Since 1962, scientists have been sending radio messages to the outer space. The first one was a three-word message sent from Evpatoria, in Ukraine. A few years later, a second message was sent to the cosmic space from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and some years later two more messages were sent from Evpatoria again. In all cases the messages were sending information about all us, to unknown civilizations that may capture those well-intentioned signals, but that can be used for who knows what purposes.
However, in order to take no risks should we stop sending data from us while at the same time keep silently trying to hear their messages? A couple of years ago, the Russian astrophysicist Alexander Zaitsev saw a contradiction in this attitude. This contradiction is what is now know as The Paradox of the Great Silence. Read the full article here.
Infinity is not a number, however, it can be split, sorted, randomized, mapped, diagonalized, separated, or counted. In the Tarot cards deck, the magician (Le Bateleur) represents the unlimited and infinite power. But outside of this esoteric deck of cards, in the real world, there are other magicians that play and reshuffle the infinite as if it were an infinite deck of playing cards. People like the ancient Greek mathematicians and philosophers, people like the contemporary George Cantor, and Jorge Luis Borges.
Infinity is an elusive and hard to comprehend concept, however, there are some curious ideas, stories, and explanations that sometimes leave us with the sense that the infinite ─more than an unreachable frontier─ is an unexplainable and unending vertigo. Read the full article here.
Shown at right is a cute device that should pump upward the same amount of water that is falling down. Attached to the axis of the paddled wheel is a belt that drives a pump that that is encased in the top triangular housing. The pump should pull the water from below and send it to the water faucet at the front. This action is supposed to continue without disruption and without consuming more energy than the energy it is generating.
Yes, in paper it works, in paper. It works in the mind of the inventor, but not in reality. Why not? Perpetual Motion, a book by Percy Verance ---now free--- is full of devices and artifacts like this one with explanations for each one. Click here to learn more about this free EBook.
The fear of comets can be a natural reaction to a sudden unexplainable phenomena. Yes, the arrival of a comet can be a frightening event, but this happens no more. Almost every cosmic activity like comets that threatens us can be predicted with the aid of the telescope.
However, when the fear for those celestial bodies is induced from outside us, the experience can be traumatic, specially if it is preached based on biblical faith. this is exactly what David Brandt Berg did for his followers. He tried to convince the people and kids of his cult that the incoming comet "COULD BE THE TOTAL DOWNFALL OF AMERICA, the collapse of the currency and/or economic system". Read the full article here.
Why is it easier to draw a circle than to draw a straight line?
The fact is that it is easier to doubt of the straightness of a line drawn with a straightedge than to doubt of the roundness of a circle drawn with a compass. Any high school student is aware of this.
The straightedge is not the only tool for drawing straight lines; there are other ways via the use of linkages. In the recent free EBook —released by the Gutenberg Project and reformatted by Datum— by A. B. Kempe, he shows us some mechanical linkages that can perform as if they were straightedges. Learn more, and download the EBook here.
Why is it that the Argentinean literary writer Jorge Luis Borges is cited so many times in the math and philosophy books that deal with the concept of the infinite? Why is his short story The Book of Sand a fountain of inspiration for so many controversial articles and essays?
Learn more about how this famous writer manipulates the idea of the infinite without complex math and in an amusing way using the metaphor of a book with no beginning and no end. Read the full article here .