Tag: blog

Posted in History & Literature

Moon

Posted on by Jinavie

As most people know, the Moon is Earth’s only satellite (or “moon”), and it circles the Earth from a distance of 360000km. This giant rock was most likely formed from a gargantuan heavenly body colliding into the young Earth, displacing material from it. 
The Moon also has oceans, but they are flat, barren rockbeds. As it has a geography, we see a pattern on the lunar surface, which people interpret as the Moon rabbit, Man on the Moon, crab, beautiful woman and whatever else they see through the power of pareidolia.

The Moon, which forms the basis of yin and yang with the Sun, has had a significant impact in every civilisation. In the East, the lunar calendar is still used and many festivals are set to it (such as the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival). In the West, the Moon has been associated with lunacy, so called the “lunar effect”. Some people (including Aristotle) believe that people act more crazy and criminal when a full moon is up (werewolves and the Cheshire Cat’s “crescent moon” grin are also linked to this symbolism).

As such, the Moon has always been an important part of human societies. Without it, there would be no tides, the lunar calendar would be useless, the night sky would be darker, werewolves would not terrorise the forests, and most importantly, Sailor Moon would not be able to stop criminals in the name of justice.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Sneeze

Posted on by Jinavie

A sneeze is caused by the body trying to remove something that is irritating the nasal cavity. To do this, it contracts many respiratory muscles instantly to create a powerful expiration. This produces a gush of air and the foreign material at a speed of over 150km/h, which can spread saliva and mucus at a range of over 2m. Therefore, not putting your hand over your mouth during a sneeze is an easy way to spread infections like the common cold.

An interesting fact is that one cannot open their eyes during a sneeze. This is not because of the urban legend that the eyeballs pop out if the eyes are open when sneezing, but part of the reflex and powerful contraction of muscles. Also, pinching between the two nostrils very hard can stop a sneeze reflex successfully.
Lastly, although sneezing is usually due to breathing in an irritant, some people have what is known as a photic sneeze reflex (also called the ACHOO syndrome), wherein they sneeze when stare into bright light such as the sun.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Babinski Reflex

Posted on by Jinavie

Normally when you tickle or stroke the sole of your feet, the toes flex inwards. However, when a newborn’s feet are tickled or stroked, the toes spread outwards. This is known as the Babinski reflex, or Babinski sign. It is a primitive reflex that disappears before 12 months of age.
If this reflex is seen after that, including adults, it is a sign there is something wrong with the nervous system, especially the brainstem or the spinal cord.

A primitive reflex is one shown by newborns but disappears gradually as they develop. These include reflexes such as the walking reflex, swimming reflex and crawling reflex that shows actions that they have not yet learnt, or the rooting reflex and sucking reflex that ensures the baby’s survival.

Posted in History & Literature

Cattle

Posted on by Jinavie

Alison and John are standing in the same cattle field at the same time. John can see twice as many cows as bulls. However, Alison can see the same number of bulls and cows in the field. How can this be, and how many bulls and cows are there in the field?

Continue reading “Cattle” →

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Doppelganger

Posted on by Jinavie

A doppelgänger is popularly known as a “double” of oneself, with the exact same appearance but usually with a completely different personality. 
It comes from German folklore (the word is German for “double walker”), where it is believed that seeing a doppelgänger is an omen of bad luck, possibly death. It is also said that meeting one’s own doppelgänger will result in one of the two dying. 
However, in modern times this concept of doppelgängers have been largely replaced by the first meaning, that of an alter ego who is only identical physically, and completely different persona-wise. This can sometimes overlap with the concept of an “evil twin”, as a doppelgänger is sometimes described to have an inverse personality, values and motives.

Although in most cases a doppelgänger is just a look-alike, it could be the result of the brain projecting an identical image of oneself in another space. 
It has been discovered that electrical stimulation of an area of the brain called the left temporoparietal junction causes the sensation that someone is next to you. This “someone” has the same shape and body posture as the subject, and is sometimes described as having a completely different personality. It is reported that this sensation is extremely unpleasant.
The cause of this phenomenon is that the area of the brain is associated with self-image, such as body posture, location and proprioception (sense of what oneself appears as in space). Therefore, a disruption leads to the self-image being projected elsewhere, which the brain then interprets as a doppelgänger.

There are similar mental disorders such as the Capgras delusion (belief that someone close has been replaced by a doppelgänger), Fregoli delusion (belief that many people are the same person in disguise) and subjective doubles (belief that one’s own doppelgänger is acting on its own to interfere with one’s life).

Doppelgängers are common plot devices in many works, especially fantasy and science fiction where the aforementioned “evil twin” concept is used. However, the doppelgänger may also be described as benevolent or simply a clone.
They are notably used in How I Met Your Mother, where each character has a doppelgänger completely different to their persona (e.g. Stripper Lily, Fertility Expert Barney).

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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 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.