A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP — Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015
Laniakea: Our Home Supercluster
Analysis of galaxies shows local supercluster to be 100 times larger than previously thought. The supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way is 100 times bigger in volume and mass than previously thought, a team of astronomers says. They have mapped the enormous region and given it the name Laniakea — Hawaiian for ‘immeasurable…
Evidence for Cosmic Inflation Theory Bites the (Space) Dust
In online French documents briefly released and then removed last night and confirmed by the European Space Agency today, physicists have announced that last year’s much-publicized ‘discovery’ of gravitational waves embedded in the ‘echo’ of the Big Bang was a misstep. Preempting the official research paper that is planned to be published next week, the…
2014 in the Rear-View Mirror
Most of my 2014 was pretty geeky. One of the coolest things I did in 2014 was test my DNA through 23andme.com. For a quick refresher on genomics, check out these videos. I am, unsurprisingly 99.8% European. However, I’m also 0.2% Sub-Saharan African. This totally made my day when I found out. It’s not much…
I Shall Pass This Way Again
“When the big bang happened, all the atoms in the universe, they were all smashed together into one little dot that exploded outward. So my atoms and your atoms were certainly together then, and, who knows, probably smashed together several times in the last 13.7 billion years. So my atoms have known your atoms and…
What is Diwali?
Can you imagine a festival that combines the best features of the most popular festivals in the United States? New year’s day is the day to make new resolutions and renew friendships. Independence day is the day of patriotism and fireworks. Halloween is the time for trick or treats. Thanksgiving is the festival to count…
What if Age Is Nothing but a Mind-Set?
Placebo effects have already been proven to work on the immune system. But this study could show for the first time that they work in a different way — that is, through an act of will. “As far as we know today, the placebo responses in the immune system are attributable to unconscious classical conditioning,”…
Spain Confirms First Ebola Transmission Outside of Africa
Health authorities in Spain have confirmed that a health worker at the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, Spain has been infected with the Ebola virus. This is the first time anyone has contracted the virus outside of Africa. The woman, a nurse technician, had worked in the room where two Ebola patients—both missionaries—were treated at…
The Phenomenon of Consciousness
From The Consciousness Chronicles. The phenomenon of consciousness is fundamental to our existence, yet it remains the most profound mystery we can imagine. Down through the ages, generations of scientists, philosophers, mystics and poets have gone in search for a deeper understanding of consciousness and the true nature of reality, whether through scientific research, reasoning…
Do Natural Laws Evolve Over Time?
This 30 min talk from the How The Light Gets In festival, 2014, is one of the best non-technical summaries of the idea that nature forms habits rather than laws, evolving overtime through morphic resonance.
Fire Walk With Me
Directors like David Lynch aren’t supposed to have hit TV shows and appear on the cover of Time; they’re supposed to tunnel ever deeper into their private obsessions, even if it means testing fan goodwill and bewildering or annoying everybody else. After ABC pressured Lynch and Peaks co-creator Mark Frost to unmask Laura Palmer’s killer…
Colorado Students Walk Out to Protest Censorship of History
On Tuesday, hundreds of high school students in Jefferson County, Colorado walked out of classes this week to protest conservative censorship of the national Advanced Placement U.S. history class curriculum. According to the Denver Post, students and teachers are protesting the removal of all mentions of civil disobedience from texts and classroom materials intended for…