A “supermoon” happens when a full moon occurs around the same time that the moon is at its closest point to the earth (perigee) in its elliptical orbit around our planet. This means that the full moon will appear extra large and bright. In fact, it can appear up to 30% larger and brighter compared to the opposite, a “micro-moon”, when the full moon occurs around the same time that it is furthest away from the earth (apogee). Last night happened to be the brightest supermoon of 2019.
Lost in translation (once more…)
Predator publishers vs. beautiful birds.
Two years ago I published an article in Plus magazine debunking claims buzzing around on the internet about a supposed recent increase in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and so on. In that article I showed in detail how anyone can analyze publicly available data to put such claims to the test. In the current post, as I did last year, I present another update on earthquake statistics.
My good friend Charles Tichenor has been playing the piano since he was a little kid. And he’s still going at it tirelessly at his weekly Chat Noir Cabaret show at the Los Magueyes Mexican restaurant on Burro Alley in Santa Fe, NM, USA. Here’s a short slide show to give an impression of his performances.
A hike with humor…
Another spectacular sunset viewed from the Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe. Click each pick for a full size view!!
In complex systems science, the notion of complexity is often summarized with the phrase “the whole is more than the sum of its parts“. This expression can be traced all the way back to the early Greek philosopher Aristotle (Metaphysics, Book VIII, 1045a.8-10) and mathematician Euclid (Elements, Book I, Common Notion 8). It was therefore appropriate to have a conference on complex systems in Greece. As part of a delegation from the Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Amsterdam, I attended this conference to learn more about recent advances in complex systems science, and about some ancient Greek history. Read more
Thanksgiving full moon…
“Developmental bias is a manifestation of a much more fundamental principle, and is the norm rather than the exception”, according to one scientist. “Developmental bias is a misleading term and we should get rid of it”, according to another. Both were in the same room, at the same time. So what is developmental bias, what role does it play in evolution, and why do we even care? These questions were the focus of an interesting and spirited workshop, the third in a series of EES project meetings, held recently at the Santa Fe Institute. As with the first meeting, I was able to sit in on this workshop, like a fly on the wall, and listen to the presentations, arguments, and debates. Here’s what I learned…
Read the full piece on the EES Blog…
Funny clocks and counters…
“Since you are a computer scientist, I have an optimisation problem for you!”, my colleague said, half jokingly. As an ecologist, one of the things my colleague studies is invasive plant species. The question he was facing is how to reconstruct the most likely routes along which these species travel when they invade new territory, based on historical records on when and where they first appeared. As it turns out, this question is an instance of a known mathematical optimisation problem called the minimum cost arborescence problem.
Read the full story on Plus Magazine…
Collect moments, not things…
An (almost) full moon (98% illuminated) rising above Thessaloniki, Greece, as viewed from the balcony of my hotel room. A rather hazy evening, so no exceptional shots, but very beautiful to watch anyway! (Click each pic for a full-size view.)
Many systems in nature consist of a large number of relatively simple units that interact only locally, and without a central control, yet the system as a whole can perform sophisticated global information processing, or produce intricate globally coordinated behaviors. A well-known example of this is quorum sensing in microbial communities, where the basic units are bacteria.
Read the full story on TVOL.
Evolutionary biology is a thriving field. This was exemplified very recently at the Second Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology, held in Montpellier, France, from 19-22 August. Attended by around 2700 scientists, there were more than 800 contributed talks, distributed over 78 thematic symposia over the course of four days. This was certainly the largest evolutionary biology meeting ever organized so far.
Funny traffic lights and beautiful castles.
I spent a morning strolling around the old town of Strasbourg, France, with as main goal a visit to its impressive cathedral. Unfortunately it was a completely overcast day, so the sky was white instead of blue. But in some way it actually made the whole experience even more mystical!
Among scientists, a “chalk talk” means a lecture without a laptop and beamer to display fancy graphics, but simply using a blackboard and a piece of chalk to draw diagrams and formulas while you speak. It’s sort of going back to the basics to force you to explain your topic clearly. Last week I also went back to the basics, leaving my laptop behind to go on a 5-day walking trip through Zuid-Limburg, the southernmost area of The Netherlands. This region is well known for its extensive layers of limestone, and the 90km walking path I followed is appropriately called Krijtlandpad, or chalkland path. It was indeed a beautiful “chalk walk”, also highlighting many of the other things the region is famous for, including the country’s highest point.
Last night there was a (complete) lunar eclipse which was visible from Amsterdam. Many thanks to Jo & Piet for sharing their 9th-floor apartment balcony with me, from where the views were just wonderful! Here are some impressions. Click any of the pics for a full-size view…
Beauty is cruelty…
Autocatalytic sets are self-sustaining chemical reaction networks which are believed to have played an important role in the origin of life, and to be an underlying principle of living systems in general. They have been studied in great detail both mathematically and with computer simulations, and actual experimental examples have been constructed in the lab. However, so far these experimental examples were of a limited complexity (so-called “elementary” autocatalytic sets). Recently, though, a group of researchers have constructed and studied the first experimental example of a more complex (“non-elementary”) autocatalytic set.
Standard economic theory assumes that humans behave fully rationally and are able to objectively calculate the value (or cost) of the different choices they are presented with. In fact, we pride ourselves on our rationality. Different from the animals, we humans have the unique capacity for logical thought and rational decision making. Or do we?
Read the full piece on This View of Life…
With on average more than 180 days with rain annually (that’s roughly every other day!), and a total of more than 800mm of rainfall every year, one certainly would not expect to find a desert in The Netherlands. However, there are actually several areas in the country where you can walk through perfect white-sand landscapes. Interestingly, the cause of this goes back several ice ages.
A whimsical garage owner…
