Clipmarks | grimmy's 'creation' clips

10 Most Impressive Photos of our Universe

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:16:20 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Not sure if anyone has posted this here already.

Clip Source: www.oddpeak.com

10 Most Impressive Photos of our Universe

Eskimo Nebula

Pillars of Creation

Pale Blue Dot

Supernova 1987A

Antennae Galaxies

Hubble Deep Field

Crab Nebula

Cat's Eye Nebula

Gamma Ray Explosion

Protoplanetary Disks

Tags: science, universe, pictures

Clipmarks and the Art of Highlighting

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:13:48 GMT

clipped by: adamc
clipper's remarks: Clipper JICWyllie published this piece in Inside Knowledge magazine. His insight regarding annotation and classification is fascinating. And it's inspiring to read about the potential of Clipmarks as a tool for group intelligence -- World Mind here we come!

Thanks Jan!

Clip Source: www.ikmagazine.com

Sorting the useful information from the rubbish on the internet is an everyday challenge. Can social-networking sites, such as Clipmarks, help?

After looking at Clipmarks for a few minutes, here is part of what I first wrote: “Clipmarks is the first vital step towards the collaborative creation of a new level of meta-knowledge, enabling people to better understand the big picture. The next step is to use multifaceted taxonomies as the intellectual tools for collecting and organising the evidence on which metaknowledge is based.”

All individuals and groups can start contributing their intelligence and interests to the content and organisation of corporate clips collections (or the World Mind), right now, using simple tools and tagging devices like Clipmarks.

Tags: clipmarks, information, inside knowledge

Creative Staircases

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 11:18:01 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken

Clip Source: www.bspcn.com

stairs are generally pretty boring.

don’t get me wrong: if the staircase gets me from one level to another, it’s succeeded as a design. i just wish they were a bit more exciting.

1. storage staircase

2. musical stairs

3. crooked stairs

4. slide staircase

5. internal log staircase

6. retractable staircase

7. steel ribbon stairs

8. suspended stairs

9. ‘impossible’ spiral staircase

there are many mysteries surrounding the construction of the spiral staircase at loretto chapel and many believe the appearance of it to be a miracle. design-wise, the staircase is extremely impressive - there is no visible central beam to hold the staircase up and no nails have been used during its creation. however the central spiral is so narrow that it does indeed act as a support beam for the staircase.

Tags: architecture, stairs, staircases, design

25 Greatest Science Books of All Time

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 02:26:37 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

The Origin of Species (1859)

Darwin's masterwork is, undeniably, The Origin of Species, in which he introduced his theory of evolution by natural selection. Prior to its publication, the prevailing view was that each species had existed in its current form since the moment of divine creation and that humans were a privileged form of life, above and apart from nature. Darwin's theory knocked us from that pedestal. Wary of a religious backlash, he kept his ideas secret for almost two decades while bolstering them with additional observations and experiments. The result is an avalanche of detail—there seems to be no species he did not contemplate—thankfully delivered in accessible, conversational prose. A century and a half later, Darwin's paean to evolution still begs to be heard: "There is grandeur in this view of life," he wrote, that "from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."
Clip Source: discover.com

1. and 2. The Voyage of the Beagle (1845) and The Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin [tie]

3. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) by Isaac Newton (1687)

4. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by Galileo Galilei (1632)

5. De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres) by Nicolaus Copernicus (1543)

6. Physica (Physics) by Aristotle (circa 330 B.C.)

7. De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body) by Andreas Vesalius (1543)

8. Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916)

Clip Source: discover.com
9. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (1976)
10. One Two Three . . . Infinity by George Gamow (1947)

11. The Double Helix by James D. Watson (1968)
12. What Is Life? by Erwin Schrödinger (1944)
13. The Cosmic Connection by Carl Sagan (1973)

14. The Insect Societies by Edward O. Wilson (1971)
15. The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg (1977)
16. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)
17. The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould (1981)

18. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (1985)
Clip Source: discover.com
19. The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1814)
20. The Feynman Lectures on Physics by* Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands (1963)

21. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by Alfred C. Kinsey et al. (1948)
22. Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey (1983)

23. Under a Lucky Star by Roy Chapman Andrews (1943)
24. Micrographia by Robert Hooke (1665)

25. Gaia by James Lovelock (1979)
Honorable Mentions

Tags: science, book, books, reading, best of, list, history, literature, discover, darwin, newton, galileo

A "Second Sphinx" at Giza?

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:03:34 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: omega.wordpress.com

After analyzing the elements of the Ancient Egyptian belief system, Egyptologist Bassam El Shammaa comes up with a very unorthodox view that would shake the established Egyptology and most likely, trigger a swarm of fresh debates on the origins of the monuments at Giza. Pointing out the dualist essence of the Ancient Egyptian cosmology, El Shammaa argues the very likely existence of a “Second Sphinx” on the Giza plateau, next to the one we know as The Great Sphinx.

