This Slide Is Really Something! :)

Numberphile (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxcjq-8xIDTYp3uz647V5A) Got some good videos on the subject.

Heres one that introduce the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqyyhhnGraw

Did you know that there’s a whole branch of topology called knot theory studying knots?

Find out more here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_theory

Got two Mongolian friends here at work if you want me to ask them? :)

Here’s my first attempt at Mongolian calligraphy.

I would greatly appreciate feedback.

Just the ruler missing. Love to draw with those tools!

Wow, this is the coolest comic i ever read! Got your book (”What if?”) and now think its the second coolest thing i read! :) Keep it up!

Would like a map of the whole area, just to know for sure i’ve been to all the places :)

Wow, this is the coolest comic i ever read! Got your book (”What if?”) and now think its the second coolest thing i read! :) Keep it up!

Infinite Trees Are Super Weird

Trying to list all the numbers, yet again... The Infinite Series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaNzoFtkQ7rYwjp8AlVBp576YK_sdfyi8

Finally Vihart post a video again!

Wow, “ For a photon, its entire existence is instantaneous. “ , that put things in perspective! 

Ask Ethan #109: How do photons experience time?

“[L]ight takes about 8 minutes to travel from the sun to earth. Light travels at the speed of light. If you do that relativity kicks in. So my question is, how much time passes for the photons traveling? In other words, how much have the photons aged when the reach the earth? Thanks for considering this.”

Travel at any constant speed, at rest, slowly, or near the speed of light, and you’ll experience time passing at the same rate it always does: one second per second. If someone else is moving relative to you, they’ll see your clock run slow (and you’ll see theirs run slow) depending on how quickly you move relative to one another. But what about a photon, which moves at the speed of light? From your point of view, no matter what your motion is, you won’t see time pass for it at all, and it won’t even experience time! For a photon, its entire existence is instantaneous.

Wow, this story is my hope for humanity! Keep it up and keep doing what you do, Mathed-potatoes! :)

People never cease to amaze me in every way. 

Today, we had an emergency response drill. This involves flashing lights and loud sounds. I have a neurological disorder that makes this type of even very uncomfortable. 

The hour before this drill, I had an incredibly disappointing interaction with one of my work supervisors. My reaction was much stronger than I might have anticipated on a theoretical level, and I was still reeling when the drill started… so I didn’t take steps to avoid the sensory barrage. The loud noises happen first, and I was already starting to spiral the drain. 

And then…

And then one of my students caught my attention. She told me the lights were about to start flashing, and asked if I needed to go outside. I was so far gone I couldn’t really process how to do the ‘get outside’ thing. Like, I couldn’t find ‘outside.’ So she sherpa’d me to safety, just in time to avoid the flashy lights that would have triggered a full meltdown. 

So, here’s the thing: I have mentioned my disorder to her once, in passing, by name only. She literally remembered that I had a condition, and took steps to know what emergency protocol I might need in certain situations. I thanked her profusely, and asked how she had learned to be so sensitive to stuff like that. She told me she has a younger sister with a disability, and so she understands how significant the timely attention of a knowledgeable ally can be. 

It is significant. It makes a world of difference. 

She saved the day for me. 

She kept me from having to leave in the middle of the day, from having to cancel my afternoon discussions. 

And, at that particular moment, when I was still shocked by an instance of the human capacity to harm, she reminded that their capacity to help, to be compassionate, to care about one another, is far greater still.

One of my favorite gifs of all time!!! 

periods

This, wow!

Impressive artwork.

Dr. Greg Dunn (artist and neuroscientist) and Dr. Brian Edwards (artist and applied physicist) created Self Reflected to elucidate the nature of human consciousness, bridging the connection between the mysterious three pound macroscopic brain and the microscopic behavior of neurons. Self Reflected offers an unprecedented insight of the brain into itself, revealing through a technique called reflective microetching the enormous scope of beautiful and delicately balanced neural choreographies designed to reflect what is occurring in our own minds as we observe this work of art. Self Reflected was created to remind us that the most marvelous machine in the known universe is at the core of our being and is the root of our shared humanity.

h-t New Scientist: Brain images display the beauty and complexity of consciousness