chaoticutopia | July 26, 2006I've been saving these for a rainy day--a game or other timesinking tidbit for each ScienceBlogs category. I originally was going to wait until a rainy weekend, but the climate hasn't favored that idea. As it is,I'm behind on other projects, so today works. Besides--it is pouring outside, leaving me in dire need of something to chase the rainy blues away. Rather than making ten separate posts, I've crammed the distractions all into one list, counting down to my favorite. I'll admit, some of the categorizations are a stretch (you try coming up with something about politics that is a fun…
chaoticutopia | July 25, 2006The deeper we look, the more complex order we discover.
Biologists studying DNA have discovered another pattern of code within the genetic code. This pattern may regulate the placement of nucleosomes:
Biologists have suspected for years that some positions on the DNA, notably those where it bends most easily, might be more favorable for nucleosomes than others, but no overall pattern was apparent. Drs. Segal and Widom analyzed the sequence at some 200 sites in the yeast genome where nucleosomes are known to bind, and discovered that there is indeed a hidden pattern.
Knowing the pattern,…
chaoticutopia | July 24, 2006What could a magnificent but arrogant dragon have to do with ecological change? Everything, perhaps, if we can be influenced by myth and metaphor.
I won't be able to return to my series on urbanization for a day or two, so I've brought a few pieces out of the archive and dusted them off. First, I'd like to share a light tale which fits perfectly with recent themes. I wrote it this last spring as a Mother's Day present. It's actually my mom's story--she told it; I wrote it--but we share similar views on the subject. It turned out so well, I think we ought to collaborate more often. It is, of…
chaoticutopia | July 21, 2006I never did match any of Lillybridge's photography work on my visit to the South Platte. The past seemed to be lost under layers of roadways and rails. Still, within that changed land, patterns of natural beauty still exist. Sometimes, looking through fractals is the same way... there are many complex layers, and sometimes I have to search long and hard to find the pattern I seek. Today's fractal was no different. The lower layers are familiar Julia sets (similar to these) while the upper is a unique formula written by Andras Szolek. His formula is a complex conglomeration based on other…
chaoticutopia | July 21, 2006Note: I originally planned to post this along with the Friday Fractal. Then, like chaos, fractals, and life, it didn't turn out the way I expected. Considering the length and tone of this piece, it will stand better alone. Never fear, the fractal is still on the way.
"They paved paradise, and put in an interstate freeway..." In order to visit the place where the studio/shack of Charles Lillybridge once stood, I have to drive down the I-25, the interstate freeway which runs parallel to the Front Range. It already looks like a gloomy day, with thunderheads looming ominously to the west. As…
chaoticutopia | July 20, 2006An ecosystem is held together by complex interactions between living organisms and their inorganic environment. When early farmers and ranchers transformed the landscape in Colorado, were they destroying an ecosystem, or becoming a part of it? Perhaps there was a bit of both. The settlers who camped near Lillybridge's studio probably didn't have time to question it. It was life. If you worked hard enough, you'd survive.
In 1999, Robin Chotzinoff leafed through the Lillybridge collection for an article in Westword. One quote stood out above all the others, capturing the essence of struggles…
chaoticutopia | July 19, 2006As both a mom and a kid at heart, I couldn't resist joining in Children's Book week (month?) started by the World's Fair.
Behind every child is a budding scientist. They approach the world with an unrelenting curiosity, testing hypothesis at every corner. They like to experiment hands-on, and they like to make a mess--and how. (For instance, I once tried to make my own paper, with pulp and bright green dye. I just didn't know you had to keep the lid on Mom's blender closed.) While some experiments might make mom mad, there is always hope--in the form of books.
Since my Dad was a chemist, many…
chaoticutopia | July 19, 2006While the world changes around us, does regular, ordinary life change as well? The Lillybridge Collection shows simple, ordinary life, 100 years ago. From that simplicity, personality emerges. Charles S. Lillybridge didn't bother to seek the rich and the famous. Rather, he preferred his neighbors, ordinary people, living in a shanty town off of the South Platte River. By 1910, Denver was a growing city, constructing five story buildings. Instead of seeking these marvels of the day--many now long gone--Lillybridge sought out the young and the old, the working stiffs, the grandmothers, and the…
chaoticutopia | July 18, 2006When most people think of Colorado history, they picture the Wild West--outlaws, ghost stories, prostitutes, and other strange tales that go along with gold fever. (I talked a bit about gold mining on Friday, along with instructions for panning your own gold, in case you missed it.) It was a wild, rugged land, approachable only by the brave and determined. This was true in the mountains, surely, but also down on the plains. When settlers came to Colorado, they didn't think much about preserving the lands or ecosystem--on the other hand; it was a matter of preserving oneself. The plains…
chaoticutopia | July 17, 2006The following letter, by House Representative Diana Degette, was sent to 25,000 Coloradans, urging them to show their support for science by signing this petition. I'd like to forward this request on to the scientific community at large. I hope that every ScienceBlogs reader can take a moment to sign. You'll only need to take a minute to enter your name, email, and zipcode. (Apparently, this also signs up for the ProgressNow.org mailing list. They occasionally send out calls to action in other progressive areas. If you aren't interested, it's very easy to unsubscribe.)
