#complex numbers to polar form

[here-be-descriptions]

Pixies, scientific name: Volapillus coruscis , “shimmering jumping-jewel”; from “Serina: A Natural History of the World of Birds.” Artwork by Dylan Bajda.

“Flutterfoxes were among the very first creatures seen in the final stretch. Some face the global climate change at the end of the hothouse better than others. Grassland-dwellers survive with ease, whereas forest-dependent species now struggle, with most unable to adapt to the flatlands and pressed into increasingly fragmented refuges. Now as plains expand across formerly wetland and jungle regions, pixies, whose ancestors recently flew over the seaway to the north, experience a population explosion as they follow the new grasslands far and wide over Serinarcta. It isn't the grass that they eat, nor its seeds. No, pixies are predators - fierce enemies of insects, such as crickets and the larvae of beetles, which eat the grasses. Each of these animals is a ravenous eater, able to consume more than its own body weight in prey each day. Yet as this tiny species of flutterfox weighs only .75 ounces - so small that three pixies could sit comfortably on one finger - the total quantity, per individual per day, is modest.

But pixies don't usually live alone. They are highly social, living in family groups which are nomadic, following temporary booms of insect numbers across the land. They are strong fliers, able to cross expanses of unsuitable habitat in search of food, but they forage near the ground. Climbing and clinging to the stalks of plants, they scour them root to shoot for bugs which they snatch in their narrow jaws and chew up well before swallowing. Feeding peaks at dawn and dusk, with the little creatures seeking shade at midday and roosting through much of the night, tightly bunched together in grassy tussocks near the ground.

Though an average pixie clan is three to ten animals, they are well-adapted to make the most of increasingly seasonal rains which can transform a dry plain into a meadow of green leaves and flowers in just a few days. As soon as rains begin, the pixies gather to breed explosively. They pair up and begin to weave complex basket-like balls of dried grass leaves suspended about 10 inches off the ground, intertwined with the living grasses. It is in these nests in which they raise their young. Pregnancy is just 19 days, with litters of up to eight young born naked, hairless, and no bigger than a lima bean. But the babies grow extraordinarily quickly as both their parents make non-stop fetch trips to collect caterpillar-like grubs and swarming winged crickets, which they chew, swallow, and regurgitate as a slurry which is easily eaten by the tiny kits.

The litter leaves the nest within thirteen days, fully-furred and with nearly-developed wings, and thereafter they make longer and longer forays each day until by 20 days of age the kits take their first flights. They are fully weaned by 35 days of age, at which time their mother will have given birth again if conditions remain favorable, having as many as three consecutive litters before the grasses go dry, the insects move on, and so too must the pixies. Older litters help to feed younger ones, and the family crowds together into increasingly tight nests during the night, which the male attentively expands as necessary until they are as big around as a cantaloupe and may hold some 30 roosting adults and juveniles of varied age. During the peak 6-8 weeks after the rains first begin, they form swarms of many thousands and their fluttering movements make the grass shimmer with iridescent color, with flocks bursting up into flight as larger grazers pass by them. Predators now gather to hunt the young and unwary, forcing the horde to break up into much smaller bands as the nesting season ends, and by the next breeding season, only about 1/10th the numbers will remain to repeat the cycle anew. But pixies are far from the only swarms that fly across this new biome, and even in their absence, there are others to take their place in the skies.”

[amphitriteswife]

Oceanus oc info

Personal post

lore: still needs to be updated

Oceanus is the Titan of the waters, his status is often compared to Poseidon’s, which is true in a way but he was the ruler before him. He is married to Tethys, another Titan of the sea. Together they have 3000 daughters called the Oceanids, and sons called the Potamoi, the numbers for them is unknown. He did not participate in the Titanomachy and remained neutral, even after Zeus became the new ruler of the heavens. however, he did not share the same reaction with Poseidon. Because Oceanus is a titan, he can call and create bodies of water, even being able to grow to big forms.

- Their most known daughter is Amphitrite, who’s currently the wife of Poseidon and has taken over the roll from her mother Tethys.

- another daughter who is known is Leuce, the sister of Amphitrite who was once a lover of Hades, after her death she was transformed into a white polar.

design:

Oceanus has pale skin, blue eyes with black sclera and black hair with blue eyes. His pale skin is considered special, mainly because most of the sea inhabitants either have colors as their race or dark skin from his wife Tethys. The reason Oceanus has pale skin is because it’s see-trough. so if one was to shine a light behind him, you could see his skeleton and organs, but that only happens if he’s out of the sea and has the light of the sun on his body, many mistake it as him ‘weakening’ which is again not true and just a rumor.

The reason as to why he has black sclera’s is still unknown, some think he tattooed both of his eyes to intimidate others with his glowing blue eyes as contrast, which is still a rumor. some think it’s because of an accident with oil slipping into the depths of the sea. in order to stop it from being spread further, Oceanus took on a bigger form and let the oil be soaked into his eyes and hair, preventing it from polutting the sea. He can still see as fine as he did before, with still having immense capability of seeing underwater, even in the darkest depths of the sea. His hair was originally blue, but because of the oil it turned black, but not all of it hence the blue ends. Overtime Oceanus wasn’t opposed to having hair like this and actually came to like it.

