Tag: observation

Posted in Simple Pleasures of Life

Simple Pleasures of Life #29

Posted on by Jinavie

Doing absolutely nothing.

I kinda mentioned this in a previous post, but that was more in the context of taking a break. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE doing stuff. Especially right now where all I can think of is all the stuff I’m waiting to do as soon as exams are over. But there’s a real simple joy in doing absolutely nothing. Just…sitting there, you know?

Of course I don’t mean literally nothing where you switch off your brain. That’s what you do when you watch TV (which I heartily endorse). But I mean putting down the book you’re reading or pausing that video, sitting back and getting lost in your thoughts. Maybe you’ll ponder the deep philosophies of what it means to be alive, or create an imaginary world you can adventure in.

If you don’t feel like exploring the inner workings of your mind, then get lost in your surroundings. Have you ever really taken into account what you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? Bernard Werber talked about a relaxation technique called “Opening your senses” in his books, which involves you systematically saying out loud everything you experience in the moment with each sense. For example, close your eyes and say everything you hear, to the smallest detail. Then do the same with all your other senses, you’ll notice that you’ve been missing out a lot of things in this world.

Sherlock Holmes stated that there is a great difference between seeing and observing. Try this out sometime. Have a cup of coffee at a cafe by yourself and look around you. You might see a boy and a girl making idle chit chat, but you might observe the two showing various subtle body language signs of mutual attraction. See if you can figure out a person’s job or personality or health condition just from observation. People-watching can be very fun, as long as you’re not being…you know, creepy.

So go on, drop what you’re doing, go lie in a patch of grass or sit at a cafe or wherever and just do nothing.

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Posted in Science & Nature

Silence Of The Trees

Posted on by Jinavie

A timeless philosophical question goes like this:

If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?

This may sound absurd, but the question hangs on the definition of sound. Is sound the physical phenomenon of vibrating particles forming a soundwave, or is sound the sensory information that we perceive by converting said soundwave using our hearing system? If you accept the first definition, then yes, the falling of the tree will generate energy that pushes on the air particles around it, causing a soundwave that if someone were to hear it, would sound as a “thud”. But if you accept the second definition, then that tree would not have made a “sound” per se because no one was around to perceive the soundwave. Following this logic, a sound cannot exist without a recipient to hear it.

As simple as this may seem at face value, the riddle explores some deep philosophical and scientific issues.

The most obvious one has been discussed: the definition of sound. But then one must question what would happen if a tape recorder was running when the tree fell. Can a machine hear, even though it cannot “sense”? Is the sound we hear being played from the recorder the same as the sound that was originally made by the tree?

Following on from this thought, how do we know that the sound you hear is an accurate interpretation of the actual soundwave? It is common knowledge that the brain frequently modifies the senses to change what it sees and hears, as seen in various illusions. Furthermore, the brain can generate sensory information without any input, known as hallucinations. You assume that your hearing is flawless and accurate, but in your mind, it is almost impossible to know for sure that the sound you heard is “real”. Taking this further leads in to the massive debate of “what is real?” and “is reality real or is it a product of our mind?”.

A more fundamental question is this: if no one was around to hear the tree fall, does it matter if it made a sound? A pragmatic philosopher might say “no”, as whether the tree made a sound or not makes no difference to your life. However, a scientist may say “yes” as the tree did fall and a soundwave was generated. Whether a person was around to observe it is irrelevant as it does not change the fact that something real occurred. Then what effect does observation have on reality? How do we know that trees make the same sound when we are not around to hear it?

This is a crude dissection of the vast number of questions the riddle offers, but it shows how such a simple thought experiment can be an effective tool to engage your critical thinking. If you do not fully understand the philosophy discussed, at least you can take away the fact that you can use the excuse of “sound is only a perception, I did not hear you, therefore what you said did not happen” when someone tells you to do something.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Reaction

Posted on by Jinavie

If you were walking along the street and found a bird lying on the ground, how would you react? You would probably poke the bird to see if it is alive. We have a peculiar habit since we are children of poking living things that we see for the first time. Through poking, we discover whether it is alive or dead, soft or hard, slimy or furry, docile or aggressive.

Prompting a reaction and observing the reaction is a surprisingly useful way of learning. In chemistry, we react an unknown substance with other chemicals to discover its identity. In medicine, we stimulate parts of the brain with electricity to discover what each part does. In physics, we build giant accelerator to crash particles together to find out their constituents and properties. If you fell into a cave so dark you cannot see even one foot ahead of you, the best way to find out if there is a wall or a hole or water ahead of you is throwing a rock in that direction.

This principle can be applied to psychology. To learn how people around you behave, provoke them. Human beings are extremely sensitive to stimuli and even when they consciously try to hide it, they will subconsciously react. If you keep (subtly) poking the person, you will soon be able to predict how they will react to something, what actions they will take, and you may even discover what is on their mind.

We cannot see the wind, but we can infer that it exists because the leaves blow. The best way to prove something that you cannot see inducing and looking for reactions.

Posted in Science & Nature

Praying Mantis

Posted on by Jinavie

The praying mantis is sometimes considered a symbol of ultimate female empowerment. After mating, it has been observed that the female would immediately proceed to kill the male she just mated with and eat his corpse, head first.
However, one thing that is less known is that this act – known as sexual cannibalism – occurs almost exclusively in captivity. This is because in the wild, a male runs off quickly after mating to avoid a grim fate. The female, with a massive appetite after the tiring act of copulation, looks for a source of nutrients to upkeep her pregnancy. As in a captive environment the male cannot run far and the female cannot hunt easily, she opts to eat the male as this is more beneficial for her. Furthermore, as mantises have very sharp vision, it is highly likely that the observing scientists (giant, towering figures dressed in white) will intimidate the female mantis. The anxiety caused by the observation would thus make the female act more violently.

