the evolving mind

Does this science article title from over at ScienceDaily confuse you as much as it did me?

Scientists Pinpoint The ‘Edge Of Space’

I thought space was curved. That it had no edge. Half-quotes or not. So I read the article, expecting to encounter something far-out. What I learned is that the ‘Edge Of Space’ is a mere 118 kilometers above my head. Oh, that edge of space: the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and . . . no atmosphere.

I’m still confused. At this very moment am I sitting in space, on the edge of space, or outside of space? (And can I still get pizza delivered if I am in space?)

Don’t get me going about time.

Words . . . so problematic, so essential.

Technorati Links: cosmos, semantics

Paradise? A quiet island with great snorkeling just beyond the isolated beach. At least that is one of my versions.

Another is a remote cabin — or even a trailer parked at the end of a dirt road. In what I sleep doesn’t matter all that much when it comes to dreams of paradise. The cabin/trailer is on the edge of a big patch of wild nature. Preferable semi-arid. I hate soggy. And with mountains and canyons. But not too big. Plenty of birds. And an entire week to just wander, binoculars in one hand, camera in the other.

Spring doldrums have got me dreaming.

I took the above pic, by the way, on a trip to New Mexico (northern) . . . three years ago? Too long ago.

Technorati Links: nature, New Mexico

Why do we sleep? I would guess, “for a number of reasons.” As for one specific reason — I don’t have to guess. A fresh article on research into sleep reports:

The researchers — Giorgio Gilestro, Giulio Tononi and Chiara Cirelli, of the Center for Sleep and Consciousness — found that levels of proteins that carry messages in the synapses (or junctions) between neurons drop by 30 to 40 percent during sleep.

From their background knowledge and most recent finding, the authors conclude:

Sleep — by allowing synaptic downscaling — saves energy, space and material, and clears away unnecessary “noise” from the previous day, the researchers believe. The fresh brain is then ready to learn again in the morning.

Ahh . . . Nothing like sipping a cup of coffee in the early morning with your brain clear of excess proteins. The world just sparkles.

Technorati Links: neurology, research

Rape. Group sex. Gang rape. Sexual violence. Human beings can be so animalistic and brutish in their reproductive behavior. Reproductive? Well, what is sex ultimately for?

Human males have fairly large testes. Not huge, not small. Average testes size in male primates reflects sexual propensities of the females. When females typically mate with one male per ovulation, males tend to have small testes. As with gorillas: the male needs to produce relatively little sperm to impregnate the females in his harem. Chimps are another matter. In the colloquial, one would say that male chimps have “big balls.” Why? Females tend to mate with a number of males. Although more dominant males have greater access to females, other males “get their shot.” And so male chimps produce more seed. It’s referred to as “sperm competition.” (12)

The human male does not have tiny testes. Thus, one could infer that in our evolutionary past, at least, there has been some “sperm competition.” Bigger balls means more ammo.

In his research into chimpanzee sexual behavior, Frans de Wall has noted that male chimps “cannot maintain exclusive access to a number of females. Instead, several males travel together over a large area and cooperate with each other against other males to protect their access to the large number of receptive females they engage.” (13)

Human males, of course, do not engage in this type of brutish sexual behavior. Not typically in our culture. But sometimes, if they can get away with it, they will. Cult leader David Koresh, for instance, allegedly advocated polygamy for himself and select other males in his group. Among “primitive” humans (14) competition for females is the leading cause of hunter-gatherer homicide.” (15)

Hmm. And we modern humans immune?

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Technorati Links: evolution, religion, sexuality

Locally, this is what is presently going on outside my climate-controlled office:

Thundershowers and tornado warnings.

A bit further away, this is what is (was) going on:

[photo thanks to NASA]

Just as dynamic, if not more, at a much larger scale but slower rate.

Technorati Links: cosmos, NASA

I’m skeptical of skeptics. Which is another way of saying, “I play no favorites when it comes to applying critical thinking.” Am I skeptical of my own ideas? You bet.

So what do I do when a new Skeptics’ Circle is posted? I read it. Skeptically.

Technorati Links: blog carnival

In a book published roughly a decade and a half ago, The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, Matt Ridley argued that one of the main reasons that sexual reproduction has prevailed (vs. the more economical asexual reproduction) is to keep organisms one step ahead of parasites. If a species shuffles its genes every generation, it is more likely one or a number of its offspring will have suitable immunity to battle the previously “most fit” batch of bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc., in their environment.

