The Science & Philosophy Thread

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/secret-spaceplane-eludes-observers-spooks-governments/

space planes!

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

dark glow I posted that alan watts cartoon on this local radio show in detroits facebook page.  I've watched it a couple times, more in amazed at how articulate the man is.  in two minutes he explains our entire social indoctrination.  

what other philosophers are as juicy as watts?  I need something new to sink my teeth into.

[darkglow]

He's not really a philosopher but Richard feyman puts a philosophical twist on everyday physics and is very good with words.

[darkglow]

He's not really a philosopher but Richard feyman puts a philosophical twist on everyday physics and is very good with words.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YltEym9H0x4[/media]

this is one of the most influencial videos i've ever seen.. and one of the big reasons why i'm such a sucker for any kind of knowledge-gaining experience these days. it pretty much all stemmed from watching this video along with the entire documentary this was a part of.

If any of you are interested in Richard Feynman, check out this BBC horizons documentary called "Richard Feynman: No Ordinary Genius" it is some very enlightening shizzzzzz.

http://www.torrentdownloads.net/searches/BBC%20Horizon%20%20%20No%20Ordinary%20Genius%20Richard%20Feynman

[woodnymph]

Sweet sweet sweet, thanks for the vid! I tried to get on here yesterday and ask if you had a recommended link or video, but that just didn't happen.... so I'm super stoked to see you've already got it goin on! Congrats on the promotion too!!!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I'm pullin doubles alllllll week 'cept Thursday, so my time is uber limited on the comp... cept when I lurk on the board at work  :-X

But I'll check this dude out when I can, thanks again!

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho2d1HxtXfk[/media]

[woodnymph]

TERENCE MCKENNA there ya go!

I read a book by him a couple years ago... I think it might've been True Hallucinations (?) It was about his mission to find ayahuasca. I might have the title wrong. It was a great book though, he too is the man.

[woodnymph]

I find myself nosing around a lot of Buddhist/Tao/Zen/Sufi, etc reading material.... I've always enjoyed/learned from the likes of Lama Surya Das, Osho, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama (of course) and at least a handful more that I'm not thinking of.... refreshing to study these types of philosophies, as they seem to be much more about spirituality and growth of consciousness and awareness more than actual religion.

A favorite quote of mine by Osho is a little something like:

"Thinking shows the futility of everything: even of life, even of love, even of family, even of wealth, even of the world, even of war. But if one goes on thinking, then in the end, this thinking shows the futility of thinking itself. And it is at this point that the person enters the state of no-thought. Then, in this state of no-thought, everything becomes possible for this person-- in exactly the same way as it is for a thoughtless person. But the very quality of this person and his actions is different. He is like a small child."

That's really just one tiny paragraph in a chapter, and I feel it leaves a good bit out still that he further explains and kicks around in the rest of the chapter (and the whole book) but I just wanted to share that little parcel. The mind is a curious thing.....

[darkglow]

mckenna wrote a book called "food of the gods" and it's in my top 10.

[woodnymph]

That Richard Feynman video AND the Terence vid are awesome....... the R.F. vid is great! I'll have to watch the rest of that documentary! Thanks for posting! The T.M. video reminded me of an environmental science class I took a few years back... (/start rant) when my teacher taught about the symbiosis of mycorrhizae and how plants communicate to eachother through interwoven fungus (mycorrhiza) systems that every plant naturally has within its root system... The fungus feeds from the carbs/sugars that the plant (tree, flower, etc) provides.. and in turn it absorbs more minerals than the plant could, perhaps, naturally absorb itself. It just blew my mind when she said that if there is a forest fire, the message is sent underground via the myco, and it can help to protect trees further away from being harmed, as it can help "prepare" them (in what ways I am not quite sure!) Obviously it doesn't prevent fires from spreading, but I found it interesting that science quite possibly connected to the more "flighty" notions I've had about plant communications... (oh they TALK alright! yeah Jen...) And it just reminded me of the Ents in L.O.T.R... and then I blew a fuse somewhere.... (/end rant)

So uh..... well yeah go mycology! :-X  Sorry for the lengthy bit there, T.M. gets my wheels turnin every time.... This is a super thread in the vast MMJ quilt  8-)

