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Inside the mind of the octopus

Inside the mind of the octopus
Inside the mind of the octopus by Sy Montgomery Photograph: Brandon Cole ON AN UNSEASONABLY WARM day in the middle of March, I traveled from New Hampshire to the moist, dim sanctuary of the New England Aquarium, hoping to touch an alternate reality. I came to meet Athena, the aquarium’s forty-pound, five-foot-long, two-and-a-half-year-old giant Pacific octopus. For me, it was a momentous occasion. Many times I have stood mesmerized by an aquarium tank, wondering, as I stared into the horizontal pupils of an octopus’s large, prominent eyes, if she was staring back at me—and if so, what was she thinking? Not long ago, a question like this would have seemed foolish, if not crazy. Only recently have scientists accorded chimpanzees, so closely related to humans we can share blood transfusions, the dignity of having a mind. I had always longed to meet an octopus. The moment the lid was off, we reached for each other. Occasionally an octopus takes a dislike to someone. Then there was Wendy.

Potentiality and actuality The concept of potentiality, in this context, generally refers to any "possibility" that a thing can be said to have. Aristotle did not consider all possibilities the same, and emphasized the importance of those that become real of their own accord when conditions are right and nothing stops them.[3] Actuality, in contrast to potentiality, is the motion, change or activity that represents an exercise or fulfillment of a possibility, when a possibility becomes real in the fullest sense.[4] Potentiality[edit] Potentiality and potency are translations of the Ancient Greek word dunamis (δύναμις) as it is used by Aristotle as a concept contrasting with actuality. Dunamis is an ordinary Greek word for possibility or capability. Actuality[edit] Actuality, is often used to translate both energeia (ενέργεια) and entelecheia (ἐντελέχεια) (sometimes rendered in English as "entelechy"). Energeia[edit] Two examples of energeiai in Aristotle's works are pleasure and happiness (eudaimonia). Motion[edit]

Retake the Net Pale Blue Dot Quotes by Carl Sagan “From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. YouTube Unveils Original Content Channels in Challenge to TV Your Age on Other Worlds Want to melt those years away? Travel to an outer planet! <div class="js-required"><hr> This Page requires a Javascript capable browser <hr></div> Fill in your birthdate below in the space indicated. The Days (And Years) Of Our Lives Looking at the numbers above, you'll immediately notice that you are different ages on the different planets. The earth is in motion. The top-like rotation of the earth on its axis is how we define the day. The revolution of the earth around the sun is how we define the year. We all learn in grade school that the planets move at differing rates around the sun. Why the huge differences in periods? Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe Kepler briefly worked with the great Danish observational astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Here you see a planet in a very elliptical orbit. Kepler's third law is the one that interests us the most. Let's just solve for the period by taking the square root of both sides: The Gravity Of The Situation Isaac Newton ©2000 Ron Hipschman

Royal Society ‘aged’ back catalog free, permanently Yay! There’s going to be some happy science historians, including amateur ones. (And just plain ol‘ scientists, too.) Readers who have followed this blog for some time, might recall me writing about the Royal Society of London opening it’s full collection for a period in 2010. The Royal Society website has now announced that the back catalog for work older than 70 yeas old is open to anyone, free of cost, permanently. Great stuff. The opening of this ‘aged’ portion of the archive is timed to coincide with Open Access Week, promoting promoting Open Access scholarship and research. There are gems to be found if you hunt around, including works by some of the giants of science. I can recommended exploring the early editions of the Philsophical Transactions, the oldest scientific publication – dating from 1665. While you can search the archive, in many ways I prefer to just browse. Other articles on Code for life: 137 years of Popular Science back issues, free Royal science

I claim this piece of Africa for my daughter, Princess Emily Jeremiah Heaton plants his flag on a hill in Bir Tawil. Sure, Will Smith repurposed Bill Withers' classic Just the Two of Us as an ode to his son Trey. And yes, even more recently, Jay Z included both the heartbeat and cries of his baby daughter Blue Ivy Carter on the track Glory, released a few days after she was born. But do both these acts of fatherly Hollywood magnanimity and largesse not fade into insignificance when compared with the actions of one American father, who "claimed" an African "kingdom" so his daughter could be a "princess"? You read that right. Daddy's little princess: Emily Heaton of Bir Tawil. The immediate question for the rest of us has to be: "Are white people still allowed to do this kind of stuff in 2014?" If ever there were a deed that exemplified the term "white privilege", surely this is it. But if you want to make your child feel special and loved – as Heaton wanted to do – surely a princess makeover would suffice.

TimeTree :: The Timescale of Life

octopus challenes our understanding of consciousness itself by electronics Nov 3

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