Ptera Hunter's Blog, page 2
September 10, 2023
Language buff? Don't miss The Language of Thieves.
The Language of Thieves: My Family's Obsession with a Secret Code the Nazis Tried to Eliminate by Martin PuchnerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm a bit of a word geek, and The Language of Thieves was a great read for me. It looks at one secretive minority pidgin, Rotwelsch, and the obsession by it of three generations in one family. The author explores its melding of languages and uses it as a springboard to explore the secret words of other groups from stockbrokers to skateboarders and to show how languages can shift over time. It's a short read, and, if you like language and its intricacies, worth the time.
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August 30, 2023
The Underground Railroad Records
The Underground Railroad Records: Narrating the Hardships, Hairbreadth Escapes, and Death Struggles of Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom by William StillMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Riveting. The author, William Still, served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and aided about 800 people in escaping to freedom. This book presents some of the primary documents he collected, memoirs, letters, and first-hand accounts of these harrowing stories of courage.
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Light Benders
Insects produce their amazing array of colors in two different ways. The first is through chemical pigments. The other, and I think a more interesting way, is through bending light. These colors result from light interacting with the physical structure of the surface. These structures absorb or scatter light and allow the insects to create a rainbow of colors without having to make pigments. The color system works because of a physical principle, refraction. Periodic, regular repeats in the structure allow it to send specific colors back into nature.
Brilliant white may be used as highlights by some species (often with ultraviolet undertones), but few insects live their lives as bright-white beings. However, the Cyphochilus beetle never read the rule book. It creates its bright-white refractive coloration with an unusual trick too. Instead of an ordered array of scales sending a particular color back into the world, it has an irregular array. This random network sends out all the visible wavelengths (and probably others), and hence we perceive it as white!
Why the white? Not known. Possibly to attract mates, Possibly to regulate heat. Possibly to blend into the background of the fungus they often visit. No matter the reason, this refraction tech has the potential to displace many of the white pigments, such as titanium dioxide, that have potential carcinogenic properties.
Brilliant white may be used as highlights by some species (often with ultraviolet undertones), but few insects live their lives as bright-white beings. However, the Cyphochilus beetle never read the rule book. It creates its bright-white refractive coloration with an unusual trick too. Instead of an ordered array of scales sending a particular color back into the world, it has an irregular array. This random network sends out all the visible wavelengths (and probably others), and hence we perceive it as white!
Why the white? Not known. Possibly to attract mates, Possibly to regulate heat. Possibly to blend into the background of the fungus they often visit. No matter the reason, this refraction tech has the potential to displace many of the white pigments, such as titanium dioxide, that have potential carcinogenic properties.
Population Crashes: Not Just Bees Anymore
You may not like insects, but you need them. The majority of animals are insects, and without them, ecology collapses. Terrestrial vertebrate populations have dropped by about one third during the 20th century. Over half of amphibians may be in danger of extinction. We could lose the coral reefs by the middle of the 21st century and with them, much of our ocean's biodiversity.
Insects, however, seldom get a mention when it comes to mass extinctions. We are loosing insect species abundance. Many formerly abundant insects are now in decline, even in areas that have reduced pesticide use.
Many insects are important as pollinators, not just bees. Moths and beetles are also critical for the health of our plants. Insects control weeds, and predators eat the ones that eat our crops. Insects are critical in decomposition, soil formation, and the health of water ways.
Data suggests that we are now losing insect abundance rapidly, with falls as high as 1-2% per year in some areas (10% or more per decade).
Some insects are doing better. As climates changes, some are expanding their ranges.
Insects, however, seldom get a mention when it comes to mass extinctions. We are loosing insect species abundance. Many formerly abundant insects are now in decline, even in areas that have reduced pesticide use.
Many insects are important as pollinators, not just bees. Moths and beetles are also critical for the health of our plants. Insects control weeds, and predators eat the ones that eat our crops. Insects are critical in decomposition, soil formation, and the health of water ways.
