via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Florida circa 1904
“Surf bathing at Palm Beach”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company
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The shortest path, the traveling salesman, and an unsolved question
via 3 Quarks Daily by Hari Balasubramanian
How does Google Maps figure out the best route between two addresses? The exact algorithm is known only to Google, but probably some variation of what is called the shortest path problem has to be solved.
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
When did the humble donkey become the ultimate fighting machine? It all began in 520 BC with King Darius I… more
Cinematic tragedies for the intractable issues of our times
via OUP Blog by Sandra Shapshay and Steven Wagschal
Tragedies certainly aren’t the most popular types of performances these days. When you hear a film is a tragedy, you might think “outdated Ancient Greek genre, no thanks!” Back in those times, Athenians thought it their civic duty to attend tragic performances of dramas like Antigone or Agamemnon. Were they on to something that we have lost in contemporary Western society? That there is something specifically valuable in a tragic performance that a spectator doesn’t get from other types or performances, such as those of our modern genres of comedy, farce, and melodrama?
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Bitter: one of the most interesting and exciting cookbooks I've ever read
via Boing Boing by Carla Sinclair
The term bitter, when associated with food, has never whet my appetite. Bitter, like sour, leans towards the negative. “She made a sour face”. “He is a bitter person”. Unlike sweet or savoury (unami), I think of bitter as an acquired taste that does not easily enthuse. So when I ran across Bitter: A Taste of the World’s Most Dangerous Flavor, I was intrigued. And I was not disappointed.
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Art in an age of relentless acceleration. The novel used to be a speedy way of delivering ideas and experiences. Now it’s unbearably slow … more
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Yes, it’s official, men are from Mars and women from Venus, and here’s the science to prove it
via 3 Quarks Daily: Lewis Wolpert in The Telegraph
In his fascinating new book the developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert argues that there is actually hard science behind many of our stereotypical gender roles.
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The tape deck you probably won’t be leaving for your great-grandson
via Boing Boing by Rob Beschizza
See for yourself
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Wu wei, the art of trying – but not too hard – is central to romance, religion, politics, and business. Those ancient Chinese philosophers were on to something… more
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God, Darwin and My College Biology Class
via 3 Quarks Daily David P. Barash in the New York Times
Every year around this time, with the college year starting, I give my students The Talk. It isn’t, as you might expect, about sex, but about evolution and religion, and how they get along. More to the point, how they don’t.
I’m a biologist, in fact an evolutionary biologist, although no biologist, and no biology course, can help being “evolutionary”. My animal behaviour class, with 200 undergraduates, is built on a scaffolding of evolutionary biology.
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