“This archival image, snapped circa 1899, depicts paleoartist Charles Knight working on a scale model of the dinosaur Stegosaurus. In life, this species could measure 28 ft (8.5 m) long and weigh about 6,000 lbs (2,720 kg). But when this animal was discovered, paleontologists were surprised to find that its skull—and brain—were disproportionately small. In fact, some scientists thought this massive herbivore must have had a "second brain" near its hips that controlled the back half of its body. Turns out, Stegosaurus did manage with just one relatively small brain.“
Circular Rainbows
“What you might not realize is that the shape of a rainbow isn’t a “bow” or an “arc” at all, but rather a full circle. The only reason you see part of that full circle, under most conditions, is because the Earth itself (or other foreground features) are in the way, preventing you from seeing the entire rainbow at once.”
Organisms as Mentors & Everyday Mystery
The On Being podcast is BACK and I am loving it!
These two episodes were amazing.
Janine Benyus Biomimicry, an Operating Manual for Earthlings on natural organisms as mentors and peers… learning from them rather than about them.
And Rick Rubin Magic, Everyday Mystery, and Getting Creative. I have SO MANY quotes from this one because I listened while parked in the car while Davy napped:
“The real practice of the artist is a way of being in the world.”
“It’s hard for me to finish projects because I always see the possibilities of what else we could try and I want to try everything…”
“What I came to realize is that there is a time for this open play. And it’s in those first two parts of the process, the seed phase… and experimenting.”
“By working with sensitive artists, we resonate together in that we’re feeling things that not everybody else is feeling.”
“There is no connection between the amount of time invested and how good something is.”
“The sustainable part of the practice is: start with things that are easy to do.”