rocks and minerals

"There is something breathtaking about the basic laws of crystals. They are in no sense a discovery of the human mind; they simply are; they exist quite independently of us. The most that any man can do is to become aware, in a moment of clarity, that they are there, and take cognizance of them."
M.C. Escher

changing perspectives

apple time machine logo

It's all about changing perspective. So little we learn about changing perspective, seeing things with different eyes, through the experience and viewpoint of someone else, through critical thinking, untrusting our judgments, with curiosity and open mind.

We live in a prescriptive society, where all is driven by processes and procedures, by rules and templates. And all those are based on experience, and allow us to be guided through the world. 

But when we get stuck in them, and become unable to think and innovate, then we fail to handle crisis, which is indeed the world we live in.

And if we change out time perspective, we realise how crisis really has been the routine. Only at different time scales. And we may not be able to restore the backup.

A nice documentary: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/time-machine/

it's all about teaming up

Image from USCG

Say what you want, it's all about teaming up and playing, for the sake of survival first, and then efficiency. Life is the essence and result of escaping dangers, cooperation, trial and error, specialisation, and bitter competition.
How it all came into being is a story of adaptation, niches, opportunities. And us, with all our preoccupations for decorations, fashion, make-up, faster cars, silicon implants, are supposedly the end result? Hardly believable. If conscience has evolved to make sense out of it all, evolution must somehow have a weird sense of humour.

A couple of interesting documentaries:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/david-attenboroughs-first-life/
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earth-making-of-a-planet/