“Whenever we have to deal with the solar cult, we should speak of one lion and one lioness facing each other, posing parallel to each other or sitting in a back-to-back position,” says El Shammaa. He draws our attention to the Egyptian creation myth, where the almighty Atum gives birth to his son Shu and his daughter Tefnut, in the form of a lion and lioness. He also points out that the Dream Stela carved by Thutmosis IV and found between the paws of the giant statue, clearly depicted two sphinxes.

Tags: archaeology, egypt, giza, sphinx

Native American Wisdom Quotes

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:47:09 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks:

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across
the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator 1830 - 1890

Go to the site, read some more, and listen.

Clip Source: www.sapphyr.net

Native American Wisdom Quotes

Inspirational sayings, quotes, and words of wisdom from a Native American perspective, reflecting Native American beliefs, philosophy and spirituality.

Lakota Instructions for Living

Friend do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can

with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,

if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.

And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,

that's the Way It's Going To Be.

May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,

And, above all, may silence make you strong.

Your life is Perfect.

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:26:10 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: We often don't know if we want something until we get it, and then find it wasn't what we wanted. Through that discovery, we can start to believe we really wanted something else, and the chase continues, turning goals into hurdles. Often confusing improvement with change. Perhaps another angle could be learning what we need to, but also trying to improve what we can already do well, without neglecting the opportunities to learn from what we can consider to be failures. We can change situations, but changing who we are may not be possible, and if it is we don't have the foresight to make it a likely improvement.

Clip Source: www.mindpowernews.com

By Enoch Tan
Author of Reality Creation Secrets

People think that their life will only be perfect when they have achieved everything they want, when everything is completely going the way they want it to go.

They are looking at the perfect state of life as something that is in the future, that they don’t have it now but they need to move towards it.

The truth is even when they have reached that state, there will still be new desires that will arise to be achieved. It is an illusion to think that the perfect life is something in the future instead of being present with us.

If you think that the perfect state of your life can only be experienced when everything you desire is manifested, then you are separating yourself in time. Thinking in terms of linear time is what creates resistance towards our desires manifesting as perfectly as possible

There is really no separation between past, present and future because spirit contains it all as one reality

your perfect life

you can step into instantly

Tags: life, perfect, past, present, future

10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:34:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Although the brain-computer metaphor has served cognitive psychology well, research in cognitive neuroscience has revealed many important differences between brains and computers. Appreciating these differences may be crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neural information processing, and ultimately for the creation of artificial intelligence. Below, I review the most important of these differences (and the consequences to cognitive psychology of failing to recognize them): similar ground is covered in this excellent (though lengthy) lecture.

Difference # 1: Brains are analogue; computers are digital

Difference # 2: The brain uses content-addressable memory

Difference # 3: The brain is a massively parallel machine; computers are modular and serial

Difference # 4: Processing speed is not fixed in the brain; there is no system clock

Difference # 5 - Short-term memory is not like RAM

Difference # 6: No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind

Tags: computers, brains, metaphors

Amazing Shark Pictures Off South African Coast

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:57:34 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "To see a perfectly streamlined great white slowly cruising in clear water with shafts of light bouncing off its back is like watching a sports car effortlessly cruise past you on the freeway. It is just one of those moments that makes you appreciate a beautiful creation."

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

It is the ultimate predator, nature's most efficient killing machine which can hunt and kill its prey with remarkable ease.

These shots capture the splendour and horror of a great white shark weighing two tons leaping 10ft from the water as it closes inevitably on its victim.

After reaching speeds of up to 35mph on its ascent from the depths, the shark uses serried ranks of razor-sharp teeth to tear into the seal.

The wildlife photographer Chris Fellows spends over half of each year waiting off the coast of South Africa to capture the sharks at their grisly work.

These dramatic pictures, taken near Seal Island, in False Bay, are part of a decade-long campaign to promote positive awareness of great white sharks, which are classed as "endangered" largely due to being hunted by man.

The sharks feed on young seals when they are attempting to return to Seal Island

The average great white in the waters around Seal Island measures between 12-16ft

the biggest being a near 20-feet long giant

Tags: shark, great white, hunted, endangered, south africa

The Genius/Madness of Salvador Dali

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:55:04 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: I'm a huge fan of both!

Here's an old clip on Philippe Halsman's jump portraits.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

Photographer Philippe Halsman and Salvador Dali collaborated on a series of images, the result of which is a fascinating look at how photography appealed to Dali in the 1940s-60s. Magnum and Slate present a compendium of images from this series to celebrate the birth of Dali on May 11, 1904. (This gallery contains nudity.)

Salvador Dali, 1954.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

A play on Dali’s The Persistence of Memory (1931), 1952.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

UNITED STATES—Dali's My Hairspring, 1954.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

Dali, 1953.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

Dali Atomicus, by Dali, 1948.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

SPAIN—Dali in bed, projecting pieces of dirty paper "to stimulate his inspiration," 1964.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

NEW YORK—Dali's Chaos & Creation, 1960.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

NEW YORK—Dali, 1951.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

PORT LIGAT, Spain—Dali, 1941.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

UNITED STATES—Las Meninas after Velásquez, 1965.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

Dali, 1946.

