http://engineering.stanford.edu/news/stanford-biologist-computer-scientist-discover-anternet
A collaboration between a Stanford ant biologist and a computer scientist has revealed that the behavior of harvester ants as they forage for food mirrors the protocols that control traffic on the Internet.
IN A 1970s advertisement for Lego, a small girl holds up a free-form construction, made up of a jumble of different types of bricks and figures. She is wearing a blue T-shirt, a pair of jeans and blue sneakers, and her red hair is plaited. The ad features the caption ”What it is is beautiful”, in a call to parents to harness their children’s creativity and expression with the endless potential of one of the world’s most popular toys.
[…]
If we want to encourage the next generation of children to reach their full potential, whatever their gender, then we need to be able to once again promote the appeal of and ideals behind images like the 1970s Lego girl. She is beautiful without a glittery fairy dress and pastel construction blocks and her mind is free to create and learn without worrying about how she looks.
http://designtaxi.com/news/351210/Portraits-Of-Soldiers-Before-During-After-War/
I looked particularly at the eyes, there’s a huge difference. Eyes are very telling. Lives destroyed. Not just those killed, but also those that return. And it also affects their families and friends. For a long time.
A long time ago I wrote “war costs you an arm and a leg” which was a teenager’s smartypants wordplay. It really costs so much more. It’s truly unaffordable.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/26/solar-sinter-solar-powered-3d-printer-turns-sand-into-glass-ren/
Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinter turns Saharan sand into a perfectly suitable glass bowl. There’s a neat video showing the process in action.
http://wakeup-world.com/2011/11/28/the-discovery-of-dolphin-language/
“Researchers in the US and Great Britain have made a significant breakthrough in deciphering dolphin language in which a series of eight objects have been sonically identified”
Many people think in visual-spatial terms rather than audio-sequential. I know people who think in terms of music, and others who think in colours.
I think in 3D images, and find our human languages (I know a few) woefully inadequate for accurately expressing my thoughts – it’s too slow (low information density) and I’m too slow at drawing (plus 3D drawing has its problems on 2D surfaces).
Anyway, the point is that the article’s assertion that the dolphin way of thinking is fundamentally different to that of humans is simply incorrect. Humans are not all the same.
I envy the dolphins for having worked out a way to communicate that’s fast and descriptive, suitable for their 3D environment. Awesome!