"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand."
- Frank Herbert


There is just so much out there that's seemingly beyond understanding. Human behavior being top of the list. Maths too. And the natural world. It's all a massive jumble of interesting, thought provoking, question raising and frustrating facts and theories. But, this environment is a glasshouse for knowledge. A cognitive grow-bag, sprouting runners of investigation and contemplation.

Like the great swathes of empty space on Marlowe's map of the African continent, soon to be over-run with the inroads of civilisation, the more that we discover, the more questions we unearth, the more we're drawn into the Darkness.

So, Frank's right. Knowledge starts with the discovery something we don't understand. Something that our inquisitive ignorance gives room to grow, rather than truncating it with false knowledge.

There are the scientific discoveries, like X-rays and Penicillin, whose invention is synonymous with the auspicious stumblings of the technically minded. These are the kind of inventions that pose the big questions and add to societies collective knowledge. But you'll kind of, sort of, pretty much know about that already. Such is their position in modern folklore. So check them out.

Now, as you tip up the bag and let the last few crispy, salty morsels fall into your mouth, I bet you think your understanding on the subject is just about total. The empty bag, a fitting symbol of the limit of snack time discovery.

Well, it wouldn't be the Epistream if it ended there...

Lots of amazingly mundane, everyday things have been discovered by accident. And, although our understanding of crisps and silly putty may now feel absolute, this was not always the case.

I give you, the top ten discoveries that, until now, probably didn't seem too exciting!

1. Fireworks - Having originated in China about 2,000 years ago, legend has it that they were accidentally invented by a cook who mixed together charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter. I assume that these items commonplace in the kitchens of era. The mixture burned quickly and when compressed in a bamboo tube, exploded.
2. Crisps - Chef George Crum created the salty snack in 1853 at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York. Apparently, fed up with a customer who kept sending his fried potatoes back because they weren't crunchy enough, Crum sliced the potatoes as thin as possible, fried them in hot grease and doused them with salt. The "Saratoga Chips" became an over night success at the lodge and throughout New England. Eventually, the chips were mass-produced for home consumption, but since they were stored in barrels, they went stale very quickly. That was until the 1920s, when Laura Scudder invented the airtight bag by ironing together two pieces of waxed paper. This kept the crisps fresh for longer.
3. Play-Doh - Accidentally invented in 1955 by Joseph and Noah McVicker while trying to make a wallpaper cleaner. It was marketed a year later by toy manufacturer Rainbow Crafts. More than 700 million pounds of Play-Doh have sold since then but to this day, the recipe remains top secret.
4. Slinky - In 1943, naval engineer Richard James was in development of a spring that would support and stabilize sensitive equipment on ships. When one of the springs accidentally fell off a shelf, it continued moving, and James got the idea for a toy. His wife Betty came up with the name and the Slinky made its debut in late 1945. To date, more than 250 million Slinkys have been sold worldwide.
5. Saccharin - Accidentally discovered in 1879 by researcher Constantine Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins University. Fahlberg's discovery came after he forgot to wash his hands before lunch. He had spilled a chemical on his hands now noticed the bread he was eating tasted unusually sweet. In 1880, Fahlberg jointly published the discovery with his professor, Ira Remsen. In 1884, Fahlberg obtained a patent and began mass-producing saccharin without Remsen. The use of saccharin did not become widespread until sugar was rationed during World War I. Its popularity shot up again during the 1960s and 1970s with the manufacture of Sweet'N Low and the introduction of diet soft drinks
6. Post-it Note - The "small piece of paper with a strip of low-tack adhesive on the back" was conceived in 1974 by Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow 3M employee Spencer Silver. No application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry's "small piece of paper with a strip of low-tack adhesive on the back". The 3M company was initially skeptical about the product's profitability, but in 1980, the Post-it was introduced around the world.
7. Silly Putty - It bounces, it stretches, it breaks. The silicone-based plastic clay was marketed as a children's toy by Binney & Smith, Inc. During WW2, while attempting to create a synthetic rubber substitute, James Wright dropped boric acid into silicone oil. The result was a polymerized substance that bounced but had no real use. That was, until 1950, when marketing expert Peter Hodgson saw its potential as a toy and renamed it Silly Putty. It also has many practical uses; picking up dirt; stabilizing wobbly furniture; stress reduction; physical therapy; and in medical and scientific simulations. It was even used by the crew of Apollo 8 to secure their tools in zero gravity
8. Microwave - In 1945, Percy Spencer was experimenting with a new vacuum tube called a magnetron while doing research for the Raytheon Corporation. Intrigued by the melting chocolate bar in his pocket, he tried another experiment with popcorn. When it started popping, Spencer saw the potential in this revolutionary process. In 1947, Raytheon built the first microwave oven, the Radarange, which weighed 750 pounds, was 51/2 feet tall, and cost about $5,000.
9. Corn Flakes - In 1894, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was the superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. He and his brother Will Keith Kellogg were Seventh Day Adventists and they were searching for wholesome foods to feed patients that also complied with the Adventists' strict vegetarian diet. When Will accidentally left some boiled wheat sitting out, it went stale by the time he returned. Rather than throw it away, the brothers sent it through rollers, hoping to make long sheets of dough, but they got flakes instead. They toasted the flakes, which were a big hit with patients, and patented them under the name Granose. The brothers experimented with other grains, including corn and in 1906, Will created the Kellogg's company to sell the corn flakes. On principle, John refused to join the company because Will lowered the health benefits of the cereal by adding sugar.
10. Mauve - An 18-year-old chemist, William Perkin, wanted to cure malaria but instead his scientific endeavors changed the face of fashion forever. And, helped fight cancer. In 1856 Perkin was trying to come up with an artificial quinine. Instead of a malaria treatment, his experiments produced a thick murky mess. The more he looked at it, the more Perkin saw a beautiful color in his mess. This was the first-ever synthetic dye. His dye was far better than any dyes that came from nature; the color was brighter, more vibrant, and didn't fade or wash out. His discovery also turned chemistry into a money-generating science - making it attractive for a whole generation of curious-minded people. One of the people inspired by Perkin's work was German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, who used Perkin's dyes to pioneer immunology and chemotherapy.

