The progress of science is commonly perceived of as a continuous, incremental advance, with new discoveries added to the existing body of scientific knowledge. However, Thomas Kuhn argues that the history of science tells a different story, in which discontinuities are crucial. He argues that science proceeds with a serious of revolutions. “A prevailing theory [...]
Book-notes
An excerpt from The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. Americans spend more time shopping than the members of any other society. Americans go to shopping centers about once a week, more often than they go to houses of worship, and Americans now have more shopping centers than high schools. In a recent survey, 93 [...]
James Gleick, author of The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, says: We’re in the habit of associating value with scarcity, but the digital world unlinks them. You can be the sole owner of a Jackson Pollock or a Blue Mauritius but not of a piece of information — not for long, anyway. Nor [...]
Big populations don’t go extinct. Small populations do. It’s not a surprising finding but it is a significant one. But why do small populations go extinct? While the answer is simple to outline the scientific details are complicated. For now, lets stick to the outline version. “Small populations go extinct because (1) all populations fluctuate [...]
The Cockroach Papers by Richard Schwied is an interesting book if you are looking to learn more about biology or evolution. Cockroaches are built for survival no matter what the world throws at them. Their ability to adapt is just amazing. Here are some of my notes from the book. Food and Water German cockroaches, [...]
On television modern histories of Rome lead one to think that Romans were rather well off, enjoyed a lot of free time, and commanded the largest and most powerful Empire in the history of the world. That is, until the Americans came along. America’s post WWII strategic and military dominance combined with affluence inspired comparisons [...]
