Welcome to a brand new episode of Avian Bone Syndrome Podcast! This is a “patch” episode, tying up a few loose ends from episodes 1–3. In particular, this episode covers lunar eclipses, daguerrotypes, and the filter bubble around you on the Internet. Don’t forget to “like” the new Facebook page for Avian Bone Syndrome! Links…
Category: Science
God is an atheist
God here. First, I do not exist. The concept of a 13,700,000,000 year old being, capable of creating the entire Universe and its billions of galaxies, monitoring simultaneously the thoughts and actions of the 7 billion human beings on this planet is ludicrous. Grow a brain. Second, if I did, I would have left you…
Pictures from the partial solar eclipse, Jan 4 2011
This morning, a partial solar eclipse was visible throughout Europe. I took some pictures, and posted them. Click on the thumbnail to read more and view it in full resolution:
Languages: life, evolution, death and extinction
To call a language “dead” is often an exaggeration. Languages seldom really die; they evolve, and sometimes they fade out of usage. Latin, for instance, is usually deemed to be a dead language, but this is not the case. To begin with, Latin is still the official language of the Vatican, and while catholic functions…
Language: defining identity
In my previous post about language, I said that the ability to conceive and communicate complex thoughts is what sets humans apart from animals. I want to make it clear that I do not mean in any way that animals are stupid, on the contrary. However, seeing as they rely on instinct much more than…
Language: the foundation of culture
Language is the fundamental trait that sets apart homo sapiens from other animals. The physical ability to generate complex sounds has given us the ability to go beyond instinct. Culture could not exist without language, and not only because we wouldn’t be able to share it with one another. Animals, lacking full languages, are only…
Righties and lefties
An Italian proverb says that you can’t thread all the weeds in one bunch. It’s exactly what comes to mind when I see people commenting on the iPhone 4 antenna issue by saying that “it only affects left-handed people.” The basis of such theory is that, since the problem stems from a gap on the…