"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge" Benjamin Disraeli


I'm taking a stand today people.

Knowledge is a perpetual goal. The carrot on the end of long stick. A driving force.

False knowledge is a dead end. Damaging, limiting and destructive to human evolution.


There's a great bit in the opening of Conrad's Heart of Darkness where Marlowe talks about the map of the African continent as it appeared in his youth. For Marlowe the child, Africa's outline was essentially the sum total of topographical knowledge and this made it quite easy to swallow. This is conceptually akin to that area of uncharted waters which simply read, "There be monsters". This is where imagination lives.

The progression of our knowledge can be charted by the way our ignorance is continually expanding to encompass more and more as time goes on. It reminds me a bit of watching Lost. You've got questions, which upon being answered simply raise more and more questions. As infuriating as this can be, it's healthy.

In an information vacuum, imagination rampantly consumes all available space. It's only natural that a blank canvas leaves plenty of scope to add unfettered form and colour. Complications arise, as Marlowe recognised, when we begin to shade that lacuna with supposed "fact". This is when Darkness takes over those wide open spaces. As George Bernard Shaw expertly put it, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”

Ignorance breeds curiosity and fuels imagination. An inquisitive mind seeks to understand why, where false knowledge considers the matter closed. People tend to scapegoat ignorance for others backward, bigoted or biased behavior, whereas I would certainly attribute these traits to assimilated, false knowledge.

The most universal method for the transfer of knowledge is writing. Plato's work Phaedrus recounts Socrates' story of the Egyptian king Thamus and Theuth, the inventor of the written word. In this story, Theuth presents his new invention to King Thamus, telling him that it'll "improve both the wisdom and memory of the Egyptians". King Thamus is skeptical, rejecting it as a tool to aid recollection, rather than a means of retaining knowledge. His argument is that the written word will infect the Egyptian people with fake knowledge because they'll get their facts second hand, without experience.

Sorry. Remind anyone of anything? How much of this internet learning do you think really sinks in? Well, any questions, google 'em.

"Three is a magic number." Bob Dorough

Or, third time's the charm. Whichever.

This is the third installment of the Epistream and I've got to tell you, I'm pretty damn excited.


So, why does 3 have such a good rep? Let's start at the beginning.

Historians have come across similar patterns in the evolution of the number three in early counting systems. It is evident that amongst primitive societies, they have a clearly defined, language equivalent word to describe the quantities "one" and "two" but that they follow that with "many", or "more".

Often, three is the largest number written with as many lines as the number represents. Roman and Chinese numerals still use the number "III". This was how Brahmin Indians wrote it, then the Gupta made the three lines curved. The Nagari turned the lines clockwise and ended each line with a slight downward stroke. Eventually, these strokes connected to the line below and presto, it evolved into a character that looks pretty much like a 3.

Check it out...

There are loads of 3's out there. In fact, they're everywhere.

Your ear has 3 semicircular canals and 3 ossicles (the smallest bones in your body).

There are 3 distinct social groups among the Great Apes:

1. Orangutans (Solitary - little amount of both sexes)
2. Gorillas (Harems - great amount of one sex)
3. Common Chimps (Live in territories defended by related males - great amount of both sexes)

There are three types of galaxy:

1. ellipticals
2. spirals
   
3. irregulars

RNA and DNA each have a triplet codon system.

Three is the atomic number of Lithium, which is also the 33rd most abundant element on Earth.

