Reflections on Biology

 I read the fascinating book "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" (2010) by Richard Dawkins.  Scientific reasoning, fact finding, predictive powers, logic, confirmed theories, the scientific community, documentation, research, analysis, pure and applied science, testing ... are subjects that always attract my keen attention.  I have read a number of books by Professor Dawkins - a first rate thinker and writer.  He is also an influential contemporary atheist, and I share is views on religion.  

The human body is over 60% water. 

The typical adult human body consists of about 60 trillion cells (6x10^13). 

There are about 60 trillion atoms in a human cell.

Inside the nucleus of each cell are the DNA genetic
codes that govern growth, structure, and reproduction.
As these DNA strands are modified or reshuffled
during millions of reproductive cycles then variations occur over time.

The earthly timeline is measured in hundreds of thousands
of millions of years for these variations to occur
and some to survive and multiply.

Fascinating!
Amazing!
Complex!

Darwin Revisited

While resting quietly, I have been reading books on the history of science, evolutionary biology, and a biography of Charles Darwin (1809-1882).  These books will keep me fascinated and busy for a few weeks.  I have read all or parts of these books before 2017.  

The "Annotated Origin" is an outstanding volume.  I am always amazed at Darwin's use of many interesting and cogent examples to illustrate his key points of theory.  Beings change over generations based on lived circumstances.  We don't need supernatural causes to explain how beings have existed and changed over time.  

"The History of Science" by Stephen F. Mason.  Collier, 1956.

"The Annotated Origin: A Facsimile of the First Edition of On the Origin of the Species."  By Charles Darwin.  Annotated by James  T. Costa.  Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press, 2009.  Indices, references, biographies, appendices, 537 pages.  ISBN: 9780674032811.  

"The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins.  

"Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist" by Adrian Desmond and James Moore.  Norton, 1994, 868 pages.  The Darwin biography was detailed, comprehensive, historically fascinating, and very interesting to me.  Life in London, and Down House, from 1840-1880, is well documented in this book.  

The Oldest Living Being

The Curse of the Methuselah Tree
The Oldest Tree on Earth, 4,800 Years Old
The Bristlecone Pines
White Mountains, 11,000 + Feet, California

Living Matrix Model

 

"Every living cell in the body is connected in the living matrix of the connective tissue system.

The tensegrity of this system conducts vibrations, transmitting energy and information to each cell.

Energy, present in many forms in the body, is essential to the body's functioning.

The connective tissue system, composed primarily of collagen molecules and water, has a liguid crystalline molecular structure.

The liquid crystals of the connective tissue system form a continuum that permits rapid intercommunication, much faster than in the nervous system, and allows the body to perform as a coherent whole.

The energies of the body are responsive to consciousness.

Heightened coherence often corresponds to improved physical and mental abilities and better health."

- Rick Barrett.  Taijiquan: Through the Western Gate.  Blue Snake Books, 2006, 265 pages, index, bibliography.  VSCL.  The "Western Gate" is modern science, allopathic medicine, and materialism.  A challenging read with respect to scientific explanations, and showing parallels to taijiquan body-mind experiences and TCM. Quote from page 192.

The book is filled with fascinating explanations and some practical lessons and observations about mind-body practices like Taijiquan.  

Here is an example relevant to Taijiquan practice:

"If my intention is to push something (in the ordinary sense of the word) I automatically create tension in my arms and shoulders.  Try it.  The anticipated resistance of the thing to be pushed caused my body to tighten.  That is how we learn to move from infancy, and it remains the case until a better way comes along. If instead I reach with my fingers, rather than push, I don't encounter my own internal resistance.  Compare these to ways of moving and fell the difference in your body."
- Rick Barrett, p. 193.

There is more softness, more song, if I reach in the final phase of Grasping the Sparrow's Tail, rather than push.  

Point with your index finger when you move your arms.  What happens?
Expressiveness with the hands and fingers in an essential aspect of body-mind movement practices.  

Thinking about our bodies as being and functioning like liquid crystals is an amazing conclusion to reflect upon.  Gives "Go with the Flow" a new dimension.  

Bird Watching Tips from Jenny Wise

"Hi!

