For open minds
Unlike the other planets in our solar system Earth’s surface is about 70% water. Why is that? Shouldn’t the sun have dried out all the water long ago?
As it turns out our water is alien. We’ve Carbonaceous Chondrites from beyond the frost line to thank.
In Pure Spirit
What do you make of the science? Is it surprising that water isn’t native to this planet? Imagine what that means for holy water, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy and countless other water based activities.
Most of life is invisible.
It’s true.
This short animation from Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck take a crack at explaining the history of microbes. We begin with the birth of microscopes – which is a bit of a mystery – and then moves on to the tiny lifeforms that they discovered.
In Pure Spirit
How do you think microbes fit into stories like Noah and the Ark?
A team of scientists have been able to create the strange “feeling of a presence” in a lab. This is believed to be what is at work when we sometimes suspect there’s a “ghost” nearby.
The science is both impressive and underwhelming at the same time. It’s underwhelming because there is actually something touching you if you take part in this experiment – it’s just not happening the way you might expect.
In Pure Spirit
Do you think neuroscience will be able to explain all “supernatural” encounters one day?
Do you believe in Optography? This is the technique by which images are extracted from dead eyes; revealing the last thing they ever saw.
Most people think this is a myth but there is scientific proof behind the idea.
This video is a good look at the science and theory behind Optography.
Caution – it may freak you out a little as the video includes actual photographs of images captured from eyes.
If you’re not sure whether this is real or not then a quick trip to Wikipedia’s page on the subject should put you at ease. Optography is a thing but it’s usefulness may not be.
In Pure Spirit
Do you have any other examples of “Fringe Science” that sound too odd to be real?
I only appreciated how important good lighting was until we got rid of the traditional lightbulbs from the kitchen, living room and bedroom and replaced them with daylight bulbs.
You might still be lingering to 2001 ideas about some of these bulbs and worrying they take a while to illuminate fully. They do not. Modern daylight bulbs light at the flick of the switch and are brilliant.
If winter blues are getting you down then my own experience is that daylight bulbs are something you have to try.
As it turns out there’s a whole science behind the importance of light. This is one of the aspects of Velux’s The Daylight Project.
In The Daylight Project they are exploring all aspects of daylight; in art, health, science and architecture. This makes sense for a brand like Velux who do things like clever modular skylights and blinds but rather than dismiss the project has cynical branded content I think The Daylight Project should be embraced as useful. And fun.
There’s more than just the science and Velux’s architectural concerns to day light. They’ve a whole gallery of art inspired by light. One of my favourites is “Daylight Is A Spiritual Experience” by Derbyshire based Justine Nettleton.
In an The Daylight Project blog interview Justine was asked whether light conditions at certain times of day were best for painting. Her response made a lot of sense;
Sometimes you want really strong clear light, particularly when making detailed pieces of work like my jewellery. When I’m painting landscapes, I go into a more meditative state and I like the softer, more gentle light that stops me getting to bogged down in minute details. I can then work more intuitively and explore the colours and textures of the paint.
In Pure Spirit
How important is light to you? Do you need your home or workspace to be brightly lit?
How much money would you re-invest in your home in order to improve the lighting there? New windows? Blinds? Bulbs?
This was a sponsored video. This means In Pure Spirit earns revenue (sometimes) when the video is watched. Money goes to hosting costs. The decision to write the post and all the words and ideas contained within are my own.
There are some awfully cute trees in this video from Minute Earth. Cute trees and some handy knowledge about different types of trees. Watching this animation might make you think about a similar program from Minute Physics that talks about the difference between evolution and natural selection. Trees evolved to survive in the winter.
In Pure Spirit
Are you surprised at how adaptable trees are or how fragile they are at times?
What’s your top tips for any would-be gardeners trying to grow a tree in their garden? What keeps them safe?
This episode of Minute Physics takes a fun and easy tour through the differences between natural selection and evolution. Not all evolution is due to natural selection.
The video also makes the point that whether you believe in evolution or not – it happens. You might believe that natural selection isn’t the only influence on human evolution, though.
In Pure Spirit
Does this make sense to you? Or is this video wrong – is evolution a nonsense made up by the godless and confused?
What’s the difference between chocolate, cocoa and cacao? The latter is appearing more often on the ingredients list of “chocolate bars”, after all.
In this video the SciShow digs into the truth of chocolate and you might be surprised. Cacao and cocoa, once the same, are now different. Can you believe some people thought cocaine in some types of chocolate snack?
In Pure Spirit
Are you surprised? Or did you know everything the SciShow managed to unearth?
Fracking is the process of forcing gas out from the ground. It’s an alternative for drilling for oil and although it has many merits there are plenty of people concerned about the impact it’ll have.
The problem with fracking fluid is that it’s a secret much of the time. It’s the key to success, along with special drills that can bend, so the details aren’t shared widely. However, some fracking fluids contain toxins and harmful material. That’s just one of the reasons some people worrying about this new technique.
In Pure Spirit
What do you think about fracking? Is it going to be a really useful technique? Or are you worried about it?
What if each one of us where trillions of semi-independent functions each with their own evolutionary agenda?
What if? That’s exactly what biological science is suggesting is true.
This could be startling and thought provoking news to many people. It raises lots of questions – a key one being “What is Self?”. Where does your sense of “self” come from if there’s no part of your brain that generates it. This is the headline question at the Science & Nonduality conference running first in The Netherlands and then later in California this year.
This video is well worth a watch.
In Pure Spirit
What does “self” mean to you?