I thought the book was fascinating. Years later I encountered new research that seemed to confirm it. Yesterday, in a science news release, I again encountered the material:

It has been a well-known fact for a long time that mice check their potential mating partners by smelling them. The fact that humans do the same on a subconscious level was first proven in the nineties by biologist Claus Wedekind at University of Bern. He let female students smell T-shirts that had been worn by male test persons. The women had to indicate the smell that they found to be the most pleasant. It was shown that they consistently chose the men whose immune system was most different from their own.

It only makes sense that if a more robust immune system is an important outcome of sexual reproduction, individuals would have a way of detecting and sexually selecting for it. And, what do you know, even we human beings do. Unknown to most of us, we are attracted by the smell of those whose immune systems most differ from our own, guaranteeing a differing immune response in potential offspring.

And now, believe it or not, Internet dating services will be able to help singles select a more ideal mate by including “body odor” preference matching.

Dating websites will soon be able to compare partners in terms of whether the personal body odour of the other party will be pleasant to them.

I wonder, will future abstinence programs instruct teens: You can look; you can sniff; but don’t touch!?

Technorati Links: evolution, genetics, sexuality

Okay, the sometimes bent and even bizarre ways plants will grow is not a crime. Still, when viewing our backyard vegetation I wonder: If I were more knowledgeable of the clues, could I better decipher what happened when and how?

See that branch there? It grew straight as an arrow for two inches the sunny day after the heavy rains. And see that sharp bend it takes there? A squirrel must have tasted the new growth. A budding point just shy of it then pushed out full and became the lead growth.

Or something.

Technorati Links: biology, nature

My inner word curmudgeon got his undies in a bunch this weekend while reading the February 2009 issue of Discover.

While glancing over the article “Entangled Life: Quantum Forces May Explain Photosynthesis, Our Sense of Smell, Even Consciousness itself,” I got the impression that a sexy barmaid was acting all sexy not because she wanted to have sex with me but because she knew this was a good way to sell beer.

What does Discover magazine want to sell with its provocative writing? More magazines? Excitement over the field of science? I find the bikini-like prose, however, at least a little misleading.

Consider this caption to an illustration:

Green algae may rely on quantum computing to turn sunlight into food.

You know, I think my intestines do a bit of computing too when they turn food into . . . non-food.

And then this pull-quote:

In the quantum world, an electron from one biomolecule might hop to another, though classical laws of physics forbid it.

Oh come on. A more sober wording might end with, “though classical laws of physics don’t fully pertain to goings-on at the sub-atomic level.”

The truth is that on some level and to some degree quantum physics plays a role in . . . everything. On some level. The subatomic level. Why? Because where you find stuff you find atoms and all atoms have a sub-atomic level.

Believe it or not, I just relied on quantum realities to write this post. Can I pour you a beer?

Technorati Links: critical thinking, physics, semantics

Ahhh, Sam thought, there’s nothing like toenails for scratching behind your ear. Damn fleas.

The pit bull was seated at the feet of his master, Demenides, a second-rate Greek philosopher. When finished with the spot behind his ear, Sam sniffed his toes, and then nibbled a fleabite on his stomach. The tiles of the courtyard were still cool that morning, so he lay there and enjoyed the sunshine. Sam might later dig a hole in the garden shade, but at that moment he could tolerate to be where the action was: beside the old wooden bench his master sat upon.

A new human was visiting. Cortexicus didn’t watch where he walked, and his feet smelled like Parmesan cheese. Sam didn’t know if he trusted the guy. The human had brought along a dog he recently purchased-”Lassie.” Sam wondered, What kind of sissy Sumerian name is that? He greeted Lassie with a wag of his stub tail and the customary sniffing. Lassie performed only a perfunctory greeting. Was she dissing him? Lassie’s coat was flawless, and it had the aroma of green apples.

Lassie lay at attention, facing the humans. Although the collie had a long snout and her eyes looked a bit crossed, she was self-assured and relaxed. Sam liked that in a dog.

From the sleeve of his robe, Cortexicus pulled out a bone. Small shreds of meat hung off it. Sam’s mouth watered. Cortexicus tossed the bone to the far side of the courtyard, and not for a second did Sam wonder why a guy who showed such dexterity with words could be so bad at transferring a bone to a dog’s mouth. The pit bull chased it down and brought it back to his spot. Lassie seemed uninterested in it.

Cortexicus made a comment about dogs and simple pleasures. Sam saw one of Lassie’s eyebrows lift. “The blissful ignorance of a dog . . .” Cortexicus said. “Knowledge can be a great burden we thinkers must bear.”

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Technorati Links: creative writing, knowledge, metaphysics