People look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them how much I love birding -- they think it’s just something older people do. But I’ve gotta tell you, that is not the case! Birding is an exciting, captivating, and great way to enjoy the outdoors, and people of all ages enjoy it as a pastime.

I wasn’t always this gaga for birds, but after a red-tailed hawk landed in our backyard one day,

I was hooked. Mostly because I kept hoping this bird would return, and she has from time to time, but she opened my eyes to a whole new world. The beauty of this hobby is that anyone can do it, whether you live in the city or the country. You can be young or old, you can do it any time of the year, and, best of all, it’s free!

If you have never considered bird watching before, I highly recommend getting a bird feeder. It’s a great way to start learning about birds, and it’s fun to watch what they do. If want to learn even more about birding, I’ve gathered some great resources below that you might be interested in, plus maybe your readers would enjoy these, too. What about placing them here:

Birding for Beginners

Lifelong Birders: Introducing Your Kids to Bird Watching in Your Backyard

The Rise of Young Birder Clubs

The Audubon Guide to Bird Gear

A Homeowner's Guide to Animal Control Problems: What to Do & Who to Call

*This is a helpful article in case you see a bird that appears to be ill or injured, or if one manages to find its way inside your home.

I hope these resources are useful in some way.


Thank you for your time, and happy bird watching!

Best,

Jenny Wise

Specialhomeeducator.com / jennywise@specialhomeeducator.com

700 N Valley St Suite B Anaheim, CA 92801"

+++++++++

Thank you, Jenny, for sending me this information.  My wife and I are moving from Red Bluff, California, to the City of Vancouver, in the State of Washington. We will be living on the north side of the Columbia River with Portland on the south side of the Rive - a large metropolitan area.  I am sure Karen and I will see many new species of birds while living 500 miles north of where we lived for 19 years in Red Bluff, California.  

Just, yesterday, in Red Bluff, 3/28/17, I was walking under some pine trees and I disturbed a large barn owl.  The owl flew over my head and out into the large eucalyptus trees.  Last week, Karen sighted 2 large wild turkeys in Debbie's yard.  

We will both miss the many backyard birds we enjoyed watching for 19 years in the North Sacramento Valley near Red Bluff, California.  

Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica ASFGC 317
Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans, BNC 248
Blue Jay See Western Scrub-Jay
Blackbird - Brewer, Euphagus cyanocephalus, BNC 351, Present all year
Bluebird - Western, Sialia mexicana ASFGC 325
Bullock's Oriole, Icterus bullockii,. BCFG 347
Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus, BNC 281

California Quail (Phasianidae Callipepla) BNC 127
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis ASPN 266
Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, BCN309, Februrary
Coot - American, Fulica americana, BNC 133, January in ricefield
Crow - American, Corvus brachyrhynchos, BNC 266
Cowbird - Brown-Headed, Molothrus ater, BNC 352
Ducks and Geese - scores of thousands fly overhead in the winter months.
Egret - Great, Ardea alba, BNC 62
Egret - Snowy, Egretta thula ASPN 262

Flicker - Northern, Colaptes auratus, BNC 237
Geese and Ducks - scores of thousands fly overhead in the winter months.
Goldfinch - American, Carduelis tristis, BNC 364
Goldfinch - Lesser, Carduelis psaltria, BNC 363
Great Egret, Ardea alba, BNC 62
Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus (Karen and I observed a very large Great Horned Owl up high in the
cottonwood tree over the middle pond on 9/23/2003.)
Grosbeak - Black Headed, Pheucticus melanocephalus
Guinea fowl Numida meleagris

Hawk - Red-Tailed, Buteo jamaicensis, BNC 112 Hawk by the pond, 8/29/07
Hawk - Red-Shouldered, Buteo lineatus, BNC 110
Heron - Green, Butorides virescens ASPN 262
Heron - Great Blue, Ardea herodias, BNC 61
Housefinches, Carpodacus mexicanus, BNC 359
Hummingbirds - Anna's Calypte anna
Hummingbirds - Black-chinned Archilochus alexandri Hummingbirds - Rufous Selasphorus rufus

Junco - Dark Eyed, Junco hyemalis, BNC342, March, December
Kestrel - American, Falco sparverius, BNC 116
Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, BNC 139 Lay their eggs on the open ground. Mothers are great actors
that try all kinds of actions to get you to walk away from their exposed nests.
King Bird - Western Tyrannus verticalis
Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis

Magpies - Western Magpies, Yellow billed Pica nuttalli (Mike's favorites: curious, noisy, social, colorful, big.)  In the summer of 2004 we found two dead magpies in the yard. By the end of the summer, our large local group of over 16 magpies had disappeared. Some local birders say that the magpies were killed by the West Nile Virus.

Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos, BNC 80
Meadowlark - Western, Sturnella neglecta, BNC 349
Mockingbird - Northern, Mimus polyglottos, BNC 304. Singing from high perches for hours.
Mourning Doves, Zenaida macroura, BNC 200
Oriole - Bullock's, Icterus bullockii,. BCFG 347
Pheasant - Ring-Necked, Phasianus colchicus, BNC 121
Quail - California, Callipepla californica, BNC 127
Red-winged blackbirds, Agelaius phoeniceus, BNC 347, Spring and summer visitor.
Rock Dove, Columba livia, BNC 198
Robin, Turdus migratorius, BNC 301, springtime visitor
Rufous-sided Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, spring

Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens ASPN 265
Sparrow - House, Passer domesticus, BNC 366
Sparrows - Many varieties
Starling - European, Sturnus vulgaris, BNC 307
Swan - Tundra, Cygnus columbianus, BNC 75, Winter visitor
Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, BNC 68
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, BNC 349 Western Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica, BNC 261
Woodpecker - Acorn, Melanerpes formicivorus, BNC 228

Off and Running

I finally got my new computer loaded with all the software I use.  Some old software would not reload in Windows 10 - what a hassle and disappointment.  

I am using the Atlantis Word Processor ($45) and the Google documents spreadsheet.  I use Microsoft Front Page 2003 for my simple website publishing. Google Chrome is my browser.  

Mostly reading biological science books:

Hölldobler, Bert and Edward O. Wilson.  The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies.  W. W. Norton & Co., 2008.  544 pages.  ISBN: 9780393067040.  VSCL. 

Wilson, Edward O. (1929-)  The Diversity of Life.  New York, W.W. Norton and Co., 1962.  Index, glossary, notes, 424 pages.  ISBN: 0393310477.  VSCL.    

Darwin, Charles (1809-1882).  The Annotated Origin: A Facsimile of the First Edition of On the Origin of the Species.  By Charles Darwin.  Annotated by James  T. Costa. Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press, 2009.  Indices, references, biographies, appendices, 537 pages.  ISBN: 9780674032811.  VSCL.  Read in 1/2017 and in college in 1965.  


I am walking for 90 minutes everyday and lifting weights at the local gym five days each week.  I do the Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan 24 Form, 108 Form, and one cane form.  

So, in short, I am "Off and Running" into the 2017 New Year.  


However, we do have visitors coming to our home and staying overnight from January 5th until January 14th.  We won't have much time for personal interests and hobbies until a week later.

Reading and Resting

I've been struggling a bit with a cold the past few days.  The usual: fatigue, coughing, chest congestion, feeling down ... familiar problems to millions.  

I bundle up, stay warm, rest, drink plenty of warm fluids, take mild medicines, and slowly recuperate. Karen is a wonderful helpmate- understanding, providing remedies, and encouragement.  

While resting quietly, I have been reading books on the history of science, evolutionary biology, and a biography of Charles Darwin (1809-1882).  These books will keep me fascinated and busy for a few months.  

"The History of Science" by Stephen F. Mason.  Collier, 1956.

"The Annotated Origin: A Facsimile of the First Edition of On the Origin of the Species."  By Charles Darwin.  Annotated by James  T. Costa.  Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press, 2009.  Indices, references, biographies, appendices, 537 pages.  ISBN: 9780674032811.  

"The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins.  

"Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist" by Adrian Desmond and James Moore.  Norton, 1994, 868 pages.  The Darwin biography was detailed, comprehensive, historically fascinating, and very interesting to me.  Life in London, and Down House, from 1840-1880, is well documented in this book.  

Rainy Day Reflections on Biology

In Red Bluff, the rainy season is from October to May.  Yesterday, and for the next two days, a Pacific storm has arrived from the West to provide a steady rain, a brisk wind, and cooler temperatures.  Over two inches have fallen already at our home.  

