Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And it is because in the last analysis we ourselves are part of the mystery we are trying to solve.
…..Max Planck
The Seeker’s Guide
Elizabeth Lesser
Category: Science
Miracles Of Life
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American Indian Tradition Speaks of Three Miracles
- The first miracle is that anything exists at all.
- The second miracle is that living things exist.
- The third miracle is that living things exist that know they exist.
As human beings conscious of ourselves, we represent the third miracle.
Who Was Pythagoras?
Mathematician and Philosopher
Pythagoras (c. 580-500 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) mathematician and philosopher. He was a contemporary of Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius.
Pythagoras is best known for the Pythagorean Theorem, a mathematical theorem which says c2 = a2 + b2. That is, in a right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
……..Pythagorean Theorem
Religious and Philosophical Movement
Pythagoras established the Pythagorean Brotherhood at his academy in Crotone, Italy. This was a religious and philosophical movement that influenced Aristotle and Plato, and made an important contribution to the development of western philosophy. Pythagoras and his followers believed that everything was related to mathematics and everything could be predicted and measured in rhythmic patterns or cycles.
The Pythagoreans were vegetarians and believed in the transmigration of souls. They also, rather curiously, believed beans to be special and would not eat them. Pythagoras is said to have been killed by an angry mob when he refused to run through a bean field to escape their pursuit.
How the World Works: Mathematics: From Creating the Pyramids to Exploring Infinity
Anne Rooney
Background on Anne Rooney
How Was Stonehenge Built?
Located in England
Stonehenge is a monument located near Salisbury in southern England. It is nearly as old as the pyramids, though on a smaller scale. It was built with a sophisticated understanding of geometry and the movement of the sun.
Layout
Stonehenge is a vast arrangement of concentric circles of stone and holes that were perhaps intended to hold posts or other stones. The remains of Stonehenge, which was built in three phases over a period of about 1,000 years between 3000-2000 BC, consists of huge standing stones, some surmounted by stone lintels (horizontal blocks).
(overhead view)
The arrangement of the stones shows an ability to work with circles in space, and the curved lintel stones demonstrate an understanding of arcs of a circle – when all were in place, the lintel stones would have formed a true circle, not a series of straight lines.
Summer Solstice
The only tools available to the builders were picks made of deer antlers and stone hammers, yet they were able to calculate and measure portions of a circle and distances. The northeast axis aligns with the position of the rising sun at the summer solstice (longest day of the year), suggesting that some form of calendar had been developed.
How the World Works: Mathematics: From Creating the Pyramids to Exploring Infinity
Anne Rooney
Background on Anne Rooney
How Does Cognition Relate To Perception?
Cognition & Perception
Cognition is the mental act or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses. Cognitive processes use existing knowledge and generate new knowledge. Cognitive processes are analyzed from different perspectives within different contexts, in a number of fields, including: neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, education, philosophy, anthropology, biology, and computer science.
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information, or the environment.
Nine Laws of Cognition
- There are no benefits without costs.
- Action molds perception.
- Feeling comes first.
- The mind can override perception.
- Cognition mirrors perception.
- Spatial thinking is the foundation of abstract thought.
- The mind fills in missing information.
- When thought overflows the mind, the mind puts it into the world.
- We organize the stuff in the world the way we organize the stuff in the mind.
