That Rabbit/hare Post Is Messing Me Up. I’d Thought They Were Synonyms. Their Development And Social

Metamorphosis

By Ruth Stone

Now I am old, all I want to do is try;

But when I was young, if it wasn’t easy I let it lie,

Learning through my pores instead,

And it did neither of us any good.

For now she is gone who slept away my life,

And I am ignorant who inherited,

Though the head has grown so lively that I laugh,

“Come look, come stomp, come listen to the drum.”

I see more now than then; but she who had my eyes

Closed them in happiness, and wrapped the dark

In her arms and stole my life away,

Singing in dreams of what was sure to come.

I see it perfectly, except the beast

Fumbles and falters, until the others wince.

Everything shimmers and glitters and shakes with unbearable longing,

The dancers who cannot sleep, and the sleepers who cannot dance

This is a free coupon/excuse for you to infodump on the current topic you’re obsessed with. Take some time away from internet discourse and share with us something you find interesting.

Today I read about Precambrian animals!

The above one is Thectardis, which is an animal so weird we have almost no inclination of how to categorize it. We know it was alive and it was cone shaped. That’s it.

The thing about fossil life from 500+ million years ago is that there often aren’t really any living analogs for it? Many of the animals from that time were sessile, many filter feeders, without much in common with what comes to mind when we think “Animal”—something that moves around and has a brain and thinks. The strata that preserve these animals are very rarely accessible, and these glimpses we have are hard to interpret.

Many of these creatures are known from a single fossil. Many are too weird to interpret or classify even tentatively.

Here’s another organism from that time, Eoandromeda:

Look at this thing. I can’t explain why, but Eoandromeda makes me feel some kind of deep dread. Like...we don’t know what this thing was. We don’t even know if it was an animal. I look at that shape and I want someone to tell me what that thing is. But we don’t know. We don’t have the words for What That Thing Is.

Imagine something so alien, so divergent from the paths life took to the present day, that we can’t look at it and say “That’s a worm” or “That’s a sponge” or “that’s a jellyfish” or...anything. The words for it literally don’t exist, because nothing like it now exists, and we know nothing about it. We’re not looking at different versions of the same categories of creature we have now. We’re looking at something that is too obscure to have a category. We can guess what it might have looked like. But it is so utterly unlike anything that exists now that we know nothing—except that undeniably, it existed.

Namacalathus. Be honest, doesn’t this make you scream inside? Or is it just me? This was a real animal that existed. It doesn’t know or give a fuck what a “snail” or “bird” is.

Learning about dinosaurs is DIFFERENT. We know what bones are. We have them! When we say that sauropod dinosaurs ate plants, we can imagine those plants. We can describe dinosaurs as having a “neck” and “claws” and “legs.” And I think that’s comforting because whatever I feel when I look at Namacalathus is not that.

This one invented muscles! Muscles are okay! I have muscles! That should make me feel better, right!

...Not really! Put it back!

For millions of years these things existed, living their unknowable lives. There was an entire world of these organisms. This was EARTH, our world.

People mostly haven’t heard of these. I think people care less about these strange early creatures because they seem less charismatic, not having brains or doing anything, but I think there is a lot of charisma to the Unknowable Cone Animal, the Dread Spiral, and all the other unsettling animals of the Precambrian.

Ahhh! This is so cool!

there are FERNS?? that grow like TREES???? no fucking way

so what sent me down this rabbit hole is earlier on a walk with my husband we saw some glorious "palms" in a garden that were about 6 feet high, once i inspected the fern-like leaf pattern and saw the new leaves were curled i was blown away because it was so similar to a fern but had a trunk and i didnt know ferns could grow like that. (see the last two images, i took them so i could identify it later using an app + research, it might be sphaeropteris brunoniana) look how hairy that frond is! i love plants 🤎ferns my beloved🤎

لهذا السبب يجدر بك التخلي عن أفكارك القديمة النصف منجزة أو غير المنجزة

"تنظيف حياتك" (أو التخلي عن الأشياء غير الضرورية في حياتك) هي عملية أكبر بكثير من مجرد تحديد الأشياء التي تؤدي أو لا تؤدي إلى الفرح و التسلية. يمكنك أن "تنظف" أمتعتك العاطفية: لقد أظهرت الأبحاث أن التخلي عن الضغينة تجاه شخص ما، على سبيل المثال، يمكن أن يجعلك حرفيا تشعر انك أخف وزنا. يمكنك "تنظيف" عاداتك التنظيمية مثلا، عن طريق تضييق لائحة الأعمال التي عليك إنجازها لتتضمن الامور الاكثر اهمية فقط. وكما كتب (نيك دوغلاس) مؤخرا في مجلة (لاييف هاكر)، يمكنك تنظيف المساحة العقلية التي تكرسها للمشاريع الإبداعية من خلال أن تأخذ بالاعتبار ما يسمى (مفهوم الديون الفكرية)