The theory that lab intervention caused sexual cannibalism was proven when mantises stopped cannibalising after being fed ad libitum (until they were full). In fact, the female would carefully observe the courtship dance of the male and decide whether he is worthy of mating. This courtship dance also has the effect of switching the female’s priorities from feeding to mating.

It has also been suggested that females may choose to eat the males they do not deem worthy (before mating), or that the males are sacrificing themselves to improve the chance of fertilisation. This is supported by evidence of decapitated male mantises copulating more vigorously and mounting the female for much longer periods. 

In other words, male submissiveness can be a factor in reproductive success.

Posted in Philosophy

Least Common Multiple

Posted on by Jinavie

The most common experience every people on Earth have with animals is with an ant. There are plenty of people around the world who have never seen a cat, dog, bee or snake. However, it is hard to meet someone who has never played with some ants once or twice. Interacting with ants is an experience that is common to all of us.

When observing an ant walking across our palm, we can find these basic facts:
Firstly, an ant moves its antenna to find out what is happening.
Secondly, an ant goes any where it can go.
Thirdly, if you block the path of an ant, the ant crawls on top of that hand.
Lastly, if you draw a line in front of ant with a wet finger, you can stop it in its tracks. The ant hesitates as if there is an invisible wall and eventually goes around it.

There is no one that does not know these facts. But this basic, childish knowledge that is shared between us and our ancestors is never used in our lives. Schools do not teach it as it has no practical use in finding a job. What we learn in school about ants is simply boring. Who would honestly find memorising the various parts of an ant’s anatomy fascinating?

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

Posted in Science & Nature

Forecast

Posted on by Jinavie

When the weather forecast says today will be sunny, it always seems to rain (and vice versa). In fact, according to a US study, forecasts are sometimes less accurate than flipping a coin. If not even professionals can accurately predict the weather, can ordinary people like you and I do it?
The key to this is observation. By carefully studying your surroundings, you can look in to the future.

There are many signs before rain comes. For example, if the sunset is unusually clear or if a mountain far away looks smaller or hazy then it is very likely that it will rain the next day. If you see a rainbow in the morning it suggests rain is coming from the west. On hot days without any wind, it is likely there will be a heavy shower.
Animals are also adept at telling the weather. Frogs crying, worms coming out and swallows flying low are all signs that the air is humid and rain is coming. Swallows are especially accurate, as they fly low to catch insects that cannot fly high due to the humidity weighing them down.
If you are at the beach and there is a swarm of jellyfish, avoid going out to sea. Jellyfish near the coastline is a premonition for a storm.

If a more accurate weather prediction is required, the most precise method is cloud observation. If you study them carefully they comprise three tiers, with some clouds rising vertically.

Clouds in the highest level

  • Cirrus: Very fine, white feathery clouds that almost look combed over. If these clouds are curvy and organised the weather will be fine, but if they appear banded or spread chaotically they can gather and form rainclouds and start a shower.
  • Cirrostratus: Looks like a veil of cotton curtaining the sky. They cause halos around the sun and moon, which is a sign of imminent rain.
  • Cirrocumulus: Looks like a spread of seashells on a beach. If you find these clouds over a beach in winter, it will rain soon.

Clouds in the middle level

  • Altocumulus: Either appears as an ordered stream of rounded clouds, or looks like a herd of sheep. If these clouds shrink in size, the weather gets better (and vice versa).
  • Altostratus: Shaped like streaks of veil across the sky. They are often light grey or very dark. If they become thicker or sink to a lower level, it is a sign that the weather will be cloudy with a chance of rain.
  • Nimbostratus: The common “raincloud”, bringing rain and snow.

Clouds in the lowest level

  • Stratocumulus: Clumps of clouds that appear in layers without clear boundaries. You can see clear sky through gaps between them. If you can see clouds that were cumulus in the afternoon changing to stratocumulus by sunset, the weather will be great the next day.
  • Stratus: Looks like fog covering a low sky. If they come in the morning and disappear by night, that day will be clear. However, if they lie between altostratus and a canyon, it will rain.

Clouds that rise vertically

  • Cumulus: Fluffy clouds that you can see on a clear sky. If they disappear by evening the next day is clear, but if they can be seen late at night or float north-westerly, it is a sign that it will rain.
  • Cumulonimbus: Massive cloud pillars that rise to the level of cirrus. It always brings heavy rain and sometimes a thunderstorm.

If you know how to observe and analyse cloud patterns, you can predict the weather even when stranded on a desert island.

Posted in Science & Nature

Sparrow

Posted on by Jinavie

When asked “name a bird you see often”, most city-dwellers would name a pigeon or a sparrow. These two birds are the most famous urban birds that are closely associated to humans. The sparrow, being very opportunistic and adaptable, have easily taken over environments around the globe, especially those where European settlements were made. Nowadays, they are regarded as a pest due to their foraging of agricultural crop and the spread of disease. However, citizens still view them in a positive light, especially in parks or gardens where the sparrows appear to be a “symbol of nature” (ironically, they are likely an invading species driving away native birds).

One interesting fact regarding sparrows that most people do not seem to know is how to differentiate a male and female sparrow.
A female sparrow has very soft, brown feathers, with no marked features.
A male sparrow has areas of dark brown or black feathers, especially on the head and eyes. Its beak is also darker than the female.
If one observes carefully at sparrows, they can notice that the two behave slightly differently as well.