Tag Archives: science

Five rare and awe-inspiring mountain and river maps

When it comes to design – the Victorians did it better. Nothing quite matches these 19th Century comparative river and mountain maps for exquisite hand-drawn detail, meticulous scale and luminous beauty. It makes me wonder, how can anyone not love old maps? A New Cartographic Convention One of the forerunners for this kind of mapContinue reading “Five rare and awe-inspiring mountain and river maps”

Exquisite Marine Invertebrates of the 19th Century

In this blog in previous years, I’ve talked about how humans and cephalopods are oddly similar, explored the underwater realm of Sydney Harbour in great detail, and the invisible realm of microscopic creatures rendered by Ernest Haeckel. But in terms of delicate creatures, the Blaschkas were the 19th Century heavy-weights. I originally posted this postContinue reading “Exquisite Marine Invertebrates of the 19th Century”

Starman, Bowie and the symbolism of SpaceX’s new world

Bowie needs no introduction in his ability to induce wonder, awe and beauty in anyone he touches. And now even after death, his legacy lives on in the form of a mannequin Star Man set to take a silence-filled orbit around our dark solar system and towards its final destination of Mars. The poetry andContinue reading “Starman, Bowie and the symbolism of SpaceX’s new world”

Book Review: The Domesticated Brain by Bruce Hood

This is a riveting read from one of the leading lights of modern psychology, Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol. The book’s main premise is that 20,000 years ago our brains were 10% larger than what they are today. And that the reason for this is primarily the influence of social practices, culture andContinue reading “Book Review: The Domesticated Brain by Bruce Hood”

How slow-growing lichen opens up the vast universe

The Lichenologist from Matthew Killip on Vimeo. Hidden within this remarkable short film The Lichenologist is the slowly-growing story of the unassuming and vividly beautiful botanical wonder of lichen. Kerry Knudsen has the auspicious title of  Curator of Lichens at the University of California. He dispels common misconception between lichens and mosses. The latter beingContinue reading “How slow-growing lichen opens up the vast universe”

<3 The Internet: eSkeletons of primates, monkeys and homo sapiens

eSkeletons is an ingenious online resource that compares the skeletons of primates and including the most notorious of the bipeds homo sapiens. Created by the Department of Anthropology at the Univrsity of Texas in Austin, eSkeletons provides an interactive environment where visitors can examine skeletal anatomy through an osteology database. It’s a very engaging andContinue reading “<3 The Internet: eSkeletons of primates, monkeys and homo sapiens”

Microscopic treasures: Abstract art discovered under the microscope

Sometimes the most unimaginable beauty comes from the world cannot be seen with the human eye, but yet still exists in the invisible netherworld of the microscope. Here are some artistic treasures, spied on the Reddit Microporn page, have a look and you will become hooked. Crystalline acetylsalicylic acid viewed under polarised light at 10XContinue reading “Microscopic treasures: Abstract art discovered under the microscope”

Explore and classify galaxies and planets for real scientific studies

Nowadays, it’s possible to become not just a participant in scientific studies, but one of the researchers. The internet and crowd-sharing knowledge has made this possible. We are now swimming in data, so rather than wade through everything themselves, scientists are asking the ”hive mind” of the internet to help them to resolve challenges, andContinue reading “Explore and classify galaxies and planets for real scientific studies”

Dürer, Replicants and Flying Cars: Exploring Impressive Imaginary Cities with @Oniropolis

If you haven’t already followed Imaginary Cities on Twitter @Oniropolis then you should right away! This is a curated treasure trove of architectural meanderings and inspiring cityscapes which have never existed other than in creative people’s minds. Imaginary Cities are where the imagined possibilities of tech, science fiction, futurism and 80’s pop culture are smashedContinue reading “Dürer, Replicants and Flying Cars: Exploring Impressive Imaginary Cities with @Oniropolis”

One person’s trash is another’s treasure: oxidised metal film under the microscope

They could be a collection of post-apocalyptic planets viewed from space. However these pieces of enchanting art were not made by humans but by natural phenomena. Science is beautiful. The excellent Reddit page MicroPorn features close up microscopic images of materials. This collection of oxidised metal films were photographed using a microscope and an Amazon FireContinue reading “One person’s trash is another’s treasure: oxidised metal film under the microscope”