Category Archives: Science

OTHELLO’S COMIC FOUNDATION.

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Philip

OTHELLO’S COMIC FOUNDATION. Joel Henning reports in the Wall Street Journal (March 22) on his interview with Michael Witmore, the director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, who is a leader in the “data mining of Shakespeare”. One recent analysis by … Continue reading →

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ATOMS MAKE UP ONLY 4% OF THE UNIVERSE.

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Philip

ATOMS MAKE UP ONLY 4% OF THE UNIVERSE. In an interview with Brian Bolduc (Wall Street Journal March 10-11), physicist Michio Kaku says that the belief from only 10 years ago that the universe is mostly made up of atoms … Continue reading →

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THE LONG HISTORY OF LYME DISEASE.

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Philip

THE LONG HISTORY OF LYME DISEASE. The article on the Iceman notes that traces of DNA from the bacterial pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease in humans, make the Iceman the oldest victim of Lyme Disease on record. This … Continue reading →

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WAS THE ICEMAN FROM SARDINIA?

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Philip

WAS THE ICEMAN FROM SARDINIA? The Iceman was found in mummified condition in the Alps. He is estimated to have lived 5300 years ago. This article by Kate Wong in the Scientific American reports on a study which showed that: … Continue reading →

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“AUNT ALICE” IN CHICAGO AND SYRACUSE.

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Philip

“AUNT ALICE” IN CHICAGO AND SYRACUSE. This wikipedia article on the Northern Cities Vowel Shift says the area affected by it includes an area: “beginning some 50 miles (80 km) west of Albany and extending west through Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, … Continue reading →

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MORE WORDS FOR DUST BUNNIES.

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Philip

MORE WORDS FOR DUST BUNNIES. Jennifer Schuessler had an article in the New York Times (February 24) which celebrated the forthcoming edition of DARE (the Dictionary of American Regional English). It added some more regional words for dust bunnies to … Continue reading →

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WATCHING A MOVIE IN TANNU TUVA.

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Philip

WATCHING A MOVIE IN TANNU TUVA. Part One of “The Quest for Tannu Tuva” quotes from a 1931 book by a German ethnographer who was the first non-Russian to visit Tannu Tuva. He described the Tuvans coming from miles around … Continue reading →

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RICHARD FEYNMAN AND THE QUEST FOR TANNU TUVA.

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Philip

RICHARD FEYNMAN AND THE QUEST FOR TANNU TUVA. Here is a Youtube video of Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton talking about their ten-year obsession with Tannu Tuva. Part One begins with postage stamps and music from Tannu Tuva (It seems … Continue reading →

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RICHARD FEYNMAN’S DREAM OF TANNU TUVA.

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Philip

RICHARD FEYNMAN’S DREAM OF TANNU TUVA. The Google search for the Economist article revealed this article about how Richard Feynman, the great physicist, fell in love (when he was a boy and a stamp collector) with the idea of Tannu … Continue reading →

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SAVING TUVAN WITH THE INTERNET.

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Philip

SAVING TUVAN WITH THE INTERNET. This Economist http://www.economist.com/node/21548148 (February 25) describes four projects that are attempting to revive languages that are on the verge of extinction. The first step is to prepare a talking dictionary that can be put on … Continue reading →

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