Confessions of a researchaholic

December 27, 2023

Pareidolia

Filed under: Imaginary,Real — liyiwei @ 6:24 pm
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Some nebulous patterns, such as a few strokes, can be perceived as something meaningful (e.g., faces) due to how our brains works with respect to evolution, and may look like something else to other species.

Art is perhaps an application/exploitation of pareidolia.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/186107513/PortraitsMotoGStylus

August 27, 2023

A dazzle of zebras

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 9:36 am
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June 10, 2023

Primitive emotion and advanced technology

Filed under: Imaginary,Real — liyiwei @ 3:14 pm
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“We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.” – Edward O. Wilson

Natural human evolution might not be fast enough for our primitive emotions to catch up with our advanced technology, and I predict pretty soon we will use technology to accelerate our evolution, e.g., by using AI to augment our intelligence and CRISPR to edit our genes.

November 25, 2022

Parasites making hosts more risk taking

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 11:16 am
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Parasites could have evolved to make their hosts more risk taking which I wonder if also applicable to humans.

Ketchup splattering

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 11:15 am
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I can totally see some fluid simulation folks publishing an upcoming SIGGRAPH paper about ketchup splattering.

https://twitter.com/liyiwei/status/1596211743075622912

July 15, 2022

James Webb

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 6:58 pm
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The astonishing beauty of the images captured by the James Webb space telescope is a reminder that we are capable of extraordinary achievement, amid all the economical, political, biological, and environmental chaos.
The fact that the telescope almost did not make it (delays and over-budgeting) is also a lesson all by itself.

March 22, 2022

I can hear you but not see you

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 3:49 pm
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This frog was clearly in a good mood, and, maybe also confident about his camouflage, continued his loud vocal even when I got close.

https://youtu.be/XjHsC1Az8lQ

March 20, 2022

Sapping tree wound

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 9:34 pm
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A branch has been recently chopped from this tree leaving a wound still dripping fresh sap, whose touch and smell I wish I can record.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tE5GnB2ULao

October 23, 2021

Hive mind shrank human brains

Filed under: Real — liyiwei @ 11:15 am
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According to this Economist Expresso article, human brains started to shrink about 3000 years ago possibly due to living in social groups where the collective intelligence reduced the need for individual brain powers/activities (known to be energy consuming).

Which implies that loners today might be in relative evolutionary disadvantage compared to team-workers today and loners 3000 years before.

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