Einstein for Everyone Einstein for Everyone Nullarbor Press 2007revisions 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Copyright 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 John D. All Rights Reserved John D. An advanced sequel is planned in this series:Einstein for Almost Everyone 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 ePrinted in the United States of America no trees were harmed web*bookTM This book is a continuing work in progress. January 1, 2015. Preface For over a decade I have taught an introductory, undergraduate class, "Einstein for Everyone," at the University of Pittsburgh to anyone interested enough to walk through door. With each new offering of the course, I had the chance to find out what content worked and which of my ever so clever pedagogical inventions were failures. At the same time, my lecture notes have evolved. Its content reflects the fact that my interest lies in history and philosophy of science and that I teach in a Department of History and Philosophy of Science. This text owes a lot to many. i i i
What Does Your Body Language Say About You? How To Read Signs and Recognize Gestures - Jinxi Boo - Jinxi Boo Art by LaetitziaAs we all know, communication is essential in society. Advancements in technology have transformed the way that we correspond with others in the modern world. Because of the constant buzz in our technological world, it's easy to forget how important communicating face-to-face is. Body language is truly a language of its own. 10% from what the person actually says40% from the tone and speed of voice50% is from their body language. Lowering one's head can signal a lack of confidence. Pushing back one's shoulders can demonstrate power and courageOpen arms means one is comfortable with being approached and willing to talk/communicate The lowering of the eyes can convey fear, guilt or submissionLowered eyebrows and squinted eyes illustrate an attempt at understanding what is being said or going onA lack of confidence or apprehensiveness can be displayed when you don't look another person in the eyesOne tends to blink more often if nervous or trying to evaluate someone else
Colour my world Colour does not exist. Not out in the world at any rate. All that exists in the world is a smooth continuum of light of different wavelengths. Colour discrimination begins with the absorption of light of different wavelengths. Colour information only arises by comparing the responses of multiple cone cells. The L/M system evolved much more recently, due to a gene duplication that occurred in the lineage of Old World primates, probably around 40 million years ago. All of this raises an important question – how are the inputs to these different cone cells compared? This has been known for quite a long time now. The new study by Field and colleagues worked out in breathtaking detail the circuitry of the retina at a cellular level. Their results reveal exactly such a bias and further show that it cannot be explained simply by random clumping of L or M cones in the photoreceptor array. A remarkable experiment performed a few years ago dramatically illustrates this principle.
Ensign Software - ESPL: Dances of the Planets The planets in the heavens move in exquisite orbital patterns, dancing to the Music of the Cosmos. There is more mathematical and geometric harmony than we realize. The idea for this article is from a book Larry Pesavento shared with me. The book, 'A Little Book of Coincidence' by John Martineau, illustrates the orbital patterns and several of their geometrical relationships. . Take the orbits of any two planets and draw a line between the two planet positions every few days. Earth: 8 years * 365.256 days/year = 2,922.05 days Venus: 13 years * 224.701 days/year = 2,921.11 days (ie. 99.9%) Watching the Earth-Venus dance for eight years creates this beautiful five-petal flower with the Sun at the center. (5 is another Fibonacci number.) Another intriguing fact is the ratio between the Earth's outer orbit and Venus's inner orbit is given by a square. In the following dance patterns, the planet pairing is given and the number of orbits of the outer planet. Article by Howard Arrington
We come from the future. Open Culture New Hypothesis for Human Evolution and Human Nature Click on image for a high-resolution version. Domestic animals, like this water buffalo in Viet Nam, live intimately with humans and provide renewable resources to humans that communicate well with them. Photo by Greg Luna. 20 July 2010 — It's no secret to any dog-lover or cat-lover that humans have a special connection with animals. "Establishing an intimate connection to other animals is unique and universal to our species," said Shipman, a professor of biological anthropology. In addition to describing her theory in the scientific paper, Shipman has authored a book for the general public, now in press with W. These carvings are from ivory and have been dated to between 30,000 - 36,000 years old, making them the oldest artworks in Europe. Shipman suggests that the animal connection was prompted by the invention of stone tools 2.6-million years ago. Click on image for high-resolution version. [ Kevin Stacey ]
What Mimicking One's Language Style May Mean About the Relationship Oct. 4, 2010 AUSTIN, Texas — People match each other's language styles more during happier periods of their relationship than at other times, according to new research from psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin. "When two people start a conversation, they usually begin talking alike within a matter of seconds," says James Pennebaker, psychology professor and co-author of the study. This tendency is called language style matching or LSM. "Because style matching is automatic," says Ireland, a psychology graduate student, "it serves as an unobtrusive window into people's close relationships with others." Ireland and Pennebaker tracked the language used by almost 2,000 college students as they responded to class assignments written in very different language styles. The researchers extended their work by analyzing the written language of famous authors. The style-matching approach proved to be a powerful bellwether of marriages as well.
Entoptic phenomenon Entoptic phenomena (from Greek ἐντός "within" and ὀπτικός "visual") are visual effects whose source is within the eye itself. (Occasionally, these are called entopic phenomena, which is probably a typographical mistake.) In Helmholtz's words; "Under suitable conditions light falling on the eye may render visible certain objects within the eye itself. These perceptions are called entoptical." Entoptic images have a physical basis in the image cast upon the retina. Helmholtz[1] comments on phenomena which could be seen easily by some observers, but could not be seen at all by others. During the 1920s, some theosophists, unaware of the physical explanation, maintained that the moving spots seen in the blue field entoptic phenomenon were "vitality globules" related to the concept of prana in yoga.[2] Some examples of entoptical effects include: Floaters depiction Purkinje Tree depiction See also[edit] Notes[edit] ^ Jan E. External links[edit]
Study Catches Two Bird Populations As They Split Into Separate Species A new study finds that a change in a single gene has sent two closely related bird populations on their way to becoming two distinct species. The study, published in the August issue of the American Naturalist, is one of only a few to investigate the specific genetic changes that drive two populations toward speciation. Speciation, the process by which different populations of the same species split into separate species, is central to evolution. But it's notoriously hard to observe in action. This study, led by biologist J. Albert Uy of Syracuse University, captures two populations of monarch flycatcher birds just as they arrive at that evolutionary crossroads. Monarch flycatchers are small, insect-eating birds common in the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea. The question of whether these two populations are on the road to speciation comes down to sex. It would be all but impossible to try to catalog every occasion on which an all-black flycatcher mated with a chestnut-bellied.