"الديون الفكرية"، كما يفسر الكاتب، "هي الكومة من الأفكار التي نعود باستمرار لإعادة النظر فيها و التفكير فيها ولكن لا ننجزها، وربما لا نبدأ بانجازها ابدا. يمكن أن يكون كتابا، تطبيق، عمل تجاري، أو أي مشروع ينمو في عقلك ولكن ليس في الواقع. "الديون الفكرية هي الملاحظات التي تكتبها على هاتفك و ترفض حذفها على سبيل المثال" و على الأغلب أن هذه الأشياء تجعلك أقل سعادة. يقول الكاتب:

" يمكن لهذه المشاريع أن تبدو أكثر إثارة من المشاريع التي تقوم بتنفيذها في الواقع، بسبب كل خيبات الأمل والتنازلات التي تأتي مع المشاريع التي تنفذها. كما يقول كاتب السيناريو (كريغ مازن)، "السيناريو الأكثر إثارة في العالم هو السيناريو الذي كنت على وشك كتابته. والكتاب الأقل إثارة هو الذي أنت تكتب في الصفحة 80 منه". وهكذا فإن الديون الفكرية تهدد بوقف المشاريع الحقيقية، أو توقفها لفترة طويلة بحيث تصبح هي الأخرى ديون فكرية أيضا.

"

لديك طريقتين لمنع ذلك: يمكنك إما جلب فكرتك إلى الواقع والبدء بتنفيذها، أو يمكنك التخلي عنها.

ولا يتوجب على أي من الخيارين أن يكون جديا و صارما إلى حد كبير.لنقل أنه لديك فكرة نصف منجزة لرواية كنت قد اجلتها أكثر من مرة. البدء بانجازها لا يعني أنه عليك الجلوس في مرة واحدة و كتابة الرواية بأسرها في ليلة واحدة - كما يقول (دوغلاس)، قد تكون قادر على دمج أجزاء من مشروعك غير المنجز في مشروع آخر، أكثر تطورا و منجز بنسبة أكثر. ربما يمكنك نقل الشخصية الرئيسية من الرواية إلى شيء آخر،أو ربما نقل الحبكة لتصبح فكرة مكثفة فرعية في حياة شخص آخر. أو ربما يمكنك تحويلها إلى قطعة من قصة قصيرة.

التخلي عن فكرة ما يمكن أن يكون أكثر متعة من مجرد أن نضع الفكرة في سلة مهملات خيالية في عقلنا و نسيانها. إذا كنت تعرف أنك لن تفعل أي شيء بخصوص الفكرة، يقول دوغلاس، لماذا لا ندعها تجد منزل حيث تجد فرصة للتنفيذ؟ يمكنك الإفراج عن فكرتك إلى "براري شبكة الإنترنت" من أجل أن يلتقطها شخص آخر. أو، أفضل من ذلك، أن تفعل ذلك مع كل افكارك. وإذا كان هناك مشروع حقا لا يمكن أن تتحمل فكرة التخلص منه - حسنا، إذا كان يشعرك بالفرح والتسلية، إذا على الأرجح الوقت قد حان للبدء بتنفيذه.

صفحتنا على الفيسبوك :

http://facebook.com/maktabatona1 المقال الأصلي المترجم:

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/06/idea-debt-is-draining-your-creative-energy.html?utm_campaign=sou&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

a chaotic but accurate representation of the little things I love in my day-to-day academic career, aka a moodboard of all the little things I really miss and can’t wait to do/see again once I can go back to my full-time on-campus Arts & Media Student life after this worldwide mess is all over

just goofing off around campus, bc we’re young and nothing matters so why tf not

eyes open to all the wonderful différences in fellow students, noticing and enjoying how unique and awesome and varied their colourful outfits are

also everyone is wearing doc martens, and so are you, bc that’s what everyone at this university wears

high-fiving that friend that you always walk past on a Thursday morning as they hand out fliers, and you won’t see them again until next week doing the same thing, and that’s the extent of your friendship

going to the university bar after we’ve all handed up an assignment, let’s split the bottle between us bc we’re broke uni students but we love a good red

cheap pints and pool tables, arcade games and deep booths, sharing a bowl of mouth-scolding potato chips with your mates

student discount on art supplies

trips to the next door art gallery to kill time between classes

studying/lunch in the botanic gardens bc theres 4 hours until your next class

naps on the grass, soaking up the watery autumn sunshine with people you love

instant noodles and snacks from at the uni general store, boiling water and vending machines in the student kitchens

cook-ups with friends to last us the week to save $$$ on food, but also buying plenty of beverages with the money we were supposed to save with this exercise

camera comes everywhere around campus, ready to immortalise the moments missed with a blink

a collection of hoodies/rugby jumpers, first years flock the uni-merch store for their jumpers to wear around campus with pride

homework session in the study rooms, actually in in each others company, who knows how much work is actually getting done bc my best friends are sitting across from me as we study together late into the night, we’re hilarious and distract eachother lots but we know we will eventually get it done, and it’s better to be procrastinating together than have the distraction be the interior of your mind in isolation

