Mastodawn

RE: https://mastodonapp.uk/@wisegreyowl/116271634123761729

Ancient walls remind me of Pink Floyd , and the site "59 Songs About Walls".

https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/Songs-About-Walls

"The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said 'This is mine', and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes.... " - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

katalogeur Mar 22

Corey S Powell Mar 22

I keep seeing versions of this post, which imply a bizarre misunderstanding of how we know the world.

Do people imagine that if we'd never observed galaxies or neutrinos or exoplanets or the cosmic microwave background, we could have *imagined* these things & that would be just as real?

Or that we've magically reached the point, just now, where we no longer need to observe the world?

#science #nature #technology

katalogeur Feb 18

The idea began in Wisconsin in 2009. By 2012 there were 2500 of them ... and is incorporated as a non-profit.

By 2016 there were 50,000 LFL's in 85 countries. Now there are over 200,000 in 128 countries.

Have you found the Little Free Libraries in your locale yet?

https://littlefreelibrary.org/

Take a Book. Share a Book. - Little Free Library

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization with a mission to build community, inspire readers, and expand book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Libraries.

Little Free Library

katalogeur Feb 18

Bruce Sterling @bruces Feb 15

*Paper and pencil! It's the way forward for the coming generation

https://www.thethinkacademy.com/blog/edubriefs-sweden-education-shift-from-digital-learning-to-pen-and-paper/

Sweden Education Shift: From Digital Learning to Pen and Paper

Sweden is scaling back digital devices in schools, returning to pen-and-paper teaching to boost literacy, focus, and equity in education.

Think Academy US Blog -

katalogeur Feb 18

Stranger! henceforth be warned; and know, that pride,
Howe'er disguised in its own majesty,
Is littleness; that he who feels contempt
For any living thing, hath faculties
Which he has never used; ...

O be wiser, Thou!
Instructed that true knowledge leads to love,
True dignity abides with him alone
Who, in the silent hour of inward thought,
Can still suspect, and still revere himself,
In lowliness of heart.

<== William Wordsworth, 1815

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_(Wordsworth,_1815)/Volume_2/Lines_left_upon_a_Seat,_%26c

Poems (Wordsworth, 1815)/Volume 2/Lines left upon a Seat, &c - Wikisource, the free online library

katalogeur Feb 18

Carl Sagan’s 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney

by Ethan Siegel
February 10, 2026

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/carl-sagan-detecting-baloney/

Carl Sagan's 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney

Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit taught us how to separate good science from the work of charlatans. In 2026, that matters more than ever.

Big Think

katalogeur Jan 24

On Thursday, 149 'Democrat' Housemembers voted along with 192 Repub's to pass an $828B US military spending bill. And 7 Dems helped get the DHS bill over the line.

Hopefully all of these compromised losers are replaced this fall.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-military-spending-bill

Despite Authoritarian Warnings, 149 House Democrats Vote to Hand Trump $840 Billion for Military | Common Dreams

"If an opposition party votes like this, it's not in opposition. It may not even be a party."

Common Dreams

katalogeur Jan 21

JA Westenberg Jan 21

"Fail fast" is still the wrong frame.

When you try something and it doesn't work, you didn't fail. You ran an experiment. You got data. Now you know something you didn't know before.

That's just... how learning works.

https://youtu.be/MF23aIJc4lY?si=G2Y4hnNxTDE2fuwQ

The One Word Killing Your Creativity

YouTube

katalogeur Jan 21

_
Yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying
I am tired of
all these beasts and brutes.
I seek
a true human

We have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said

Yes
he replied
but my search
is for the one
who cannot be found.

<== Rumi

katalogeur Jan 20

James Jan 16

I love cross-pollinating ideas, and live hoping one day to find a combination that unlocks something useful for humanity.

Innovators throughout the ages have found ways to apply knowledge in one area of expertise to another domain to create breakthroughs. This series makes a strong case for "reasoning by analogy" and contrasts this with "first principles thinking".

See if this shift in perspective unlocks your inner genius.

https://nonzerosum.games/polymaths1.html

#Polymaths #Genius #Innovation #Musk

POLYMATHS

Explore the fascinating world of polymaths, their methodologies, and the significance of First Principles thinking in innovation and creativity today.