Dear…
chaoticutopia | July 17, 2006This sends a pretty powerful message to anyone thinking about drinking and driving: If they can bust Pete Coors, they can get you too.
When the brewery bigshot stepped into his car on May 28th, he'd apparently had a bit too much to drink. He'd been to a wedding. Everybody drinks at weddings, right? If you're known for your beer, you just have to join in that toast, right? Well, you might also think that a man who ran for the Senate should be able to find a ride home. Apparently not.
When he reached his neighborhood, Coors blew a stop sign. (He must have thought he was home free, or…
chaoticutopia | July 15, 2006Would the tadpole, undergoing transformation from pollywog to froglet to frog, be astonished at our changing world? The metamorphosis of the tadpole is probably quite unremarkable--to the tadpole.
A budding froglet, (Rana catesbeiana) giving me a suspicious glare. Is he aware that he is growing up in the wrong habitat?
Why is it those of us who find this so utterly fascinating, often struggling with external change, feel so nonchalant about our own metamorphosis?
"He had not pictured his father like this as he was standing there now; admittedly he had been too preoccupied of late with his…
chaoticutopia | July 14, 2006When you peer into a fractal, you're seeing the edge of chaos. If you sift through enough Julia or Mandelbrot sets, you might catch a hint of fractal fever. When you find that point, where order is filtered out of randomness, and glimpse a familiar pattern, you might feel tempted to shout "Eureka!" That triumphant feeling is, of course, much older than the computers that generate fractals. We've been seeking precious patterns for centuries. Compare this fractal image, taken from a section of a Julia set colored with fractal Brownian motion...
...with a much older sorting method:
Panning for…
chaoticutopia | July 13, 2006"A good many of Colorado's mountain springs, especially the hot springs, are radio-active. Eminent physicians are now studying the affects of these to see what curative properties they may have. At some later time these undboubedly will be valued highly."
-Free Homestead Lands of Colorado Described: A Handbook for Settlers, page 41. (1915)
Ah, water. In the rugged, dry lands of Colorado, people would say anything to convince someone else to live there. When the expansion West began, things didn't look too good for farming along the Front Range. Looking across the plains, some called it "the…
chaoticutopia | July 12, 2006...but home is always changing. Every rainstorm washes away a bit of the soil. Trees grow, seasons change, like in so many songs and poems. We say "you can't go home again" because it is never the same, but we forget how it never stayed the same in the first place. Change is a part of life. I've always thought Stephen Jay Gould's theory of punctuated equilibrium applied to not just the speed of evolutionary changes, but of most complex changes. The little things add up, so to speak.
When I returned to Westminster, I found it had changed, in both small ways and big. The once barren and empty…
chaoticutopia | July 11, 2006I used to play among these tall grasses with my imagination running wild, pretending to be a warrior princess--nearly a decade before Xena hit the air. When I wasn't running, I'd often sit near the little lake by the railroad tracks, or wander through the abandoned greenhouse. Here, I learned to be a poet and a philosopher, a dreamer and a lover of nature. I'd watch the prairie dogs yip as the red-tailed hawks swept across the field, sometimes to catch a snack from the birdfeeder in my backyard. Sometimes, on hot summer days, I'd drag an inner tube down to lazily float down Big Dry Creek.…
chaoticutopia | July 10, 2006...or at least they would be if someone had cloned a person by now.
I've missed the last few "Ask a Science Blogger" questions, which I now regret. I can easily describe the qualities of an excellent science teacher, or discuss how the new science behind chaos and complexity has affected policy... but in order to answer this week's question, I need to pull out my views from the past. Ten years ago, to be specific:
On July 5, 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first successfully cloned mammal. Ten years on, has cloning developed the way you expected it to?
Ten years ago, I was rather shy about…
chaoticutopia | July 7, 2006Today's fractal is so bushy and branching, that you might almost miss the regular curving patterns of a Julia set. (Actually, this is two Julia sets, but who's counting?) That seems fitting, as nature can be the same way. You might not notice a particular spot, even though you pass by every day. Then, one day, your eye happens to catch a familiar pattern, and suddenly the ordinary is strikingly beautiful. I created this fractal to honor that awestruck feeling that comes along with discovering a world right under your nose:
And here's a matching spot, which I pass by every day, while walking…
chaoticutopia | July 6, 2006Across our planet, ecosystems are changing, big and small. While I've been compiling my thoughts on small, local changes (check back next week for a series on the subject) I found a bit of news about some very drastic changes to large areas. According to an article in this week's Washington Post, coral reefs may be greatly affected by an increase in the acidity of the oceans, which correlate with the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists are estimating that the acidity level will be sufficiently deadly by the end of this century:
Scientists expect ocean pH levels to…
chaoticutopia | July 5, 2006Every summer, great white pelicans make their way to Colorado to fish for trout in stocked reservoirs. I've always been fascinated by the fact that these giant sea birds come to Colorado, so far from an ocean. They don't breed here, they don't over winter here; they just hang out and eat. Awhile back, I tried to get some pictures of a flock of pelicans that fish at Standley Lake, near my home. With a 5-year old and a dachshund along to encourage them to the far corners, my best picture was of pelican butt, from a distance.
Not being the type to give up, I waited until yesterday, when I could…