Author: Jinavie

Posted in Science & Nature

Cricket

Posted on by Jinavie

The sound of crickets in the autumn night is quite inspiring. Only male crickets can make this clear and beautiful sound, by rubbing their serrated wings against each other.

There are four kinds of cricket chirps: an attracting song (for females), a courting song (when a female is near), an aggressive song (when a male is near) and a copulatory song (after a successful mating). Each song is played at a different volume and pitch.

As all insects are cold-blooded, they are heavily affected by temperature. In the case of crickets, this is reflected in the frequency of chirps, which increases proportionately to the temperature. Using this, one can calculate the air temperature from the number of chirps a Snowy Tree cricket makes (count the number of chirps in 14 seconds plus 40 to get the temperature in Fahrenheit).

Finally, cricket chirps cannot be heard via cellphones. This is because a cricket chirp is usually around 6500Hz frequency, while most cellphones operate at a maximum of 3300Hz.

Posted in Life & Happiness

1 + 1 = 3

Posted on by Jinavie

“One plus one is three. When a person meets another person, three things are established: co-operation, understanding and solidarity.” ~ Edmond Wells (featuring in works by Bernard Werber)

Through this magnificent equation, society and nature alike evolve as two things come together to form something even greater than the sum of themselves.

Only those who can transcend the hard, absolute mathematical logic of 1 + 1 = 2 and appreciate the beautiful philosophy of 1 + 1 = 3 can live life to the fullest and deepen their thoughts.

Posted in Science & Nature

Matador

Posted on by Jinavie

The word “Spain” often brings upon an image of a handsome matador taunting a fierce bull with his red cape. Because of this, it is commonly thought that the colour red aggravates bulls, and this is often used in cartoons.

However, as bulls are colour blind, they cannot tell a red cape apart from a blue cape. They are actually responding to the movement of the cape and being provoked by the matador. Furthermore, the bulls used in bullfights tend to be a more aggressive breed. This type of charging behaviour is common in large herbivores such as hippos, rhinos and elephants, as it is very useful in nature when faced with a predator.

Also, the real reason the cape is red is not only because it symbolises passion and power, but because it also hides the blood from the bull during the fight.

Posted in History & Literature

3000 A.D.

Posted on by Jinavie

How will the world change over the next millennium? Everything will change: from lifestyle and culture, to international politics and economics. This makes the posited question extremely interesting.

As science will continue to advance rapidly, technology that can only be dreamed of by modern man will become commonplace in the future. For example, computers will become essential tools such as pen and paper, or possibly become obsolete like the typewriter. Human beings will rely more and more on machines, which may lead to human-machine interfaces and cyborgs, or simply robots becoming common household appliances. Space travel will become as common as air travel, and humanity may even begin to colonise other planets or moons.
As this field can flow in completely unpredictable directions, it is extremely hard to know what will come. One thing is for sure: there is infinite potential in science for at least the next thousand years.

The continuing evolution of medicine and advanced hygiene policies will increase the lifespan of the world. This will bring upon the aging of the population, a “disease” that already plagues some developed nations. Governments may even respond with extreme solutions such as setting an age limit (or killing the elderly to change the demographics), but the more likely option is lengthening the period of youth or reversing aging to prevent the phenomenon of an elderly population.

Socially, the internet will allow for a ubiquitous society, bringing together the entire world. However, the internet is a double-edged sword that may improve interpersonal relationships, but also cause people to become antisocial and communicate only via electronic screens. Unfortunately, it is unlikely the gap between the rich and poor will be filled. The reason being, people’s basic instinct to take from others to improve their own life means that there will always be those who are rich and those who are poor.

In mankind’s history, there have been only a few empires that have survived over a millennium. Even the United States of America that currently is the leading nation is showing signs of deterioration, and China will instead rise to the top over the next few hundred years. But no one knows who will be the strongest power in the year 3000, as even a (currently) weak nation may suddenly strike and claim the throne.
For example, the Roman empire 2000 years ago, the Mongol empire 1000 years ago, and the Ottoman empire 200 years ago have all fallen and have only become pages in history books now.

Even after two vicious world wars, future nations may ignore history’s teachings and cause a third world war, which could involve the use of nuclear weapons. In this case, the world will definitely be unrecognisable compared to now. 
Alternatively, history may take a peaceful course where the concept of “nations” crumble and instead a united world is formed.

An even more interesting thought is “How will future people see us?”. As we mock the unsanitary conditions, violent history and underdeveloped science of the past, the future may laugh at concepts such as paternalism and communism, or even our fashion of jeans and shirts.
On the other hand, it is possible that works such as Harry Potter or House MD will be seen as classics and become the future Shakespearean plays.

As seen from this, the possibilities for the future are endless, and pondering the different futures sometimes bring light to ways to improve the present.

Posted in Science & Nature

Locust

Posted on by Jinavie

Locusts are a well-known symbol of destruction. The path of a locust swarm is bound to be left bare with nothing in sight. The most amazing feature of this insect is its reproductive abilities, which can be considered explosive. Furthermore, increased tactile stimulation of a locust’s hindleg causes it to release a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which causes mutual attraction, change of colour and increased consumption of food, thus priming them for reproduction. This allows them to reproduce even faster as the population grows, letting it easily reach numbers of billions in a short time. A large population then causes the locusts to swarm and migrate, and some species can cover distances of up to 500km. These swarms have been known to cover over 1000 square kilometres of land, and any food source in its path is instantly eaten up and used as fuel for reproduction. Because of this, locusts have become an icon of horror and destruction since ancient times as it can destroy crop fields within a matter of hours. This symbol is employed by the bible also, for example as the eighth plague of Egypt.

