Monthly Archives: July 2023

Do androids dream lucidly?

Lucid dreams. Had any? I’ve experienced some. What causes them? Is there any research? How does that compare to what’s portrayed in movies? An android future?

• Scientific American > “Are You a Lucid Dreamer?” by Gary Stix, Jeffery DelViscio (July 24, 2023) – An interview with sleep expert Isabelle Arnulf, head of the Sleep Disorders Clinic, Pitié Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris.

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Humbling complexity – in 3 lb or so

Context

The mystery of the brain

In a milieu of polarization, an era of claims to supremacy – “and nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong” – perhaps complexity can moderate pride. Complexity that resonates like a prayer.

There’s the wider stage of complexity – from the atomic to the cosmic scale. Ecosystems. Culture. But there’s the complexity right in our skulls. Our brain.

• Dictionary.com > Humbling > “causing a person to feel less proud, especially through awe, admiration, or gratitude.”


The mystery of the brain – our sense of identity, our feeling of agency

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The future of forever chemistry

PFAS chemicals are characterized by a carbon-fluorine backbone (the “F-C” in “forever chemicals”) – the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry.

The incredible complexity of our global ecosystem … at so many levels …

Well, then there’s “better living through chemistry” … the plastic ocean, plastic in our food chain, and PFAS in our tap water (and blood).

Here’s one of many articles in the news cycle this week prompted by a recent study from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) – which “analyzed water collected from over 700 taps and kitchen faucets in homes, offices and schools across the country.”

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