Link to Article
This is a case where there is hope for species, and the power of adaptation in nature. It's a case where the species is threatened but not solely human activity, but rather an aggressive and deadly skin fungus. People aren't sure how the frogs are making it out and coming back, but I am sure it is a good sign for the future, a little bit of good news to help increase our hopeful thoughts for the future.
The fungus itself wasn't becoming less deadly, but rather the frogs were surviving spite of it. It shows that nature does find a way. In this case however, these frogs were very lucky. They were lucky enough to undergo the process in which they developed a resistance to the fungus. It isn't a huge victory to celebrate quite yet, but it is good progress.
I feel this case can be applied to many other things. Of course it is too early to claim the population of frogs are stable, but if there is hope for these frogs, there can be hope for other species as well. Its a sign that biodiversity isn't dead quite yet, and hopefully people can help other creatures of the planet from suffering from their consequences. Maybe. Regardless, nature finds a way. In the short term, it's people who should be worried about things, as unless they explode the whole Earth to it's core, the planet is capable of recovering. After all, it has endured quite a lot. People are just destructive compared to the timespan they have been here.
Regardless, this article was a dose of hope for me.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Response #23 ‘These Eagles Are More Than Just a Symbol’
Link to Article
Eagles have had it quite rough in this country. Along with hunting, facing challenges people do, and also the whole situation with DDT, it's a surprise that there are still Bald Eagles in this country today. It's a relief, but still surprising. It's interesting how people can care so much about the national symbol, as if they have a direct connection to them. It's entirely sentimental, yet so interesting to see.
It's fascinating to see people love bird watching, but then again, birds do have this interesting behavior and aura about them that makes them enjoyable to observe. I enjoy watching animals myself, so I can't fault these people with their interest in the eagles. I wish however, other animals that aren't as well known perhaps, get the same appreciation, as endangered species are often hard to get a public eye on about unless they are cute or a symbol of some sort.
Another animal that I remember that had this symbolism to it was the California grizzly bear. It is extinct, but remains on the Californian flag as a forever reminder that people and their mistakes, as this species of bear was shot down and killed to extinction. It's surprising to me, but I suppose that bears can be a danger or a threat. It's still somewhat saddening to find out the species you see as a symbol everywhere to no longer exist. It's greatly depressing, to some extent.
Eagles have had it quite rough in this country. Along with hunting, facing challenges people do, and also the whole situation with DDT, it's a surprise that there are still Bald Eagles in this country today. It's a relief, but still surprising. It's interesting how people can care so much about the national symbol, as if they have a direct connection to them. It's entirely sentimental, yet so interesting to see.
It's fascinating to see people love bird watching, but then again, birds do have this interesting behavior and aura about them that makes them enjoyable to observe. I enjoy watching animals myself, so I can't fault these people with their interest in the eagles. I wish however, other animals that aren't as well known perhaps, get the same appreciation, as endangered species are often hard to get a public eye on about unless they are cute or a symbol of some sort.
Another animal that I remember that had this symbolism to it was the California grizzly bear. It is extinct, but remains on the Californian flag as a forever reminder that people and their mistakes, as this species of bear was shot down and killed to extinction. It's surprising to me, but I suppose that bears can be a danger or a threat. It's still somewhat saddening to find out the species you see as a symbol everywhere to no longer exist. It's greatly depressing, to some extent.
Response #22 Something is blinding these snakes
Link to Article
As a fan of reptiles, I can't resist a good article about snakes. A strange occurrence is happening to a population of snakes, who have head injuries or are blind in their eyes. It's interesting to see how this happened, and why these snakes are having such a rough time. Despite their blindness, they are very well fed and healthy. It's interesting to see how animals are able to adapt.
Turns out the silver gulls that live near the snakes provide chicks as food year round for the snakes, but also protect their young with their stabbing beaks. It provides an answer to how things came around this way, and also provides context to why things like this happen. I really enjoy learning context to odd scenarios, because it's often essential to figure out key details.
Context is crucial. It's important to have as much knowledge of the situation and around it as possible, in order to come up with a fair judgement of the scenario. Otherwise you are basically a blind man with an elephant, forced to pat around for judgement that lacks it's crucial meat and fact. People often make decisions too quickly, and I think people should always stop and question things, along with finding out as much as possible about the topic and situation at hand before coming up with their own hasty judgements.
As a fan of reptiles, I can't resist a good article about snakes. A strange occurrence is happening to a population of snakes, who have head injuries or are blind in their eyes. It's interesting to see how this happened, and why these snakes are having such a rough time. Despite their blindness, they are very well fed and healthy. It's interesting to see how animals are able to adapt.
Turns out the silver gulls that live near the snakes provide chicks as food year round for the snakes, but also protect their young with their stabbing beaks. It provides an answer to how things came around this way, and also provides context to why things like this happen. I really enjoy learning context to odd scenarios, because it's often essential to figure out key details.