Atoms consist of three constituents: protons, neutrons and electrons.

A proton consists of three quarks: two up quarks and one down quark. A neutron also consists of three quarks: two down quarks and one up quark.

Isaac Asimov developed the Three Laws of Robotics, which state:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

There are three basic rock formations: Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary.

Freud discussed his three tier model of the psyche in the 1920 essay "Beyond the Pleasure Principle". This was elaborated upon in "The Ego and The Id" (1923), where he developed it as an alternative to his previous topographic schema (conscious, unconscious, pre-conscious).

3 Indian Gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Maheshwara)

3 Greek gods: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades

3 Roman gods: Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto

3 forms of Odin in Eddic Mythology: Har, Jafnhar and Thridi

Budhism's The Triple Bodhi (ways to understand the end of birth)- Budhu, Pasebudhu, Mahaarahath

Three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

The Holy Trinity of the Christian doctrine: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This is also known as Tripartite division or the Godhead.

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus spread Christianity for 3 years.

Jesus supposedly rose from the dead on the third day after his death.

Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times.

Islam has devotional rites and certain formulas which are repeated three times and others thirty-three times.

A devout Muslim tries to make a pilgrimage to all three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

3 Musketeers

3 Blind Mice

3 Bears ( and Goldilocks)

3 Little Pigs


BUT...

There is no evidence to support goldfish having a three second memory.

It is generally accepted that there were three Wise Men that went to visit the baby Jesus. However, this is just a guess based on the number of gifts that they brought. There is nothing in the bible to support that there were 3 men, or even that they were men, or even that they were particularly wise. They were referred to as Magi and this tells us nothing about their number, wisdom or gender.

Going to Work is 3 times as dangerous as going to War. Statistically speaking.
About 2 million people die from work related accidents every year, as opposed to roughly 650,000 who die at War.

So, take care... and avoid that disgruntled guy in the mail room.

"All men by nature desire knowledge." Aristotle


Here's today's nugget of pyrite for you folks.

And it comes to you with just the slightest hint of irony.

With thanks to Al "ManBearPig" Gore...


Chilly?

Well, it may or may not come as a surprise to you that we are currently experiencing an Ice Age.

OK. Not the full fat, woolly mammoth, Everybody Loves that charming movie franchise kind of Ice Age. But a totally bona fide Ice Age none the less.

An Ice Age is any period in the Earth's history where we have caps of ice at the Poles. The term for the period we're living in right now is 'Interglacial'. Yes, this does make it sound like we're between ice ages. However, it actually refers to the time of warming where our ice is retreating to the Poles. The duration of an interglacial period is not fixed. Experts, of which, I must stress, I'm not one, estimate their duration to be somewhere between 12,000 and 50,000 years. Not taking man's impact into account. However, how it's possible not to I don't know, considering the variables are things like atmospheric conditions. Others factors are things like; the layout of the continents and our planet's orbit. Not that we have any influence over that. But give us time.

We've apparently seen an average increase in surface temperature of 0.2°C per decade in the past 30 years. In fact, we're supposedly within about 1°C of the maximum temperature the planet's achieved in the past million years. And allegedly, global warming of more than 1°C, from the year 2000, will constitute a potentially dangerous climate change. That is, based on models of the likely effects it'll have on sea level and it's impact on species.

Well. A degree doesn't seem a lot to me. But...

In about the year 1500, the average temperature in Northern Europe dropped by a degree and we ended up with polar bears in Orkney. Well, a polar bear. Still, one's enough.

The "Little Ice Age" lasted about 300 years. During that time the Arctic ice sheet stretched far enough south that, not only did Orkney get a visit from a disgruntled and obviously disorientated polar bear, Eskimos even kayaked to Scotland on at least six occasions. As a small side note, Eskimo isn't a derogatory term. Originally coined by Algonquin Indians to describe those people that lived in high Arctic regions, it can mean "someone from another country" or "someone who speaks another language". It's not very P.C. in Canada, where they correct term is Inuit, but Alaskan Eskimos actually prefer it. Chiefly because they are most definitely NOT Inuit.

But anyway, back in the Little Ice Age...

A possible cause for it has been put forward by Utrecht University, the Black Death.

The cataclysmic drop in the population of Europe resulted in massive swathes of fertile farmland abandoned and eventually engulfed in millions of trees. Trees love carbon dioxide, so this would have led to a huge leap in the absorption of CO2 from our atmosphere. This would have led to a drop in the average temperature, the inverse of the greenhouse effect.

This was shortly followed by the eruption of Mount Tambora, Indonesia in 1815. The ash released into the atmosphere gave us a little taste of Nuclear Winter too. 1816 was referred to as "the year without Summer". However, it did provide the inspiration for Lord Byron's Darkness and set the scene for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. So, not all bad.