldda kept the guy with the hooker.....
New New York Governor David Paterson will likely sign a bill now working its way through the final legislative steps that will add a sales tax to items purchases on the internet by New Yorkers.
The controversial bill ends what for many New Yorkers had been tax-free online shopping, and experts predict that other states could follow suit with similar provisions. Consumers are required to report purchases they make online from out-of-state companies on their tax returns and remit a use tax, but many people are either unaware of that obligation or…
kevin z | April 13, 2008Researchers have been very concerned about the paucity of females of Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis, an octopus inhabiting the hydrothermal vent community of the Eastern Pacific Rise. One senior, conservative squid researcher even went so far as to comment that this octopus was some part of a "queer spineless agenda." Others scoffed at his remarks and asked for a "civil union" between the fighting factions of cephalopodologists.
Finally, after hundreds of ten years, the mystery has been solved. A single female Vulcanoctopus was captured in 2004 and 4 years later has been described by González…
grrlscientist | April 13, 2008tags: Rebecca, Who slammed Doors for Fun and Perished Miserably, Hilaire Belloc, poetry, National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month, and I plan to post one poem per day, every day this month (If you have a favorite poem that you'd like me to share, feel free to email it to me). My poetry suggestions are starting to run dry, which means I can start posting my own favorites (but you've seen many of those already) or you can send me your favorite poems, which I probably haven't read before! Today's poem was suggested by one of my readers, Biosparite.
Rebecca, Who slammed Doors for Fun…
petnoyer | April 13, 2008
So, if the poles are slowly melting away, will icy habitats actually increase their extent as icebergs disperse to low latitudes and pack ice fractures? If you're a glacial squid (pictured above) you might see your habitat opening-up a little bit, unlucky for you because you're 'an abundant mid-water Antarctic species, and an important prey item for larger predators'.
Is Antarctica a polar desert or is every polynya an oasis? Who knows? It's the last major land mass of the world that remains to be explored. Ice edge environments are highly productive, though. Localized phytoplankton blooms…
gregladen | April 12, 2008A study from the National Violent Death Reporting System of the Centers for Disease Control sampling 16 states and enumerating demographics of the victims of fatal violence and method of violence has just been released. Nationally, there are about 50,000 violent deaths per year in the United States. The present, and most recent, study is of 2005.
The NVDRS was first funded in 2002, and collects violent death data from death certificates, police reports, coroner and medical examiner reports, and crime labs. The purpose of this survey is to provide verified and usable data for a number of…
grrlscientist | April 12, 2008tags: Water, Philip Larkin, poetry, National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month, and I plan to post one poem per day, every day this month (If you have a favorite poem that you'd like me to share, feel free to email it to me). My poetry suggestions are starting to run dry, which means I can start posting my own favorites (but you've seen many of those already) or you can send me your favorite poems, which I probably haven't read before! Today's poem was suggested by one of the SEED editors, Erin, who writes "I have a poem suggestion for you but don't feel like you have to use it just…
cmcclain | April 11, 2008Probably, in response to all the trash talk I've been dishing out, pontificating on the superiority of Molluks to echinoderms, Dr. Echinoderm himself started a blog. DSN has featured Chris Mah at least a few times in the past. Chris's new venture, Echinoblog, will be "an ongoing venue for collecting and presenting perspectives, popular news, and articles on the Echinodermata!" I guess Chris has brought it!
Second up is Erin's new blog She Tells Fish Tales. It is all about the adventures of the poor in America, namely graduate students in Marine Biology. Head over and post a comment…
thescian | April 11, 2008
A few blogging folks in and around London met on Wednesday on Bora's visit for a tour of the Darwin Center. It was great fun, especially the later part when I started shaking all over (only partly aided by two mugs of beer. I forgot to take my coat and we stood out of the pub on the cold cold street. There was no room inside the pub).
Bora, Karen and Matt have posted. More pictures here and here. I was hoping to run through the fascinating stuff that Karen so generously led us through. But, it's a Friday evening. I'll do it later. Before I run away, The Beagle Project rocks!