Context is crucial. It's important to have as much knowledge of the situation and around it as possible, in order to come up with a fair judgement of the scenario. Otherwise you are basically a blind man with an elephant, forced to pat around for judgement that lacks it's crucial meat and fact. People often make decisions too quickly, and I think people should always stop and question things, along with finding out as much as possible about the topic and situation at hand before coming up with their own hasty judgements.
Response #21 Why the Snow in Parts of Europe Was Orange
Link to Article
I've always been interested in odd natural phenomenon, and fascinated with strange things that occur naturally in our world. As people try to find answers, it's interesting to see how much people don't know yet, or will do to find out as much as they can. In a way, it's kind of inspiring. The photo that the article starts off with looks very surreal, and almost impossible to believe.
The reason behind the photograph was because of dust kicked up into the air and mixed in with snow, and also filling the atmosphere. It reminds me of my own experiences with dust, as my time in South Korea saw some interesting phenomenon like this. People call it "Yellow Dust", and it's usually dust from China being blown over to Korea so the sky seems very bleak and orange tinted. It's not healthy to be outside during this time, as the dust can be problematic and be bad to be breathed in.
It's interesting to see other parts of the world be effected by these dust spells as well, and have a slightly more different approach to it. Perhaps its a different type or dust, or the approach isn't actually much different, but regardless it is interesting for me to see. It reminds me of the odd things that happen while I was in Korea, and how I didn't really question it much until now. It's eye opening, really.
I've always been interested in odd natural phenomenon, and fascinated with strange things that occur naturally in our world. As people try to find answers, it's interesting to see how much people don't know yet, or will do to find out as much as they can. In a way, it's kind of inspiring. The photo that the article starts off with looks very surreal, and almost impossible to believe.
The reason behind the photograph was because of dust kicked up into the air and mixed in with snow, and also filling the atmosphere. It reminds me of my own experiences with dust, as my time in South Korea saw some interesting phenomenon like this. People call it "Yellow Dust", and it's usually dust from China being blown over to Korea so the sky seems very bleak and orange tinted. It's not healthy to be outside during this time, as the dust can be problematic and be bad to be breathed in.
It's interesting to see other parts of the world be effected by these dust spells as well, and have a slightly more different approach to it. Perhaps its a different type or dust, or the approach isn't actually much different, but regardless it is interesting for me to see. It reminds me of the odd things that happen while I was in Korea, and how I didn't really question it much until now. It's eye opening, really.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Response #20 Half of All Wildlife Could Disappear from the Amazon, Galapagos and Madagascar
Link to Article
This article doesn't surprise me. If there aren't any stronger methods in trying to improve and trying to slow down or stop rising global temperatures, many species of animals and life would die. People often forget that many animals depend on specific climate and temperature. Even people cannot handle temperature difference, but have difficulty seeing the bigger picture and the consequence of actions of humanity as a whole.
As someone who sticks their finger outside and claims climate change is a fake because it was cold outside, it's essential to make people see the big picture, but also see it in a human scale. Due to a lot of people thinking that the rising temperatures are natural part of the Earth's cooling and heating cycle, but people need to know the potential consequences of such a state effecting people, and how we could attempt to prevent from adding to the statistic with our actions. The facts do tell a story, and it's something to listen to, despite doubts.
Especially since it's causing lots of life to die out, and it's not helping in conservation efforts. It's a complicated issue that has no simple answer, as if you take too many steps back, it seems inevitable and unchangeable, while when too close, it seems as rising global temperature doesn't seem actually true. It's an odd situation looking at how people think as well, and honestly I can't really think of a good answer. Ideally, it would be for people to be more aware of the issue, but as people are more leaning to believing the easier answers, it's harder to convince them of the tough gritty truths.
This article doesn't surprise me. If there aren't any stronger methods in trying to improve and trying to slow down or stop rising global temperatures, many species of animals and life would die. People often forget that many animals depend on specific climate and temperature. Even people cannot handle temperature difference, but have difficulty seeing the bigger picture and the consequence of actions of humanity as a whole.
As someone who sticks their finger outside and claims climate change is a fake because it was cold outside, it's essential to make people see the big picture, but also see it in a human scale. Due to a lot of people thinking that the rising temperatures are natural part of the Earth's cooling and heating cycle, but people need to know the potential consequences of such a state effecting people, and how we could attempt to prevent from adding to the statistic with our actions. The facts do tell a story, and it's something to listen to, despite doubts.
Especially since it's causing lots of life to die out, and it's not helping in conservation efforts. It's a complicated issue that has no simple answer, as if you take too many steps back, it seems inevitable and unchangeable, while when too close, it seems as rising global temperature doesn't seem actually true. It's an odd situation looking at how people think as well, and honestly I can't really think of a good answer. Ideally, it would be for people to be more aware of the issue, but as people are more leaning to believing the easier answers, it's harder to convince them of the tough gritty truths.
