Curiosity Pill #29
On islands, cant and cancelling, butterfly sex, time and man made mass
What islands teach us
A review of Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession by the Scottish doctor and globe trotter Gavin Francis about the author’s obsession with islands.”It is a particular pleasure to read this book now, when we are not travelling, when we have had to become our own islands. Francis asks his children what they like about visiting islands. “They have beaches all around, said one; they make you feel safe, said another; they have space to play and trees to climb, said the third.” This is the happy desert- island-doodle of the islands in our imagination, the very same one conjured, as Francis rightly notes, by the gull-flecked theme of the BBC’s Desert Island Discs, which shows absolutely no sign of losing its appeal after nearly 80 years.”
https://www.newstatesman.com/island-dreams-obsession-gavin-francis-review
The Age of Cant
“Cant takes over minds and reduces their ability to consider other points of view, take in contradictory evidence, or sympathize with anyone not in total and unconditional agreement. It is therefore, in its essence, intolerant. It promotes monotony and eradicates subtlety, nuance, and irony; it does not recognize a tragic dimension to life. It is inherently utopian because it assumes that perfection, especially moral perfection, can be reached. It is boring. It achieves its victories over others by use of what Napoleon called the only effective rhetorical technique—namely, repetition (though frightening vehemence also plays its part). It intimidates by gathering crowds, by anathema, and excommunication. It is devoid of humor, one of the saving graces of human existence; indeed, humor is its enemy, perhaps its greatest enemy. That is why jokes are the particular object of its obloquy.”
https://www.city-journal.org/the-age-of-cant
The Complicated Sex Lives Of Butterflies
There are some types of butterflies where the male installs a plug in the female counterpart during mating in order to prevent other pretendents; on the other hand the females evolved behaviours that make further mating with other partners possible in order to increase the chance of laying eggs.”Originally mistaken as egg catapults in the early 1900s, these external mating plugs, also known as sphragis, seal off a female’s genitalia to prevent future insemination from other males. Butterfly mating plugs come in all shapes and sizes—some are curled like shells, some are hooked, others are pronged like a pitchfork that can be used to jab other males. “In some species, part of the plug is like a chastity belt that goes around the abdomen of the female,” says Carvalho. “So it really holds that thing in place.””
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/butterfly-mating-plugs/
What Is Your Time Worth?
What is the price of an hour spent on the road for personal reasons? Apparently 19$/hour, a study made by the ridesharing company Lyft found out.”Having a platform like Lyft to mess around with is kind of an economist's dream. The team was able to conduct experiments on millions of Lyft rides in nine American cities (before the pandemic). They tweaked prices and wait times to test when users requested and didn't request rides. Then, they were able to suss out how much people are willing to pay to wait less for their rides. It's a cool way to measure how people value their time.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2020/12/08/943812834/what-is-your-time-worth
We’ve made more than the Earth has grown
A recent study conducted in Israel has calculated that the mass of man-made objects has exceeded that of all of the Earth’s plants, animals and microorganisms. The trend is ascending as the study projects that the mass of man-made products will be three times more abundant than biomatter by 2040 if we keep the current production rate. “Construction materials comprise the vast bulk of it, and building and infrastructure mass recently surpassed that of all trees and bushes. Plastic goods outweigh all terrestrial and marine animals put together.”
https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/sustainability/weve-made-more-than-the-earth-has-grown/
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Video Pill
The Best Indie Games You've Never Played
The Sacrifice - The Fear Of Impending Uncertainty
Composition In Storytelling
This Fight is More Normal Than You Think
How Power is Finally Coming to Rural Africa
Podcast Pill
A History of the Police in Ireland, Podcast:Irish history
One of the first major challenges facing the Irish government after Independence in 1922 was how to police the country. The Royal Irish Constabulary which had existed under British rule was a highly discredited force so they established the Civic Guard which later developed into An Garda Síochána. In this episode, I interview Dr Vicky Conway who reveals the complex history of An Garda Síochána from its early years when a mutiny rocked the force through to the Troubles.
https://player.fm/series/irish-history-podcast/a-history-of-the-police-in-ireland
Subscribe to your local newspaper, Podcast:Before Breakfast
Find some serendipity, and be in the know
https://player.fm/series/before-breakfast/subscribe-to-your-local-newspaper
Design Pill
'Harvest Panorama' by Robin Moline
Poetic Pill
Think of Those Great Watchers by Nils Peterson
“Think of those great watchers of the sky,
shepherds, magi, how they looked for
a thousand years and saw there was order,
who learned not only Light would return,
but the moment she’d start her journey.
No writing then. The see-ers gave
what they knew to the song-makers –
dreamy sons, daughters who hummed
as they spun, the priestly keepers of story –
and the clever-handed heard, nodded,
and turned poems into New Grange,
Stonehenge, The Great Temple of Karnak.“
Underground Pill
Dash Mannerz - Bandz
“Man can’t come to my ends and G check
Man on ABCs not a G yet
Man can’t sleep with the sharks in the deep ends
Tell em ring the alarm cause I see red
Man ain’t living in my head with free rent
Man got to pay the price, I want fees spent
In too deep, man knee length“
Dictionary Pill
obloquy = 1.censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, especially by numerous persons or by the general public; 2.discredit, disgrace, or bad repute resulting from public blame, abuse, or denunciation.
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