Beauty

Feynman always says it best.

I also believe in being unsatisfied with one’s life, and being in constant doubt of every thesis I come across to explain nature around me. It’s what keeps one moving, evolving, without stagnation. The Universe is what it is. We are but observers of this cosmic dance, and such a beautiful show must be watched without prejudice, and with a child’s awe and curiosity.

And they say space is silent!

This is very cool!

What the heart calls home

Magnificent feeling, to a traveled tired soul,
On return to familiar abode.
Enchanted the feeling, in cozy warm hole,
Fleeting the satisfaction, a bare shell, without thy folk.

Where lies solemn solace for a drone,
Amid all nations known,
Not a house to call my own;
Without my beloveds in my home.

Quotes 33

A stern and level headed quote by the man of Physics on expectations and assumptions.

I have no responsibility to live up to what others expect of me. That’s their mistake, not my failing.

– Richard Feynman

Nil says the water

Creatures in the dark, fumbling through naked truth
Such emphasis on transient sorrows leaves ties stranded;
Mercurial thoughts can offer no solace, what can soothe ?
A reflection in hindsight vivid, memory branded.

Be water, flow with joy, bend on a whim and a will,
Neither shape nor form, binds frame,
Without color or odor, energy be Nil,
Sannyasi, and an artist did once lay their claim.

EBR-I Lives Again in LEGO

This is pretty cool. Definitely do checkout and support her project in the Lego website as well!

EBR-I Lego Models

Source: EBR-I Lives Again in LEGO | Neutron Bytes

Potential causality for psychiatric disorders

This is quite an interesting study. Certainly a long way to go in understanding the data better, but looks like the right direction forward in the research.

Particular genetic variants in the human genome that are important for the development of the brain early in the life of the foetus are frequently found in psychiatric disorders, recent work from Denmark shows. Researchers studied a total of 8 million genetic variants and found that some of them occur particularly often in people who

Source: Psychiatric Disorders Correlation With Prenatal Gene Regulation Confirmed

Universe – A documentary

Excellent. Before a time when manned space flight provided indepth clues to expose the beauty of the milky way, this certainly was visionary.

Source: Universe

What is Philosophy ?

Well written and a nice weekend read. Philosophy, in my opinion, is an all encompassing search for the reasons driving action, the science behind our so called evolved mind and the never ending quest to understand the ways of the universe. Yes it is science. And it is abstract. I would like to think there is a reason why one of the highest forms of scientific degrees is called a `PhD’. I could talk more about the topic but read the article and develop your own philosophy that makes sense to you.

“In the life of a man, his time is but a moment, his being an incessant flux, his senses a dim rushlight, his body a prey of worms, his soul an unquiet eddy, his fortune dark, and his fame doubtful. In short, all that is of the body is as coursing waters, all that is of the soul as dreams and vapours; like a warfare, a brief sojourning in an alien land; and after repute, oblivion. Where, then, can man find the power to guide and guard his steps? In one thing and one alone: Philosophy.”
~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Source: The Fading Art of Philosophy – Musing Mind

Behind the ‘flight of stairs’

You may not know the term “nouns of assemblage” by name, but you definitely know it in practice. Nouns of assemblage are everyone’s favorite trivia question, and they’re practically never-ending: What’s a group of owls called? A parliament. Hippopotamuses? That would be a bloat.

Everyone loves a murder of crows, and we reference flights of stairs without even thinking twice about how that’s kind of a weird term for them. Though collective nouns exist in other languages, English is particularly full of these colorful, largely nonsensical linguistic specimens. In fact, many may have originated as a means to show off obscure, cultured, and self-consciously amusing vocabulary.

Who decided that certain objects and animals require specialized terms when they congregate, and why? Great question. Let’s gather to discuss.

I have had the exact same questions in the past, but did not have the patience or the time to dive deep into the etymology of these terms. This was an interesting terse read.

Source: Quartz Obsession, January 4, 2019