1

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / What kind of fossil is this?

« on: 21/08/2008 17:11:45 »

Unfortunately not USGS memeber, just an avid fan of all things geology and planet Earth.

Some sort of scale and images with different angles would certainly help.

2

New Theories / Gut Instincts

« on: 21/08/2008 08:41:41 »

Hello All,
      I am currently reading a book by Gerd Gigerenzer called "Gut Feelings,  The Intelligence of the Unconscious". Author touches on those odd feelings we have that we run with and turn out to be the best decisions we could have made.

How many of you have had a gut feeling that you ran with that turned in your favor even after having logical conclusions that you may have dismissed?

Personally I always use my "gut instinct" when coming across something I have not encountered. Why you ask? The answer is that I feel my unconscious thought has a better understanding of the world than my conscious thought.

When dealing with other people... are you picking up clues that your conscious thought misses, when dealing with a situation you have never confronted are you unconsciously relating to things that are similar that results in your decision?

Ideas, thoughts, opinions. Please share them all!

3

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / How do we know what time it is?

« on: 21/08/2008 08:16:29 »

Hello Adrian and other fans of the measurement of time.

The first thing a person needs to think of is what is time, where did it come from, how does one measure it. I recently read a book by G.J. Whitrow who explores time throughout history (title of book is "Time In History". Cognitive thought of 'time' was never measured prior to the invention of the sundial, everything prior was based upon day and night and also seasons.

What this boils down to is to measure time based upon the position of a planet be it Earth or otherwise is mundane, humans created the concept of time to understand how to measure things in their world (planting crops etc.).

If you are looking for an explanation of how humans actually calculate time I suggest you read the above book. I may be missing something but the position of the Earth at any given time has nothing to do with a humans perception of time. Please update if I have missed the point entirely.

-Allanon











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4

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Rotation of the Earth and Erosion

« on: 21/08/2008 07:10:15 »

Hi,
    Something has been bothering me and to date I have been unable to find evidence for it. I once read that the erosion of the coast on continents will actually slow the rotation of the Earth. Anyone have any ideas as to why this may occur or was it simply a reach on the authors part?

Thank you,

Allanon

5

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / What kind of fossil is this?

« on: 21/08/2008 06:51:28 »

I agree with JimBob, to me this does not look like a fossil or an impression. By appearances it does not look like a sedimentary rock which generally produces fossils. In the middle upper portion you see vertical grooves which could be caused by erosion, although everything else appears (used loosely) to be a trilobite. Every trilobite I have ever seen has not had any vertical markings unless caused by an outside source. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://krlphotography.typepad.com/photos/historical_artifacts/trilobite1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://krlphotography.typepad.com/photos/historical_artifacts/trilobite1.html&h=611&w=481&sz=61&hl=en&start=2&usg=__Gn4_UE07i7s8NNhoeSh7kGT3gM4=&tbnid=fDtqdOHTmBduiM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtrilobite%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

Very interesting, rock doesn't look like anything able to produce a fossil yet the form appears to be something out of the pre Cambrian age.

6

General Science / If Humans Were Wiped Out Would The World Survive ? (A nuclear power question)

« on: 20/08/2008 20:18:25 »

I actually just finished "The World Without Us" and it was very interesting to see what would happen without humans. The book was well written and you can tell Alan Weisman did a lot of research into the matter. I recommend it to all who have wondered about the world without humans.

As far as the nuclear plants are concerned they would start melting down within a couple of weeks. As soon as electricity went out and generators run out of fuel there is nothing to keep the water cool which in turn keeps spent fuel rods cool. It would get really hot, really quick.