Tag: Bernard Werber

Posted in History & Literature

Mead

Posted on by Jinavie

Both human beings and ants know how to make mead, also called honey wine. Ants use aphid honeydew, we use bee honey. The ancient Greeks called this drinkhydromeli (hydro(water) + meli(honey)). It is the same drink that the gods of Olympus and the priests of Galia all enjoyed.

Here is an introduction to how to brew mead:

Boil 6 kilograms of honey and clear away the foam. Add 15 litres of water, 25 grams of ginger powder, 15 grams of amomum seeds and 15 grams ofcinnamon to the honey. Simmer until about a quarter has boiled away, then take off the fire to cool.
When the mixture is warm, add three tablespoons of yeast and let the solids settle over about 12 hours.
Then, pour the liquid into a small wooden barrel while filtering out the residue. Seal the barrel tight and leave in a cold place for 2 weeks.
Lastly, pour the mead in a bottle, seal with a cork and wire, then let it mature in the basement cellar.

It is best to open it about two months later, maybe in time for a wild party just like the ancient Greek bacchanalia (a wild, mystic festival in honour of Dionysus/Bacchus, the god of wine, through uncontrolled drinking and orgies).

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Posted in Life & Happiness

Matchsticks

Posted on by Jinavie
  1. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 4 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint is that you must think differently to everyone else. If you think like everyone else, you will never find the solution.
  2. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 6 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint this time is quite the opposite the first puzzle: think like everyone else.
  3. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 8 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint for this puzzle is that you must reflect on yourself.

Answers after the break.

(Source: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs50/i/2009/288/5/4/Matchsticks_by_oh_yesh.jpg)

Continue reading “Matchsticks” →

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Fear

Posted on by Jinavie

The ten things people are most afraid of are as following (according to a study of 1000 people in France in 1990):

  1. Snakes
  2. Nauseatingly high places
  3. Spiders
  4. Rats
  5. Bees
  6. Enclosed spaces
  7. Fire
  8. Blood
  9. Darkness
  10. Crowds/audience

Ants do not feel fear. The reason is simple. An ant does not know the meaning of death or its own frailty. It may worry about the survival of its city and the entire society, but even then they do not fear their own death.

To understand why they are never afraid, one must first consider that an anthill acts as a single organism. Each ant acts like a cell in the human body.
When we clip our nails, are our fingertips afraid? When we shave, is the hair scared as the razor approaches it? When you dip your feet in the bath to check the temperature, does the toe shudder in fear? Because they do not act as an autonomous unit, they do not feel fear.

Similarly, when we pinch our right hand with the left hand, the right hand does not feel contempt towards the left hand. If the left hand has more rings, the right hand does not envy it. If you forget self and think of the community like an organism, all your worries disappear. Perhaps this is how ants run such a successful, efficient society.

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Posted in Science & Nature

Man Versus Ant

Posted on by Jinavie

Human:
A mammal that ranges in size from about 1 to 2 metres.
Weighs between 30kg and 100kg. Females are pregnant for 9 months. 
Omnivorous diet. Population estimated around 7 billion.

Ant:
An insect that ranges in size from about 0.01 to 3 centimetres.
Weighs between 0.001mg and 1g. Can produce eggs endlessly given there is an ample sperm reservoir.
Omnivorous diet. Population estimated around 1 quintillion (1 billion times 1 billion).

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Posted in History & Literature

Three Daughters

Posted on by Jinavie

A man asked how old a man’s three daughters were. The father replied with the following statement.
“The product of their ages is 36.”
“It’s hard to determine their ages from just that.” the man asking replied.
“The sum of their ages is same as the number of my house.”
“I still can’t figure out the answer!” the man replied again.
“My eldest daughter is blonde.” the father said, and the man, now smiling, replied.
“Oh, is that so? Then I can figure out how old your daughters are.”

How old is each daughter? And how did the man figure it out?
A computer cannot solve this problem, as it can only be solved using human logic.

Continue reading “Three Daughters” →

Posted in Philosophy

The Truth Lies Within The Finger

Posted on by Jinavie

A wise man points at the moon, but the fool looks at the finger. (Chinese proverb)

The wise man explains that his finger is not important and what should be looked at is the moon, but the fool carefully listens to him and thinks that he is a very good speaker. (a modern adaptation of the proverb)

The wise man pleads the fool to look at the damn moon, but the fool is only afraid and does not look up. (a very modern adaptation of the proverb)

The wise man finally gives up talking about the moon and instead starts talking about his finger, which he thinks the fool will be more interested in. The fool then says to himself, that the wise man is someone who is able to explain his own stories to others in an easily understandable manner, and that he can talk about any subject – even a random thing such as a finger. (an even more modern adaptation of the proverb)

When the wise man dies, the fool asks himself: “So really, what was it the wise man tried to explain to us lifting his finger so high?” (the ultimate adaptation of the proverb)

(from Paradise by Bernard Werber)

Posted in Science & Nature

Ant Sequence

Posted on by Jinavie

Find the rule for the following sequence of numbers:

1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
1113213211
…

Continue reading “Ant Sequence” →

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

Parkinson’s Law

Posted on by Jinavie

Parkinson’s Law states that the bigger a company grows, the more inefficient workers it will hire while paying out more wages. The reason for this is simple: those in power like to stay in power, and the best way to ensure this is to eliminate competition.

Hiring skilled workers brings upon the chance of a strong competitor that can over throw the bureaucrats, which is undesirable. Therefore, by hiring useless people, the bureaucrats are able to keep their seat of power.

image

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Posted in Philosophy

The Number System

Posted on by Jinavie

The number system represents the advancement of life and consciousness.

In a number, the curves represent love, the crossroads represent hardship and the horizontal lines represent binding.
Let’s take a look at each number.

“1” is a mineral. It has one vertical line and has no binds.
There are no curves and ergo no love.
Rocks are not bound to anything nor love anything.
There are no crossroads and ergo no hardship.
Minerals merely exist as the first step of matter.

“2” is a plant. Life begins here.
The bottom line shows that plants are bound to the ground.
Plants are rooted to the ground and cannot move.
The curve on the top represents the plant’s love for the sky and sunlight.
Plants love the sky and is restrained by the earth.

“3” is an animal. It is formed from two curves.
Animals love both the earth and the sky.
But it is not bound to either.
Animals only have pure feelings.
Animals live in fear and greed.
The two curves are two mouths.
If one is a mouth that bites, the other is one that kisses.

“4” is a human. Humans are beings on the crossroad between “3” and “4”.
They can advance to a higher step.

“5” is an enlightened person. This number is a mirror image of “2”.
The top line shows the limit by the sky, the bottom line shows the love for the earth.
He distances himself from other humans but love both people and the Earth.

“6” is an angel. It is a spiral, curve of love rising towards the sky.
An angel is a pure soul and mind.

“7” is a god cadet. “7” is another number with a crossroad.
It is the image of a “4” flipped around.
A god cadet is on the crossroad between an angel and what is next.

“8” is an infinite god. An endless, twisting curve of love.
But this curve spins on the spot and does not rise nor fall.

“9” is a curve. It is a “6”, an angel, turned around.
In other words, it is love coming down instead of going up.
From the sky down to the ground.
It is a curve that spins and spins and congeals mayonnaise.

(from God by Bernard Werber)