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Gaia Hypothesis or Big Data in SciFi continued.
We’ve had fun looking at the impact of science on science and tech. With the recent passing of a very popular science fiction actor, we thought this was a good time to look at big data in science fiction. Originally published on our IG feed, this is part of a series on the data science in science fiction. We’ll start with the Gaia Hypothesis (Wikipedia). As it’s name implies, it’s actually not fiction, but a hypothesis that has not been proven. It might someday be regarded as science fact. (But at the moment close enough to science fiction for government work.) According to the hypothesis, Earth’s biosphere and other processes form a network of feedback loops that keep Earth in a homeostasis. In some interpretations, Earth is almost a conscious or intelligent entity, acting to remove irritants (humans?) that threaten homeostasis. However, the stabilization or intelligent behavior emerges out of the concerted effort of all of Earth’s organisms and geochemical processes, unconsciously working together.… Read the restMartians making Mars canals: Solution to yesterday’s puzzle
Yesterday we presented a puzzle photo. We promised to explain the relationship between the Panama Canal and Mars. Shown here in glorious black and white is the 1887 map by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. It shows “Mars canals.” Were these canals dug by intelligent Martians? Many in the 19th century thought so, and thought they had found proof of space aliens in their telescopes! Schiaperelli (and many others) thought they observed “canals” on Mars.(The map is in Italian or Latin with some legends in German, in part because this version was taken from an 1888 German encyclopedia version.)This has since been shown to be optical illusions; modern high-resolution maps of Mars show no such features.Part of it was mistranslation. Schiaperelli’s use of “Kanal” was translated into English as “canal”, but the usage in the original meant something closer to “channel”, a more neutral term suggesting a natural feature. In any event, everyone got very excited that there might be intelligent Martians building an advanced canal system on Mars for transport.… Read the restData Science History: Quipu, Inca talking knots
These are Quipu, the talking knots of the Inca. This is data science history! This historical monochrome illustration dates from ca. 1615. It was drawn by Spanish conquistadors documenting the Inca. It is impossible to administer a complex civilization without a means of processing data and information. (This is one of the ideas behind our SETI photo and blog post theme of the last few days. Recall our earlier posts on Carl Sagan‘s expansion of earlier ideas measuring civilization through energy and information.) Although the ancient Inca (of modern-day Peru, Chile Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina) lacked writing, the Inca did have this system of these “talking knots” that allowed them to record transactions and information about their empire. This system was in use by the Inca from the 3rd Millenium BC, and, amazingly, remains in isolated use in some parts of South America into the present day. A version of this article originally appeared as a photo post on our Instagram feed.… Read the restVery Large Array (“looks” like SETI, but is it?)
This is Nasa’s Very Large Array (VLA). This “looks” like SETI, but isn’t actually, as we’ll explain. Frustrated by the recent lack of intelligent life here on Earth (as evidenced by recent news stories — google late January 2015 if you’re reading this post in the future), we’re again looking towards the stars. This is Nasa’s Very Large Array, a set of radio telescopes that are the “go to” image everyone associates with SETI (The Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence). Ironically, this array is not used for SETI at all. (The array just looks cool and the media uses it as “SETI” images. More evidence of lack of intelligent life on Earth, we guess. 🙂 Obviously the Drake equation will need to be revised given Earth’s recent loss of status on the intelligent life front this month. 🙂 This telescope array is from the 1970s in Socorro, NM, and may be outdated.… Read the restRecent Posts
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