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The 3 tallest mountains

Everyone knows Everest is the highest mountain at a colossal 8,848m above sea level. But, depending on how you’re measuring, there are two other candidates for tallest mountain. Mauna Kea is a volcano on the big island of Hawaii. In fact the whole island is made from volcano, so as a peak it rises from the base of the Pacific ocean to over 4,200m above sea level. Including the part of the mountain that rises from the sea bed it is over 10,000m tall. Mt Chimborazo can also lay a claim to the tallest mountain. The Earth is not a perfect sphere — it bulges around the Equator meaning that points on the Equator are several kilometres further from the centre of the Earth than points further North or South. A bulging around the centre is a common shape for a spinning sphere due to the force exerted by the spinning. Sitting almost exactly on the Equator means that Chimborazo’s already enormous 6,263m from sea level makes its summit the furthest point on the Earth’s surface from the centre of the Earth. I’m not totally sure if that means that at some point Chimborazo’s summit makes it the closest point to the sun, but it definitely sounds plausible! …Everyone knows Everest is the highest mountain at a colossal 8,848m above sea level. But, depending on how you’re measuring, there are two other candidates for tallest mountain. Mauna Kea is a volcano on the big island of Hawaii. In fact the whole island is made from volcano, so as a peak it rises from the base of the Pacific ocean to over 4,200m above sea level. Including the part of the mountain that rises from the sea bed it is over 10,000m tall. Mt Chimborazo can also lay a claim to the tallest mountain. The Earth is not a perfect sphere — it bulges around the Equator meaning that points on the Equator are several kilometres further from the centre of the Earth than points further North or South. A bulging around the centre is a common shape for a spinning sphere due to the force exerted by the spinning. Sitting almost exactly on the Equator means that Chimborazo’s already enormous 6,263m from sea level makes its summit the furthest point on the Earth’s surface from the centre of the Earth. I’m not totally sure if that means that at some point Chimborazo’s summit makes it the closest point to the sun, but it definitely sounds plausible!

20 Jan 2019

The Hungry Gap

In the UK and certain temperate latitudes there’s a period where the weather gets warmer and the season late for the winter crops, while the temperatures can still be too low for the Summer crops to get going. This period is known as the Hungry Gap — from late April, through May and a little of early June — as it’s hard to pick enough crops locally at that time of year to live off. Ellen Warrell at Riverford Organic Farmers explains the Hungry Gap, including ways to manage it. For example, did you know that “Trucking tomatoes over from Spain uses just a tenth of the carbon compared with growing them in the UK using heat.”…In the UK and certain temperate latitudes there’s a period where the weather gets warmer and the season late for the winter crops, while the temperatures can still be too low for the Summer crops to get going. This period is known as the Hungry Gap — from late April, through May and a little of early June — as it’s hard to pick enough crops locally at that time of year to live off. Ellen Warrell at Riverford Organic Farmers explains the Hungry Gap, including ways to manage it. For example, did you know that “Trucking tomatoes over from Spain uses just a tenth of the carbon compared with growing them in the UK using heat.”

12 Jan 2019

Anamorphosis

Anamorphosis is a type of projection that looks distorted when viewed from a standard vantage point or means but can reveal itself spectacularly from the right point or using the right tool. This is the technique responsible for making 3D-looking ads on rugby fields that players can run over as if they weren’t there, or how they create those amazing street art holes, or how S L O W painted on a road may look just right when driving towards it but weird and long when seen from the side; or how Hans Holbein the younger tucked a skull into his painting The Ambassadors in the National Gallery. However, others may require viewing with a mirror or a circular viewer to reveal themselves as intended. Anamorphic art is referred to as intimate art, as even in an art gallery, the true picture may only reveal itself to one person viewing it in just the right way. P.S. You’ll have to tilt your screen or move to quite an angle to see Tilt Me look like normal letters in the sketch. Also see: one-point perspective, two-point perspective, 3-point perspective, draw what you see, not what you think, atmospheric perspective.…Anamorphosis is a type of projection that looks distorted when viewed from a standard vantage point or means but can reveal itself spectacularly from the right point or using the right tool. This is the technique responsible for making 3D-looking ads on rugby fields that players can run over as if they weren’t there, or how they create those amazing street art holes, or how S L O W painted on a road may look just right when driving towards it but weird and long when seen from the side; or how Hans Holbein the younger tucked a skull into his painting The Ambassadors in the National Gallery. However, others may require viewing with a mirror or a circular viewer to reveal themselves as intended. Anamorphic art is referred to as intimate art, as even in an art gallery, the true picture may only reveal itself to one person viewing it in just the right way. P.S. You’ll have to tilt your screen or move to quite an angle to see Tilt Me look like normal letters in the sketch. Also see: one-point perspective, two-point perspective, 3-point perspective, draw what you see, not what you think, atmospheric perspective.

