06 JAN 2012 by ideonexus The Size of the Universe in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Photo
Facts About the Hubble Ultra Deep Field > Summary > Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) photograph
The technical details followed by Chet Raymo's summary of how the photo demonstrates just how incredibly vast is our Cosmos.
Folksonomies: astronomy,universe,cosmos,summary,scale,hubble,photo
05 JAN 2012 by ideonexus Santa Clause is Impossible
Santa Claus Can't Live at the North Pole > Emphasis > Disproving Santa Claus with a Back of the Napkin Calculation
He can't possibly visit as many families as he's supposed to in even a year and his workshop can't be located at the North Pole.
Folksonomies: superstition
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus Newton's Apple Fable
Newton Saw that the Moon is Falling > Additional Support/Evidence > Newton's Apple Gave New Meaning to the Garden of Eden Story
The fable of Newton's apple provided a unique insight into the Earth's relation to the moon and a secular fable with which to recast the story of Adam and Eve.
Folksonomies: secular,fable,scripture
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus Carl Sagan's Big History Told as a Fable of Our Origins
Big History as a Fable > Time Sequence > Big History as a Fable Part II
Parts I and II of his retelling of our origins.
Folksonomies: wonder,big history,fairy tale
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus The Government Can Send Us to Mars
Space Exploration Costs the Same as Exploring the World > Additional Support/Evidence > Government Maps the Terrain for Private Enterprise
The Federal Government does the exploration, maps out the territory as it always has, and the cost would be proportionally the same as what it cost Europe to explore the New World.
Folksonomies: socialism,space exploration,exploration,colonization
12 DEC 2011 by ideonexus Ancient Knowledge at the Library of Alexandria
Alexandria's Promise of a Brilliant Scientific Civilization > Example/Illustration > Ionian Science
What fantastic ancient knowledge was lost with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria? A survey of Ionian Science gives us some hints.
Folksonomies: science,knowledge,anti-intellectualism,ignorance
09 DEC 2011 by ideonexus Evil Deeds Can be Justified Through Scripture
Newt Gingrich is Like King David > Example/Illustration > Numbers 31: 13-18
If Newt Gingrich's immoral actions can be defended through scriptural references to King David, then it follows that the genocide of women and children is defensible because Moses did it.
Folksonomies: religion,scripture,rationalization
09 DEC 2011 by ideonexus Scripture Can be Used to Rationalize Anything
2 Samuel 11:1-13 & > Conclusion > Newt Gingrich is Like King David
Newt Gingrich cheated on his wife who was dying of cancer, but that's ok to bible-followers because King David did much worse and was a great leader.
Folksonomies: religion,scripture,rationalizations
03 OCT 2011 by ideonexus It Takes an Investment of Effort for Tasks to Become Enjoyable
Nothing is Fun Until You\'re Good at It > Similarity > A Useful Metaphor for Maintaining Momentum
Bill Cosby uses the metaphor of a plane burning the most fuel on takeoff before leveling out in the clouds and Amy Chua argues that skills are fun once a child overcomes the frustration of learning them.
Folksonomies: education,parenting,learning,effort,investment,frustration,skills
28 SEP 2011 by ideonexus Elizabeth Warren Evokes Adam Smith
Nobody in This Country Got Rich on His Own > Similarity > Adam Smith Defends Taxes
She argues that the financially successful owe some of their success to the stability of the society that fostered them; Adam Smith argued that the more you owned, the more you owed back to the society in which you are invested.
Folksonomies: politics,capitalism,taxation