Meme Share: Torus at Burning Man

A friend of the blog has shared a flickr image with us of a lighted torus sculpture at the 2012 Burning Man gathering in the Black Rock desert of Nevada. You may click on the link below to access more slides of this beautiful torus.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seraphimc/8004519648/

Photo by Scott London taken at Burning Man Festival 2012

Bacteria Communicate According to Golden Rule

photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SalmonellaNIAID.jpg#file

According to the Simple Explanation, all Units of Consciousness, no matter how primitive or complex the material they govern, reach out to one another with information and shared intent in order to build something bigger than themselves for the betterment of their world. The Simple Explanation calls this the basic meme of the Golden Rule. Here's how it's defined elsewhere on this site in the article "The Simple Explanation's Golden Rule":

This goes for all Units of Consciousness, from sub-atomic quanta up through cells and organs to organisms and beyond. Every physical manifestation links up with others of its kind (atoms link together to make molecules; molecules make cells; cells make organs; organs link together to make organisms; organisms link together to create societies, and so on) to become the building blocks of the next level of hierarchical aggregation.

When I speak with some scientifically-minded folks about the Simple Explanation, I find great resistance to the notion that there is any sort of conscious decision-making for non-humans, certainly not for such primitive things as bacteria, for instance. Whereas I tend to think of bacterial communities as imbued with conciousness, intent, cooperation, and communication; fully capable, in other words, of behaving according to the Golden Rule.

I've just read an article which fully upholds the Simple Explanation's view of complex behavior in very simple critters. I'm happy to report that the article is not by some "kook" but by Bonnie Bassler, MacArthur Fellow and Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University.

Dr. Bassler's lab has discovered that bacteria talk to each other, that they work together in the manner of a single, larger, organism, that bacteria can distinguish self from other, and that they develop integrated strategies for community survival and enhancement. Bassler joked during a presentation for GE's TED lecture series, "Doing things together because it makes a difference," speaking of bacterial communities. Sounds a lot like the Golden Rule, doesn't it?

If you have 20 minutes, I highly recommend you watch this video of Bonnie Bassler's TED talk on the topic of bacterial communication.

 

A Simple Explanation of the 12/21/2012 Prediction

The earth's axis wobbles like a top.

This wobble, or precession, takes

26,000 years to complete.

photo:wikipedia.org; Precession

of equinoxes

 

The earth's "precession of the equinox" completes its 26,000 year cycle this year, 2012, on December 21, the day of the winter solstice.  

photo: wikipedia 
Maya Long Count Calendar
 

On that same day, the 5,125-year-running Mayan long count calendar comes to an end or turns over to begin a new cycle.

Some people have suggested that December 21, 2012 portends the cataclysmic end of civilization as we know it. It turns out that many theorists have arrived more-or-less independently at numerous 2012 Doomsday scenarios. The wikipedia article on the subject is well-researched and comprehensive, with a works cited list 148 entries long. 12/21/2012 is an active meme chord that is becoming more vibrant as the date approaches. The website www.december212012.com has a handy countdown clock and a list of 21 different catastrophic events that may beset us on that day, with articles and videos covering everything from pole reversal and electromagnetic pulse, to precessional wobble and timewave zero. There's even a Greenwich Mean Time conversion chart to show you precisely when the world will end in your time zone.

Some 2012 predictions focus on the frightening collapse and destruction of civilization, while others focus on the cataclysm as the orderly end of one cycle as it ushers in the birth of the next, more enlightened age.

John Cusak outrunning apocalypse in "2012"

(Think the Hollywood disaster movie, "2012", with  hero John Cusak outrunning the fear-based, apocalyptic Flood meme on the one hand versus the "Dawning-of-the-Age-of-Aquarius" hope-based New Age meme on the other.)

The Simplest Explanation for all this chatter is that the 12/21/2012 prophesy is the latest iteration of the archetypal Doomsday meme common to most world mythologies.
Do I think the world is ending on 12/21/12? I truly doubt it. But, whether or not death comes on a planetary scale, many of us will pass away on 12/21 just in the normal course of events. It is always wise to consider and prepare for death, because you never know when it will come. Given that, here's the best advice I can give you: no matter what happens on December 21, stay centered, stay positive and optimistic, and hold onto the "onward and upward" meme.