In some ways, a locust swarm can be seen as natural selection at its best. Explosive reproduction and voracious appetite is the basics of survival, skills that allow a species to beat the fierce competition of “the survival of the fittest”. Although humans curse locusts for destroying crop, they are not the only species that breed thoughtlessly and consume all resources in their path.

Posted in History & Literature

Toast

Posted on by Jinavie

A toast, which is a must when drinking, symbolises friendship, community and love, and an important ritual of building trust. This ritual originates from kings, whilst feasting, clashing their goblets together to mix the drinks, thus proving that they did not poison each other’s drink. 

Ergo, the ritual that symbolises “trust” originates from the meaning of “I will not kill you”.

As an addendum, Ancient Romans used to also add pieces of burnt bread into glasses of wine because people were led to believe that charcoal reduced acidity in wines. Hence the origination of the term “toast”. The act of toasting, however, came from ancient Greece.

Posted in Science & Nature

Making A Human

Posted on by Jinavie

What ingredients are needed to make a human being?

  • Water 35L
  • Carbon 20kg
  • Ammonia 4L
  • Lime 1.5kg
  • Phosphorous 800g
  • Salt 250g
  • Niter 100g
  • Sulfur 80g
  • Fluorine 7.5g
  • Iron 5g
  • Silicon 3g
  • And traces of 15 other elements such as zinc, copper, magnesium etcetera.

To buy all of the above ingredients costs less than $5 USD.

Posted in Philosophy

Evidence

Posted on by Jinavie

When a person dies, what do they leave in the world? As an old proverb states, tigers leave their hide after death and people leave their name after death. Little is left after death: bodies slowly decay and return to the ground, wealth is split up and taken by others. If you think about it, the only thing that remains as evidence that the person existed is their name, and people’s memories regarding that name. Official records or photos can be lost among time and forgotten about, but a strong bond between people is hard to forget.

But as even memories fade away, a person who you met once or twice will be forgotten eventually. Therefore, a person who never was close to people or make an impact in someone’s life would “not have existed” to anyone other than a select few, such as family. Therefore, his or her life would have had no meaning, as it may have never existed. Although some may argue that there would have been meaning while the person was alive, there is no greater meaning outside of the past and present, with no impact in the future.

However, if one is close to many people and actively leaves some mark in someone’s life, they will be remembered for those “marks”. In other words, the way people see you is how you will be remembered after death, and by extension, it will define who you were. If you were generous and kind, you become a “good person” forever, but if you did not interact with people or treated them with little respect, you are then defined as a “not so good person”, or even worse, not defined at all. This is regardless of what kind of person you are on the inside, as that would be completely destroyed after death.

The main point of this thought process is that if you do not leave some evidence that you existed, more specifically a good mark, whatever you did in your life will be meaningless. One could accomplish a great feat and have their name known across the world, or leave a work of art or literature that will be seen and read, or even just befriend many people and leave an everlasting impression of yourself in their mind. 

But if you do not want your life to have any impact on the future, there is the option of simply enjoying the present and disappear as Andersen’s Little Mermaid did.
Ergo, it is ultimately your choice whether you want to leave a mark in the world or not.

Posted in Life & Happiness

A Little

Posted on by Jinavie

There’s always a little truth behind every “just kidding”

A little knowledge behind every “I don’t know”

A little emotion behind every “I don’t care”

And a little pain behind every “It’s okay”

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Love And Heartbeats

Posted on by Jinavie

A thumping heart is often quoted as the first sign of love – a way of your body telling you that the girl or boy in front of you is what you desire.
But does love come first or does your heartbeat come first?

Although most people believe that their heart is beating faster because they’re in love, science proves that it is in fact the opposite.
An experiment was designed where male subjects were asked to answer a questionnaire given out by an attractive woman. One group had to cross a very long suspension bridge first, the control group had to cross the same distance on flat, solid ground. It was found that men from the first group were more likely to complete the questionnaire, give answers that were more romantic and sexual, and even call the survey girl afterwards.

Similarly, a group of men were shown four women while being connected to headphones that played back their own heart sounds. They were then asked to rate which girl was the most attractive.
After the experiment, it was found that the third girl received a landslide win, despite the different tastes of each man in the group. When asked, the subjects all replied that they heard their heart speeding up, thus believed that they found her the most attractive.
The twist was, when the third girl was shown, the audio was changed from the subject’s heartbeat to a pre-recorded heartbeat that beat faster than normal. Therefore, the men were fooled into thinking that the girl was more attractive by “increasing” their heart rate. This phenomenon was found in women also.

The answer to the question is that dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters secreted when a person is in love, also has the effect of increasing one’s heart rate. The brain therefore can misinterpret an increased heart rate as the effect of love through false association.
This effect is quite well known in dating tips as people are encouraged to go to places that invoke fear or excitement, such as an amusement park, horror movie, or high place to gain the best response from the opposite sex.
Ergo, science does play a role in love and just like anything else, it can be easily manipulated.