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“David Goodstein, a physicist at Cal Tech, notes that science has been growing nearly exponentially for centuries and that it cannot continue such growth — because then everybody on the planet would have to be a scientist, and then the growth would have to stop.” – Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World At first, this passage…
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“The idea that Mr. Spock could be a cross between a human being and a life-form independently evolved on the planet Vulcan is genetically far less probable than a successful cross of a man and an artichoke.” – Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World Yeah we don’t like to think about that do we? Ironically, Star…
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“Why aren’t we using sports to teach science?” – Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World Sagan was apparently a huge fan of basketball as a way to teach science and mathematics. In his book, The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan’s bit about using basketball to teach probability and logic is classic for him—he’s always looking for sneaky scaffolding.…
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Thanks to the proliferation of sports betting and daily fantasy sports leagues, there’s more of a hunger for sports related content than ever. But, there’s another major related interest, and that’s sports cards! Unfortunately, because of the major trading card boom of the pandemic, many websites came and went. Therefore, many lists of the best…
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Philosophy is a vast and fascinating field of study that helps us understand the fundamental nature of reality, existence, and knowledge. It challenges us to think critically about fundamental questions that have intrigued humanity for centuries. For those passionate about exploring deep thoughts and challenging ideas, delving into the world of philosophy bloggers can be…
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“There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.” – Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World Are some questions “dumb”? Maybe in the moment—but even the worst-formed ones come from a mental framework…
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In his 1993 book Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science, Alan Cromer of Northeastern University suggests that we never would’ve invented science if not for what Carl Sagan refers to as “an unlikely concatenation of historical events.” Cromer writes, “This hostility to science, in the face of its obvious triumphs and benefits, is… evidence…
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“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” —Leonardo da Vinci I’ve always preferred Frankenstein’s Monster to the Mona Lisa. We’re often told to look to Leonardo da Vinci as the “patron saint” of genius, the man who could paint a masterpiece while dissecting a frog. But da Vinci, excellent as he…
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“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams This axiom from Ansel Adams, one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed photographers, remains one of the most vital distinctions in visual art. It highlights a fundamental split in how we interact with the world, between passive extraction and active construction. To “take” implies…
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“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” – Stephen King Human beings are blessed with one sort of talent or another. Some are great at public speaking. Others are great at composing music. Still others are very good at writing essays;…
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“The joy of learning is as indispensable in study as breathing is in running. Where it is lacking there are no real students, but only poor caricatures of apprentices who, at the end of their apprenticeship, will not even have a trade.” – Simone Weil I found this quote from this great YouTube video from…
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“The myths and folklore of many premodern cultures have explanatory or at least mnemonic value. In stories that everyone can appreciate and even witness, they encode the environment.” – Carl Sagan, “The Demon-Haunted World” Here, Sagan is engaging in a critique of modern intellectual habits by reflecting on the purpose of ancient myth. He’s saying…
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Emmelie Arents of Prose and Petticoats had a good video on Sir Walter Scott’s Bride of Lammermoor. I’ve never really gotten into Scott. This sounds like a difficult novel. I like these videos because I think having even a general awareness of these classics is important. I don’t even remember what Ivanhoe was about way…
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May 1st 2025 My card for today is fitting: Nine of Sea reversed I’ve gotten this before and it’s definitely on point. The Mystical Cats Tarot guidebook reads: “Do you believe you deserve happiness? Do you truly believe that the universe holds goodness and joy for you? The unwillingness to express your wishes and set…
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The art of the essay is a practice much like medicine and law. There are no predefined rules besides conventions of grammar holding together your thoughtforms, what we call words. Every time we set ourselves to composing a work of writing, we must consider it as an experiment. Each time you set yourself to putting…
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LGR just posted a new oddware video about the 1992 mouse yoke. The 1992 Mouse Yoke! Convert a mouse into a flight yoke, oddly Whenever he brings up the original MSRP of these products and adjusts them for inflation, I realize just how far the dollar has truly fallen in just 30 years. Anyway the…