Clip Source: todayspictures.slate.com

PORT LIGAT, Spain—Dali. "In 1964, when the radio and newspapers announced that Dali had shaved his mustache,

the information was wrong and Philippe and Dali concocted a photograph to show the world that Dali's mustache was still there, as strong as ever."—Yvonne Halsman, 1964.

Tags: photography, art, salvador dali, photos, artist, collaboration, motion, jump, portrait, philippe halsman

Stem Cells 2.0: Scientists Make Revolutionary Advance

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:07:19 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

A while back scientists were making revolutionary breakthroughs in stem cell research. Unfortunately they fell foul of interpretations of thousand year old texts in foreign languages, and a government with the scientific understanding of a squashed grape said "Sorry, our kind and loving God requires that people continue to suffer from Parkinson's, anemia, and various other horrible ailments." Luckily, scientists are awesome and did the obvious thing - make ANOTHER revolutionary breakthrough to get around the problem.

The previous problem with stem cells was that they came from aborted or otherwise unviable fetuses. Note that these fetuses had been terminated anyway, and the only issue now was whether it was more moral to chuck the goo in a bin and burn it, or use it to help cure the sick. The ethical answer, apparently, isn't what you think.

This issue can now be sidestepped with the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) from any kind of tissue

Tags: stem cells, breakthrough, medicine

The Role of Meaning in Human Thinking

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:50:56 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: jetpress.org

The creation of meaning to interpret and communicate perceived phenomena is a fundamental trait of human intelligence. This article explains some major ways in which this is achieved, focusing on language and the perception of embodiment. It examines the representational aspects of natural language, which account for the ambiguity of linguistic signs, and describes how these manifest in metaphor, connotation and emotive expression. The article argues that the human propensity to create meaning lies largely in this representational ambiguity, which underlies all forms of symbolism. However, the ambiguity of natural language has a paradoxical side, since it is also at fault in many shortcomings of human communication, such as misunderstanding and prejudicial stereotyping. This article argues that any attempt to emulate human ways of thinking, for example in Artificial Intelligence research, should take this paradoxical factor into account.

Tags: ai, ambiguity, language

Before the Big Bang - the Big Bounce

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:40:14 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Now, however, Dr Bojowald and fellow physicists are exploring territory unknown even to Einstein - the time before the Big Bang - using his new theory, called Loop Quantum Cosmology.

An analysis of this, one of a series of newly-emerging theories which combine Einstein's theory of gravity (general relativity) with that of the subatomic world (quantum theory), "is supposed to provide a non-singular framework in which one could address the question of what was there before the Big Bang," he says.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Scientists have obtained their first glimpse of what happened before the Big Bang of creation, revealing there was a "Big Bounce".

The new work suggests that time existed before the Big Bang, when a more ancient universe collapsed to give birth to the one we live in today.

Ours is the latest universe in a series that expanded, then collapsed, before another - slightly different cosmos - was born anew, though many details are obscure and, the theory concludes, will always remain that way.

As described by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, which dates back almost a century, the origin of the Big Bang is a mathematically nonsensical state - a "singularity" of zero volume that nevertheless contained infinite density and infinitely large energy.

"The usual understanding was that, according to general relativity, everything including time itself started with the Big Bang such that it simply does not make sense to ask what was there before," says Dr Bojowald.

Tags: big bang, time, physics

Can we learn to love uncertainty?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:25:42 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: "... Yet they are all defined in terms of the unsettling lack of something positive or better. It is perhaps for that reason that the stories of those who discovered these uncertainties have been largely overlooked. This is why I made Dangerous Knowledge for BBC television: to champion the incomplete, the uncomputable and the uncertain."

Clip Source: autismdiva.blogspot.com

Here's a newish New Scientist article, by David Malone, it's titled:

Can we learn to love uncertainty?

(Also titled, Are we addicted to certainty?

You might think that no one could argue with the value of certainty. It has the air of one of those indisputably good things, like world peace or motherhood. But I would argue that the pursuit of certainty has become a dangerous addiction.

Few notions have become as deeply embedded in our culture as the belief that there is a perfect certainty to be had - and the desire to have it.

Even as science squeezed out belief in God and scriptural certainties, a perfect law-governed creation remained; it was just under new management

Science has become, in the minds of many, the new guarantor that there is certainty and that we can attain it.

The very word "uncertainty", along with "incompleteness" and "uncomputability", encapsulates one of the three of the most profound theories in 20th-century science and mathematics.

Tags: uncertainty, incompleteness, uncomputability

Artificial Islands of the Dead Sea

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:54:55 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: io9.com

The Dead Sea, a body of water that sits at the nexus of several political hot spots in the Middle East, has been a source of contention for decades. Now a New York City architecture firm called Phu Hoang Office has proposed a way to turn the sea into a thriving center for tourism and eco-research. The firm proposed the creation of artificial islands (pictured) called No Man's Land that would house hotels, create energy, and harvest clean water from the atmosphere. Check out more pictures and a schematic below.

Salinity gradient solar ponds, water purification tanks, and water filtering processes will all be integrated into the designated “water islands” of the chain. The other two island designs will be for tourists and solar energy production, providing self sufficient power as well as creating revenue.

Tags: geo-enginering, architecture, dead sea