Posts Tagged "book"
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The metal alloy that changed history: information & civilization
This metal alloy changed history forever. It suddenly made information (and data) much more accessible in the 14th century. This is perhaps the most important invention of Gutenberg that made possible inexpensive, mass book printing and publishing. This inexpensive access to information would have profound (and not entirely well understood) impacts on other areas of human endeavor, as we’ll see in future posts. (What could people in the 14th century suddenly do with cheaper data and information that they couldn’t do before?) Gutenberg was a metalsmith by profession, and developed a special alloy of lead, tin, and antimony so well-suited for printing it is the primary alloy used in similar applications today. He developed a special mould called a matrix for mass producing these metal typographic letters, which would enable cheap book publishing in all languages with an alphabet. (This metal alloy caused religious wars in some countries. In others, perhaps eying the religious wars that followed Gutenberg inventions, banned book printing, with disastrous results.… Read the restgenetic disease turns you into a real-life vampire
Halloween photo 2: Could this real-life vampire, a genetic disease sufferer, see himself in the mirror? This is Transylvania born and bred (and Romania’s national hero and native son) Vlad III Tepes aka Vlad III Dracula (Wikipedia), real life noble and vampire. (His title translates from Romanian a bit higher than count, more like duke or prince.) Dracula (or Dracul, Dracule), is thought to have suffered from the genetic illness porphyria (Wikipedia), which symptoms match that of a vampire. A recessive disorder, it is much more likely to occur in inbred noble or royal families, and DNA testing has shown several prominent, historical nobles suffered from the genetic disease. No, porphyria suffers don’t turn into bats, become immortal, or sleep in coffins. And a genetic disease is hereditary, so a bite from a porphyria sufferer wouldn’t do much to you. (Rabies, the obvious disease basis for werewolf folklore, is another matter entirely.)… Read the restAncient book publishing tech: notary seals & stamps are 5 millennia old!
Ancient book publishing tech: notary seals and stamps are 5 millennia old! Most people think Gutenberg invented book publishing. In reality, he made mass production of books very economical, but he didn’t inventing book printing. It is a much older technology. This is a replica of the Nabonidus Cylinder in the British Museum Collection in London, UK. It is an ancient Babylonian historic text from around 540BC that references Belshezzar, a historical figure is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel of the Bible. There are older examples of cylindrical seals going back to 3500BC. Cylinder stamps were invented in Middle East more than 5,000 years ago. The stamps provided a way of reproducing cuneiform text by rolling the cylinders over wet clay. So where are we going with all of this? We promised to connect Carl Sagan with conquistadors, and we left off with astrolabes and voting machines. Now we have cuneiform cylinders, Biblical figures, and ancient multi-copy texts.… Read the restConsciousness: vampire mirror reflections?
Halloween photo: Is this classic silent film vampire conscious or not? Can he pass the mirror test of animal intelligence? Or does he fail the test because he cannot see himself in a mirror and therefore lacks consciousness? 🙂 We originally did this as a series of Halloween (and mirror) themed photos on our IG feed. However, thanks to True Blue, Vampire Diaries, Interview with a Vampire, and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, vamps are so chic these days this is practically evergreen content. This is actor Max Schreck from the 1922 silent horror movie Nosferatu, said to be a then-popular German knock-off of the US Dracula silent film. (The plot was in fact based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula book, with a different name for the vampire.) Since Nosferatu is a fictional vamp, he lacks a soul, and cannot recognize or see himself in a mirror. So, continuing on our theme these last few photos, perhaps this means Nosferatu is not self-aware or conscious?… Read the restRecent Posts
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