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

That Richard Feynman video AND the Terence vid are awesome....... the R.F. vid is great! I'll have to watch the rest of that documentary! Thanks for posting! The T.M. video reminded me of an environmental science class I took a few years back... (/start rant) when my teacher taught about the symbiosis of mycorrhizae and how plants communicate to eachother through interwoven fungus (mycorrhiza) systems that every plant naturally has within its root system... The fungus feeds from the carbs/sugars that the plant (tree, flower, etc) provides.. and in turn it absorbs more minerals than the plant could, perhaps, naturally absorb itself. It just blew my mind when she said that if there is a forest fire, the message is sent underground via the myco, and it can help to protect trees further away from being harmed, as it can help "prepare" them (in what ways I am not quite sure!) Obviously it doesn't prevent fires from spreading, but I found it interesting that science quite possibly connected to the more "flighty" notions I've had about plant communications... (oh they TALK alright! yeah Jen...) And it just reminded me of the Ents in L.O.T.R... and then I blew a fuse somewhere.... (/end rant)

So uh..... well yeah go mycology! :-X  Sorry for the lengthy bit there, T.M. gets my wheels turnin every time.... This is a super thread in the vast MMJ quilt  8-)

I've been watching this old series from the 80's about Quantum Physics and Consciousness and there's a biologist who explains the idea of "fields" which are, if I get this right, almost a certain type of connective energy through conscious and subconscious.  

he talks about how a lot of mechanistic is flawed.  how whenever scientists explain something it comes down to genes.  birds migrate because of their genes,  why do spiders spin webs, because they're genetically programmed to do so by their genes.  It explains everything.  but he goes on to say when you think about it, that really doesn't explain anything.

I wish I could remember his name it's gnarly shit.  he thinks we're all connected through fields.  these fields are individual to each organism but connect to the past, present and future of that organism.  these fields interact and overlap with all the other fields of everything else that it is surrounded by.  a rabbit has it's own field but is connected to all rabbits past, present, future.  hence how a group of animals on the opposite side of the world would learn how to do certain things faster after a group on the other side of the world was taught the task.  I think they did it with rats and it "worked" but who knows.  

they also tested children who spoke english what symbols were more familiar, using ancient chinese text or stories or something and then jibberish or more recent stories.  in most cases the kids recognized the ancient texted easier... it's hard to explain what this guy is talking about.  

Alan Watts said if you go to a hindu guru or whatever they're called they'll tell you to "stop desiring" and after awhile you'll come back because you realize you are desiring not to desire.  the world is balanced by 2/3's good and 1/3 bad, without this balance there would be no good or bad.  everything would be meaningless.  just concepts of course, not scientific fact or anything.  I'm going to sleep now.

[el_chode]

The Sopranos are usually relevant to life in many ways. One is when they explain field theory in the context of boxers and hip hop.

In other news, I couldn't find the video on animal intelligence that first showed me Einstein the Parrot, but here is another video:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Fpad20Zbk[/media]

Simply put, scientists have shown animal intelligence to be greater than we realize. Bonobos have signs of "culture", including ritual habits. Chimps murder and assassinate. And Grey parrots can count, recognize and name different shapes and textures, and otherwise be smart.

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

never watched the sopranos, that sounds cool tho.  didn't that show end with Tony choking on a meatball?

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

holy shit, FLYING SNAKES:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/11/24/131572514/sakes-alive-snakes-that-fly?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

there's a video from national geographic at the bottom.  be careful out there in the jungles of Asia people.

[el_chode]

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/02/nasas-real-news-bacterium-on-earth-that-lives-off-arsenic/

[woodnymph]

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/02/nasas-real-news-bacterium-on-earth-that-lives-off-arsenic/

Sweet news of the weird! (cue Donovan lyrics, "...and all because of the phos-phor-us, there in quantityyyyy....") er, that just came to mind while reading, sryyyy

I just drove past Mono Lake in August on my way out of Yosemite!!! I thought the place seemed more microbial than usual!  ::)  No, it was an unexpected surprise though, on my way out.... it definitely had the same haze around it that the Great Salt Lake did... and I only drank from it twice  :-X

Here's a pic I took of it in passing

[el_chode]

Voyager 1 has gone beyond the reach of the sun

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/13/the-wind-is-no-longer-at-voyagers-back/

[johnnYYac]

Voyager 1 has gone beyond the reach of the sun

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/13/the-wind-is-no-longer-at-voyagers-back/

Cool story.  I love the second comment.  

"i belong to a race of robots"

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26132/?ref=rss

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

solar rays are going to melt us by 2013:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-eye-looming-solar-max.html