The wild grasses are all green, and most deciduous tress have lost over half their leaves.  A lovely time of the year - even more colorful than spring.  

November - Quotes and Poems

I have been reading the fascinating book "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" (2010) by Richard Dawkins.  Scientific reasoning, fact finding, predictive powers, logic, confirmed theories, the scientific community, documentation, research, analysis, pure and applied science, testing ... are subjects that always attract my keen attention.  I have read a number of books by Professor Dawkins - a first rate thinker and writer.  He is also an influential contemporary atheist, and I share is views on religion.  

The human body is over 60% water. 

The typical adult human body consists of about 60 trillion cells (6x10^13). 

There are about 60 trillion atoms in a human cell.

Inside the nucleus of each cell are the DNA genetic
codes that govern growth, structure, and reproduction.
As these DNA strands are modified or reshuffled
during millions of reproductive cycles then variations occur over time.

The earthly timeline is measured in hundreds of thousands
of millions of years for these variations to occur
and some to survive and multiply.

Fascinating!
Amazing!
Complex!

[Reprinted from my 11/20/2016 Blog Post.]

Patterns that Perpetuate Themselves

"We are but whirlpools in a river of ever-flowing water.  We are not stuff that abides, put patterns that perpetuate themselves."
-  Norbet Weiner, 1950

The human body is 60% water.   
The human body consists of about 60 trillion cells (6x10^13). 
There are about 60 trillion atoms in a human cell.   

"The structure of the human brain is enormously complex.  It contains about 10 billion nerve cells (neurons), which are interlinked in a vast network through 1,000 billion junctions (synapses).  The whole brain can be divided into subsections, or sub-networks, which communicate with each other in a network fashion.  All this results in intricate patterns of intertwined webs, networks of nesting within larger networks."
-  Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understandinf of Living Systems, 1996, p. 82

"In opposition to the classical model of change as accidental (as by Aristotle) or illusory, process philosophy regards change as the cornerstone of reality—the cornerstone of the Being thought as Becoming. Modern philosophers who appeal to process rather than substance include Nietzsche, Heidegger, Charles Peirce, Alfred North Whitehead, Robert M. Pirsig, Charles Hartshorne, Arran Gare and Nicholas Rescher. In physics, Ilya Prigogine distinguishes between the "physics of being" and the "physics of becoming". Process philosophy covers not just scientific intuitions and experiences, but can be used as a conceptual bridge to facilitate discussions among religion, philosophy, and science."
-  Process Philosophy in Wikipedia

"Although people may think of their body as a fairly permanent structure, most of it is in a state of constant flux as old cells are discarded and new ones generated in their place. Each kind of tissue has its own turnover time, depending in part on the workload endured by its cells. The cells lining the stomach, as mentioned, last only five days. The red blood cells, bruised and battered after traveling nearly 1,000 miles through the maze of the body's circulatory system, last only 120 days or so on average before being dispatched to their graveyard in the spleen.  White blood cells live on average more than a year. 
The epidermis, or surface layer of the skin, is recycled every two weeks or so. The reason for the quick replacement is that "this is the body's saran wrap, and it can be easily damaged by scratching, solvents, wear and tear," said Elaine Fuchs, an expert on the skin's stem cells at the Rockefeller University.
As for the liver, the detoxifier of all the natural plant poisons and drugs that pass a person's lips, its life on the chemical-warfare front is quite short. An adult human liver probably has a turnover time of 300 to 500 days, said Markus Grompe, an expert on the liver's stem cells at the Oregon Health & Science University.
Other tissues have lifetimes measured in years, not days, but are still far from permanent. Even the bones endure nonstop makeover. The entire human skeleton is thought to be replaced every 10 years or so in adults, as twin construction crews of bone-dissolving and bone-rebuilding cells combine to remodel it.
About the only pieces of the body that last a lifetime, on present evidence, seem to be the neurons of the cerebral cortex, the inner lens cells of the eye and perhaps the muscle cells of the heart. The inner lens cells form in the embryo and then lapse into such inertness for the rest of their owner's lifetime that they dispense altogether with their nucleus and other cellular organelles."
-  Nicholas Wade, Your Body is Younger Than You Think

Complexity