5 Jan 2019

The Destiny Instinct

The destiny instinct is the mistaken belief that people, countries, cultures, or religions can't change. But even slow change can lead to large changes over time. Change tends to happen slowly in large, complex things like people, countries, religions, or cultures. And because the change is small, we might think they’re not changing at all. Our instinct may be that they can’t, in fact, change because of their innate characteristics. But the destiny instinct misleads us. Small change adds up to big changes over enough time. And while things may not seem to change in a week or a month, or a year, when you look back over decades, huge changes can happen. Changes in poverty, life expectancy, economies, women’s rights, or attitudes to homosexuality — things that may have seemed at one time that they were hardly changing at all — have all transformed when we look back over sufficient time. Change that may not have seemed like it was adding up to much is still change. Read more from the Roslings: Culture, nations, and religions are not rocks — they’re always changing. And, at a time of the year perfect for reflection, here are four ways to control our destiny instinct from Gapminder: Keep track of gradual improvements. A small change every year can translate to a huge change over decades. Update your knowledge. Some knowledge goes out of date quickly. Technology, countries, societies, cultures, and religions are constantly changing. Talk to Grandpa/Grandma. If you want to be reminded of how values have changed, think about your grandparents’ values and how they differ from yours. Collect examples of cultural change. Challenge the idea that today’s culture must also have been yesterday’s and will also be tomorrow’s. Also, see Stewart Brand’s Pace layers.…The destiny instinct is the mistaken belief that people, countries, cultures, or religions can't change. But even slow change can lead to large changes over time. Change tends to happen slowly in large, complex things like people, countries, religions, or cultures. And because the change is small, we might think they’re not changing at all. Our instinct may be that they can’t, in fact, change because of their innate characteristics. But the destiny instinct misleads us. Small change adds up to big changes over enough time. And while things may not seem to change in a week or a month, or a year, when you look back over decades, huge changes can happen. Changes in poverty, life expectancy, economies, women’s rights, or attitudes to homosexuality — things that may have seemed at one time that they were hardly changing at all — have all transformed when we look back over sufficient time. Change that may not have seemed like it was adding up to much is still change. Read more from the Roslings: Culture, nations, and religions are not rocks — they’re always changing. And, at a time of the year perfect for reflection, here are four ways to control our destiny instinct from Gapminder: Keep track of gradual improvements. A small change every year can translate to a huge change over decades. Update your knowledge. Some knowledge goes out of date quickly. Technology, countries, societies, cultures, and religions are constantly changing. Talk to Grandpa/Grandma. If you want to be reminded of how values have changed, think about your grandparents’ values and how they differ from yours. Collect examples of cultural change. Challenge the idea that today’s culture must also have been yesterday’s and will also be tomorrow’s. Also, see Stewart Brand’s Pace layers.

29 Dec 2018

Compose a cheeseboard

A cheeseboard is a highlight of the holidays for me. Here are some simple guidelines on how to create a winning one that looks and tastes the part. I think the key really is the range of textures in the cheese. If you’ve got a hard, semi-hard, and soft cheese you’re onto a good start. If you can add in a crumbly and creamy and make sure you have a range of strengths from mild to mature, stinky or blue you’re onto a winner. Then make it amazing by adding complements from the sweet and salty buckets and don’t forget the crackers and breads. If you want show off, try to cover a range of cheese shapes, colours and milks such as goats and sheep as well. Mmm… Also see: Don’t cut the nose off brie Compliment, Complement Freeze stilton And because you may find yourself curious about it: origins of Boxing Day…A cheeseboard is a highlight of the holidays for me. Here are some simple guidelines on how to create a winning one that looks and tastes the part. I think the key really is the range of textures in the cheese. If you’ve got a hard, semi-hard, and soft cheese you’re onto a good start. If you can add in a crumbly and creamy and make sure you have a range of strengths from mild to mature, stinky or blue you’re onto a winner. Then make it amazing by adding complements from the sweet and salty buckets and don’t forget the crackers and breads. If you want show off, try to cover a range of cheese shapes, colours and milks such as goats and sheep as well. Mmm… Also see: Don’t cut the nose off brie Compliment, Complement Freeze stilton And because you may find yourself curious about it: origins of Boxing Day

22 Dec 2018

Twit-twoo illustration: showing how the classic owl sound is actually a duet with a female and male tawny owl doing a "kewick" and "whoo"

The classic twit-twoo is actually a duet

Funny how it can take nearly 40 years to learn that something as commonplace as the stereotypical owl sound is made, not by one owl, but as a duet between the male and female tawny owls. Also see: How owls’ necks turn so far around, or Why do birds migrate so far?…

15 Dec 2018

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