I say “See ya later”, and it’s true, I will see you later, and I’ll see you tomorrow, and the next day

lecture theatres: full

couples on campus, initially you scrunch your nose at them, but you realise how lovely it is that they can freely share affection, who would have thought it would be taken away like this?

a myriad of evidence that you have consumed caffeine, dishes not done bc you’re glued to your assignment and you love it bc it’s your 2,500 word baby

bumping into a stranger and you don’t immediately run to wash your hands or get tested for a deadly virus - it’s just an awkward funny accident, and you laugh it off and probably see them around campus more now after that circumstantial exchange

practical research, primary sources, touching things, holding things, learning through touch

holding hands, linking arms, greeting and parting hugs, a kiss on the cheek

groups of friends, groups of people, line ups for cafes, huddles of friends around a table, huddling over a project, group assignments but we’re not separated by a wifi connection

texting my friends during class to meet up afterwards at our favourite cafe, it’s a dark and scrumptious overcast day and it’s our main haunt ( @academicinfj )

hugging your friends goodbye, shaking hands of new acquaintances

networking! NETWORKING! NEW PEOPLE! Hiya, how’s it going, what are you all about? Interviews and photoshoots, drawing real people in front of you, learning all about them, writing up an article from scratch but it’s easy bc they’re right in front of you and they’re handing you the words

knocking on your favourite lecturers door for a chat, it’s a meeting you set up with them, rather than dropping by in a video call

greeting your local barista who knows your order bc you’re consistent and has already started on it bc you’re always here at this time, the legend, they see you walk in and smile and ask after you, and you them bc even though you only ever see them in this context, they are in your circle and this exchange is more precious than you’ve ever given it credit for before

your lecturer rolls their eyes at your joke about the course content, but you can see their hidden smile clear as day across the lecture hall bc it was a bloody good joke and they know it, it’s a real-life détail and it’s not lost in a poor wifi connection

Theres $15 pizza and live-jazz nights on Tuesdays in the night-life district not far from campus, we go there every Tuesday after that class thay finishes in the evening, and the band knows who we’re the group in the corner, bc we’re always there with our pizza, and we’ll be there next week to hear the same songs and make a ruckus and cheer them on and dance, keY CHANGE YES LOVE IT!!! ! THAT SOLO!!!! REAL MUSIC BABEY !!

submitting an assignment 3 minutes before it’s due, the EXHILERATION of it

TL;DR: life is all around; no glitches, not delays or lags, we’re smiling and laughing and talking in real time, there’s nothing between us, no screens, just atmosphere

it’s good to be around

I got to hold a 500,000 year old hand axe at the museum today.

It's right-handed

I am right-handed

There are grooves for the thumb and knuckle to grip that fit my hand perfectly

I have calluses there from holding my stylus and pencils and the gardening tools.

There are sharper and blunter parts of the edge, for different types of cutting, as well as a point for piercing.

I know exactly how to use this to butcher a carcass.

A homo erectus made it

Some ancestor of mine, three species ago, made a tool that fits my hand perfectly, and that I still know how to use.

Who were you

A man? A woman? Did you even use those words?

Did you craft alone or were you with friends? Did you sing while you worked?

Did you find this stone yourself, or did you trade for it? Was it a gift?

Did you make it for yourself, or someone else, or does the distinction of personal property not really apply here?

Who were you?

What would you think today, seeing your descendant hold your tool and sob because it fits her hands as well?

What about your other descendant, the docent and caretaker of your tool, holding her hands under it the way you hold your hands under your baby's head when a stranger holds them.

Is it bizarre to you, that your most utilitarian object is now revered as holy?

Or has it always been divine?

Or is the divine in how I am watching videos on how to knap stone made by your other descendants, learning by example the way you did?

Tomorrow morning I am going to the local riverbed in search of the appropriate stones, and I will follow your example.

The first blood spilled on it will almost certainly be my own, as I learn the textures and rhythm of how it's done.

Did you have cuss words back then? Gods to blaspheme when the rock slips and you almost take your thumbnail off instead? Or did you just scream?

I'm not religious.

But if spilling my own blood to connect with a stranger who shared it isn't partaking in the divine

I don't know what is.

Have you heard about mole genders?

I’ve heard of this concept in sci-fi, but thought it was absolutely made up. I know some fish and frogs can change genders, but not in cycles like this. Wild. If I slapped this down in some alien world without explanation, I’d laugh in my own face. But no, real biology IS that bizarre.

Image descriptions:

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