Although other scientists are more famous for getting the astronomical idea of heliocentrism correct, Johannes Kepler (d. 1630) was much more successful than his peers at explaining super important aspects of our solar system (for instance, the planets go round the sun in ellipses). Who would have thought that a driving force behind his significant […]
Johannes Kepler’s Theory of Heliocentrism Read More »
So here’s a question for you – will the sun rise tomorrow? I think so, and you do as well (hopefully), but this man showed that you couldn’t prove it. Not with logic, anyway.You are looking at David Hume (d. 1776), one of the most important philosophers ever. A skeptic and a naturalist, Hume praised
The Evidence-Based Knowledge of David Hume Read More »
Lucky you, readers: you get to look now at a page of one of the most important texts in recorded history – the _Almagest_, by Ptolemy. I’d say go ahead and fight me if you disagree, but our times call for gentler interaction with each other, so instead I will just try to convince you.Although
Ptolemy’s “The Almagest” Read More »
You are looking at an ecological transformation: what you see here is the former Gunter Valley Dam, which used to block Trout Run in the Tuscarora forest of south-central Pennsylvania. The reservoir from the dam supplied the community in Shippensburg with water from the early 1960s, when it was built, until about 2010, when engineers
South-Central Pennsylvania’s Gunter Valley Dam Read More »
Here’s Sir Isaac Newton, sporting what looks like some pretty fantastic quarantine hair in his 46th year. Solitary, misanthropic, and quirky (he once experimented on optics by putting a needle deep into his eyesocket to see how his vision would change), Newton’s work on classical mechanics revolutionized how people understood the cosmos. We all can
Isaac Newton’s Blended Scientific and Occult World Views Read More »
Like spokes on a wheel, these wide boulevards typify the landscape of Paris. Beautiful components of the city, tourists have come to associate these streets with “La Ville Lumiere”. But this architecture has a more sinister origin: it developed out of a desire to stop protesters.The second image shows a now-demolished street called rue du
La Ville Lumiere and the Desire to Stop Protests Read More »
In Frank Herbert’s sci-fi _Dune_ series, the Bene Gesserit are amazing space-witches who have developed such mental control over their unconscious physiology that their powers seem superhuman. But Herbert’s ideas weren’t merely fiction: the person you see here is not a space witch, but she did figure out a technique of controlling elements of human
Patricia Cowings and the Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise Read More »
Here is one of the most famous job advertisements in the history of psychology. In 1971, Professor Philip Zimbardo enlisted a number of highly educated men to participate in an experiment about prison life. Those who enrolled in the project knew more about what they were getting into than most participants of psychological tests, and
The Stanford Prison Experiment Read More »
Since the year 2000, the Audubon Society has been involved with the site shown here called Hawk Watch. Located at Waggoner’s Gap along the Kittatinny Ridge just north of the town Carlisle in south-central Pennsylvania, Hawk Watch has a legacy of being a major corridor for thousands of hawks, eagles, and falcons who traverse across
Hawk Watch at Waggoner’s Gap Read More »
And here we see Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. He embodied the Existentialist movement, which argued that there is no authority or meaning in existence outside of what we make of it. Whether we accept or reject this idea, or find it hopeful or depressing, Sartre’s philosophy admirably
The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre Read More »
This 17th-century design would make a perfect tattoo, except the meaning would say something pitiable about the wearer. It is a rose with the Latin word “CAUTE” beneath. The rose meant secrecy, and _caute_ means “cautiously.” The person who used this sign, Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), did so because he had to constantly keep his
The Sign and Writings of Baruch de Spinoza Read More »
We are likely familiar with the story of the Three Wise Men in the Christian cultural tradition — the visitors from the east whom the Gospel of Matthew says visited the infant Jesus to honor him with gifts. We might not realize, though, that the Gospel writer never indicated the number of _Magi_ (a Greek
The Wise Men of Christian Tradition Read More »
If you haven’t read about the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31/June 1, 1921, I recommend learning about it. One of the worst race-based killings in American history, it illustrates how simmering bigotry, fear, and mob violence can erupt quickly and cause lasting harm. It also showcases the critical role that historical memory plays in
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In the far north-central region of Pennsylvania lies Cherry Springs State Park, an amazing resource that shows how important civil planning can be for enabling the natural world to profit future generations.The area’s old-growth forests were clearcut in the late 19th- and early 20th- centuries, and an airport was built there in 1935 — inauspicious
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Here come two points about human evolution – the first is one that I imagine is not surprising to you, but the second may be, and might make you wince.First, the animal in this photo is not an ancestor of us Homo Sapiens. We did not evolve from apes but share a common progenitor that
Junk DNA and Our Common Ancestors Read More »
When does the story of Alice actually intersect with rabbits? In the case of evolutionary history — and a failed attempt at biological warfare in Australia.I can think of nothing that demonstrates the process of biological evolution more clearly than viruses. Because their genomes are so small, their genetic mutation rates produce a rapid effect.
“The Red Queen Hypothesis” in European Rabbits Read More »
Ancient Hindu and Middle Eastern Islamic surgeons knew a lot about eye cataracts, relatively speaking, and one important medical text, called the _Sushruta Samhita_, exists from about 1500 years ago that detailed how a specialist might remove them from a suffering patient. As this manuscript illustration shows, the knowledge from India made its way to
Ancient Islamic Surgeons and Eye Cataracts Read More »
The bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism are those who believe that until everyone is free, no one is free. Although enlightened, they willfully choose to forgo nirvana, and instead allow themselves to be reincarnated into this mortal coil. They do this of course, because beings of such great compassion would only want nirvana
Bodhisattva Guanyin Read More »
This is Lucy Wills, a woman lucky enough to possess the resources to do as she pleased. She travelled throughout her life, never married and maintained many long-lasting friendships, and kept up a lifetime of rigorous scientific study — she utilized all these characteristics to develop research that led to the saving of many people’s
Lucy Wills and Marmite Read More »
If anyone wanted to bequeath me a copy of _De Humani Corporis Fabrica_, from which this illustration comes, I would be much obliged.Haha, not happening. This book from 1543 is one of the most important ever printed and not available to the likes of me and this here Instagram posse. It perfectly captures a moment
“De Humani Corporis Fabrica” Read More »