Data suggests that we are now losing insect abundance rapidly, with falls as high as 1-2% per year in some areas (10% or more per decade).
Some insects are doing better. As climates changes, some are expanding their ranges.
Kudos to a Great Graphic Artist Rubin Bolling: Alternative MAUS Hits Home
Among the best responses that I have seen to date about the recent mashugana decision by the Tennessee School Board to ban a book about the holocaust (because a cartoon mouse shows a breast) comes from graphic artist Ruben Bolling (a.k.a., Tom the Dancing Bug.) One of Mr. Bolling’s most recent parodies, the Approved Maus, features two mice desperate to be themselves in a world that demands masks and vaccines. In lieu of a license to post it, I am providing a link to his blog and cartoon:
https://boingboing.net/author/ruben_b...
As the author of a book on deceit, I feel compelled to ask the school board, “Are you kidding me? –Or, is your intent more malignant?”
Mashugana (adj, n. ): Yiddish expression that describes someone or something as crazy, nonsensical or bizarre. E.g.: (1)The mashugana school board thinks eighth graders will be scarred for life by seeing a dead cartoon mouse with an exposed breast. (2) The mashuganas think we’ll believe that they banned Maus is over a fake mouse’s breast to protect children, even as the threats from bullying continue to haunt LGBTQ and Jewish kids.
Click to access Tennessee_Snapshot_2017_0.pdf
(study published in 2019)
https://forward.com/fast-forward/4243...
(Article from 2019)
The sales of Maus have skyrocketed since the ban was announced. Please, ladies and gentlemen of the Tennessee School Board, please ban my books! I need the income.
https://boingboing.net/author/ruben_b...
As the author of a book on deceit, I feel compelled to ask the school board, “Are you kidding me? –Or, is your intent more malignant?”
Mashugana (adj, n. ): Yiddish expression that describes someone or something as crazy, nonsensical or bizarre. E.g.: (1)The mashugana school board thinks eighth graders will be scarred for life by seeing a dead cartoon mouse with an exposed breast. (2) The mashuganas think we’ll believe that they banned Maus is over a fake mouse’s breast to protect children, even as the threats from bullying continue to haunt LGBTQ and Jewish kids.
Click to access Tennessee_Snapshot_2017_0.pdf
(study published in 2019)
https://forward.com/fast-forward/4243...
(Article from 2019)
The sales of Maus have skyrocketed since the ban was announced. Please, ladies and gentlemen of the Tennessee School Board, please ban my books! I need the income.
Parasitic Birds Blend into their Nests
Be they protists, worms, or vertebrates, parasites depend on their ability to deceive. The nest parasites, like the cowbird and cuckoo, mimic the offspring of their host birds. Their eggs often look like the eggs of a host bird (at least within the visual world of the host), and when they hatch, they imitate the hunger calls of the baby host birds. Some can imitate the calls of a nest full of hungry chicks.
Although their eggs and offspring are usually larger than their host, the adoptive parents don’t care. In fact, birds favor large offspring because it signals health. The parasite takes advantage of the inability of the host to overcome their preference for large, healthy babies. When an animal gives the same response to a stimulus and can’t vary it, we call the stimulus-response behavior “fixed,” and we call it a Fixed Action Pattern.
The Wisdom of Loki, by Ptera Hunter, explores patterns of deceit in the natural world, including predator-prey, parasitic, and molecular deceits.
Although their eggs and offspring are usually larger than their host, the adoptive parents don’t care. In fact, birds favor large offspring because it signals health. The parasite takes advantage of the inability of the host to overcome their preference for large, healthy babies. When an animal gives the same response to a stimulus and can’t vary it, we call the stimulus-response behavior “fixed,” and we call it a Fixed Action Pattern.
The Wisdom of Loki, by Ptera Hunter, explores patterns of deceit in the natural world, including predator-prey, parasitic, and molecular deceits.