Response #19 Rise of Flat-Earthers Is Result of Failed Educational System
Link to Article
This article discusses Neil deGrasse Tyson, and his input on how the rise of people who believe the Earth is flat is due to a free speech and a failing education system. He believes that people need to be taught how to believe things by looking at evidence and regarding the information. Otherwise, people would run around believing everything, and that is not something that benefits society, as people have become too open minded to the point where they believe anything without ample evidence.
To some people, this stance would be offensive, as it questions their faith about things. But when it comes to faith versus science with actual evidence, facts, and repeatable experiments, it just makes more sense to accept truth rather than live a lie. I don't like being lied to, and when people refuse to tell me things, it forces me to be naive and be dumb and innocent. In a way, I was raised in that matter, and found myself getting hurt because I didn't know how to believe things without actually looking at the facts. It's much easier to teach children when they are younger, but the system right now shows that being doubtful is negative, and that people must be always open minded and accepting of everything.
Despite this kind of thought being harmful to young minds, it is constantly being told to younger people, only to be faced with harsh facts and truths and be kind of traumatized with inevitable. It's something people don't think about. It's a battle between current safety and comfort, versus long term effects and issues. I'd rather take the truth and being taught how to make up our own opinions rather than believe everything that is shot at me.
This article discusses Neil deGrasse Tyson, and his input on how the rise of people who believe the Earth is flat is due to a free speech and a failing education system. He believes that people need to be taught how to believe things by looking at evidence and regarding the information. Otherwise, people would run around believing everything, and that is not something that benefits society, as people have become too open minded to the point where they believe anything without ample evidence.
To some people, this stance would be offensive, as it questions their faith about things. But when it comes to faith versus science with actual evidence, facts, and repeatable experiments, it just makes more sense to accept truth rather than live a lie. I don't like being lied to, and when people refuse to tell me things, it forces me to be naive and be dumb and innocent. In a way, I was raised in that matter, and found myself getting hurt because I didn't know how to believe things without actually looking at the facts. It's much easier to teach children when they are younger, but the system right now shows that being doubtful is negative, and that people must be always open minded and accepting of everything.
Despite this kind of thought being harmful to young minds, it is constantly being told to younger people, only to be faced with harsh facts and truths and be kind of traumatized with inevitable. It's something people don't think about. It's a battle between current safety and comfort, versus long term effects and issues. I'd rather take the truth and being taught how to make up our own opinions rather than believe everything that is shot at me.
Response #18 The Secret Science That Rules Crowds
Link to Article
I'm very well acquainted with the concept of mob mentality, and how quickly lies and slander can spread through an angry crowd, which leads to tossing rational thought out the window. This is rampant in a lot of places, real life and online. It's fascinating and irritating to see a crowd of angry people, and trying to make sense with them. Only to have the angry people calm down, usually on their own, and then finally being able to talk to them. But when with the crowd? Sense is almost impossible to achieve.
This article talks about specifically the danger of death in crowds, which wasn't what I was expecting. In dangerous situations, the people tend to trample other people to death while trying to escape or hurry to safety. Crowds tend to have a single consciousness, and despite seemingly dangerous and lethal, there is an odd rationality to crowds, with certain 'rules' governing them. Officials guarding the crowd however may not know the rules and make things worse, leading to actual deaths. It's a strange situation, but can make sense.
People are trying to figure out the science between crowds, and how to apply these findings to future situations to minimize danger in future events. Sometimes, certain ideas to prevent traffic or crowds don't work, and other solutions are often much more effective. I especially liked the school bell example, which makes a lot of sense why our school had removed the bell after a few years I had attended there. People are strange, and there are still a lot more to learn about human behavior.
I'm very well acquainted with the concept of mob mentality, and how quickly lies and slander can spread through an angry crowd, which leads to tossing rational thought out the window. This is rampant in a lot of places, real life and online. It's fascinating and irritating to see a crowd of angry people, and trying to make sense with them. Only to have the angry people calm down, usually on their own, and then finally being able to talk to them. But when with the crowd? Sense is almost impossible to achieve.
This article talks about specifically the danger of death in crowds, which wasn't what I was expecting. In dangerous situations, the people tend to trample other people to death while trying to escape or hurry to safety. Crowds tend to have a single consciousness, and despite seemingly dangerous and lethal, there is an odd rationality to crowds, with certain 'rules' governing them. Officials guarding the crowd however may not know the rules and make things worse, leading to actual deaths. It's a strange situation, but can make sense.
People are trying to figure out the science between crowds, and how to apply these findings to future situations to minimize danger in future events. Sometimes, certain ideas to prevent traffic or crowds don't work, and other solutions are often much more effective. I especially liked the school bell example, which makes a lot of sense why our school had removed the bell after a few years I had attended there. People are strange, and there are still a lot more to learn about human behavior.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)