Science News: Bacteria Armored with Tiny Tori

Take a close look at this image from the June 2012 edition of the science journal Nature.

S-layer bacteria
©VIB, 2012

The image depicts the bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus, with a molecular-level resolution of the structure of its protective coat of mail. Do you see that the protective S-layer consists of interlocked tori? The article states how incredibly stable this toroidal crystalline structure appears to be.

From the VIB press release, 11June2012:

With the publication of their findings in Nature, VIB researchers Han Remaut and Ekaterina Baranova at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, together with French and British scientists, have pulled the hitherto unknown S layer out of obscurity. "We succeeded in imaging the structure of the protein coat for one specific bacterium (Geobacillus stearothermophilus) down to its individual atoms," says Han Remaut. "We were also able to determine how the individual proteins attached to each other to form a 2D structure similar to a kind of chainmail from the Middle Ages, but on a molecular scale, of course." ........
... To what extent the protein coat plays a role in disease processes in humans still needs to be determined by the Brussels researchers. The S-layer they imaged was that of a harmless soil bacterium. Some pathogenic bacteria, such as those that cause anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) or the hospital bug Clostridium difficile, also feature this type of armor. “There are indications that these bacteria use their S-layer for attaching to the cells of the host. But whether the S-layer forms a potential starting point for fighting these bacteria is still unclear," adds Remaut. “That will require more research."

Interface with nanotechnology
Remaut's research is also being followed with interest by chemists, nanotechnologists and material scientists. The 2D-structure and mechanisms underlying the development of the S-layer makes it suitable as a component or as a model for new nanomaterials. In particular, the self-assembly of the S-layer fascinates scientists. "You can compare this self-assembly to a pile of bricks organizing themselves into a perfectly laid wall, but on a nanoscale – one-billionth the size of a common brick," says Remaut. “Such artificial miniature structures could be used, for example, for efficiently delivering active ingredients, such as drugs, to places in the body that are hard to reach."

This is an excellent example of how fundamental biology research can be a source of inspiration for the development of future nanomaterials.

Scientific publication
The research will be published in the leading journal Nature (SbsB structure and lattice reconstruction unveil Ca21 triggered S-layer assembly), Doi 10.1038/nature11155.

Process Note: Proof Copy of Simple Explanation Book Under Review

As you know, the Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything manuscript was completed recently. Several copies of a pdf version of the manuscript are circulating amongst a variety of qualified readers. A couple of readers are blog followers and majority are former guests of our bed and breakfast here in Ashland, Oregon.

Do any of you have a strong opinion as to whether I should seek a traditional publishing house, or whether I should go ahead and publish and distribute it myself? Know any agents?

cyd

It Is Finished!

As far as I can tell, I've finished The Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything book. A few people are reading it now. When this proofing stage is completed and I've gathered a couple of reviews, I'll upload a pdf version and then have the book available in softcover. Isn't this exciting news?

Bismark's Self-Revolving Torus

One of the Simple Explanation readers left this artist's url link under Comments yesterday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This young artist, Julius von Bismarck, has made a beautiful torus. Click on the video to see it revolving.

You can see more of his work at his Self Revolving Torus website.

Process Note: Chapter 4 Completed

Chapter Four of the Simple Explanation book, "It All Starts With A Donut--Tori and Toroidal Flow" is completed. I'm not going to post it to the blog, though, because there are so many illustrations it would take me too long to translate it from the book format to the blog format. Meanwhile, just read all of the toroid posts available here at the topical index to the right. That will tell you what's in the chapter.

Now there's just the Introduction and a wrap-up chapter to complete. I'm planning on self-publishing the Simple Explanation book. Right now I'm gathering together some reviewers to read the Proof Copy and make some initial reviews. If you would like to be a reviewer, please let me know.

Lessons from Trees, Episode 2 --video blog

Here is another two minute video of Cyd using trees in the forest as life metaphors. This video is called Lifecourse Corrections, and features a very interesting Madrone tree.

Lessons from Trees, Episode 1

Here's a lesson about survival and adaptability, uniformity and individualism. Click here to view a Simple 2-minute YouTube video, narrated by Dr. Ropp.