Unlike most characters, Oceanus doesn’t have colored lips. This is because he is not youthful anymore and doesn’t has the time or energy to do it, You can see this as a sign that he’s neglecting his appearance a little and only does the bare minimum. During his youth he often had light blue colored lips or a darker brown shade. He isn’t bad looking now, just older yet attractive. So a dilf I guess you can say.

For his clothes it’s simple and old fashioned unlike his wife Tethys, He wears a cloth around his waist that goes from right to left and for the rest only ever wears jewelry like chains or necklaces.To the opposite of the cloth are chains that go from left to right He does have pearls in his hair on rare occasions or golden accents, only of he has to. He has quite the tall complex {around 210 cm tall} and a rather muscular body. he is not lean like Poseidon but actually...wide? in a way. The cloth around his waist is a rather teal color and has thin golden chains attached to them going in the same direction of the wrinkles in the cloth. On the right side of his body there is a slit in the cloth, held together by a dark faded purple starfish, under the starfish are also 3 chains the help the cloth stay together. around his neck Oceanus has 1 jewel on each side, each having exactly 3 chains on each side going from the neck to rather the collarbone.

On Oceanus’ left shoulder is his skin a rather light blue color with scales. this is to show that apart from his ‘godly’ and bigger form he also has another form what causes his to turn blue ith scales and sharp teeth and big eyes with no irises. This form is usually associated with Sirens who have shown their true form, this is because Tethys represents the beauty yet cruel side shown in her personality. While Oceanus is scary yet cold and gentle when he wants to be. The scales and blue skin are also present on the tips of his ears. despite not being a nymph he does have sea nymph ears, they’re pointy and way bigger than a human’s ear.

Oceanus also has a Tattoo on the right shoulder of his body, the text written in greek, even though he is Atlantean himself. meaning he is from the realm of Atlantis, and actually lived there until Poseidon became it’s new ruler. The text on his shoulder is ‘Τηθύς’ in old greek, the tekst is the name of his wife Tethys. But during the time he got the tattoo he was still engaged to Tethys.

Personality:

Oceanus is described to be a wise and stricht man, yet has his softer and emotional side for his family. He isn’t on bad terms with the gods and actually had good relationships with other pantheons, he doesn’t have much opinions and even when he does he keeps it to himself. Despite his stand off-ish, cold and stoic nature he is also a romantic, shown to when he interacts with tethys. He is also shown to be the more empathetic and favorite parent among his children for letting them get away with almost everything.

during his younger years the had a more reckless and rude personality, showed respect to elders and those he seemed fit, during that time he also spent a lot of time getting in trouble, but making allies in the process which resulted in him making 3 other families having close ties, one being Tethys, his wife. each duke has sworn loyalty to the royal family of Oceanus, resulthing in the dukedoms not accepting Poseidon as ruler until it’s a royal member that marries into the family

Oceanus isn’t a participant in Rangnarok, nor watched the most of the fights except Poseidon and Susanoo’s. He instead ruled the ocean in absent of Poseidon. He thinks it’s unnecessary to hold one as many of the humans already forgot about their existence and doesn’t think of them as gods and a religion but as mythology and folk lore for shits n giggles. He also thinks despite the bad things human do, they also have done a lot good in the world and invented great things. During Poseidon’s fight he already noticed how Poseidon wasn’t taking his opponent serious at all and toyed with him with a non chalant attitude. This resulted in Oceanus being slightly irritated with his son-in-law as he already knew that it would be a critical point. Further more could Oceanus already tell that Kojiro wasn’t someone to be taken lightly as Oceanus has recognition for great warriors and already recognized sasaki.

Relationships:

Oceanus and Tethys an Tethy

Oceanus has a very romantic, passionate and over all positive relationship with his wife. Most inhabitants joke that Oceanus and Tethys are still in their honeymoon phase. However the couple did have some arguments here and there, most of them were talked out and they found their straight line with each other. Except for one argument they still disagree on till this day: The marriage of Poseidon and their Daughter Amphitrite. Despite that, it is save to say that Oceanus and Tethys have a parraelled relationship compared to Amphitrite and Poseidon. Oceanus and Tethys’ marriage is based on love, devotion and loyalty out of the heart and healthy while Poseidon and Amphitrite’s marriage is rather toxic and based on lust, status and loyalty out of duty and morals. Oceanus shares a past with tethys, falling in love with her when they got to know each other during duties.

Oceanus and his kids

Oceanus is known to be a girls dad, having a soft spot for his daughters yet also being overprotective towards them. Because of his kids he changed as a person, being less reckless and he let go of his rude personailty, instead having a more stoic and open mind set. He dearly loves his children and is very devastated by their deaths, during those times he spents his time alone trying to regain his composure and collecr his feelings. He is shown to always make a body of water resembling their children from their infant state to the ste they perished, always hugging them and telling them how sorry he is for not protecting them. this is why he grew to dislike most of the Greek gods over time yet keeps his mouhth shut to prevent putting his family in danger. Resulting in him only speaking when he sees fit.

Oceanus and Amphitrite an Amphitrit

Oceanus doesn’t favor Amphitrite but noticed how Amphitrite was slowly pushed onto taking a older sister role. Oceanus noticed how things got harder for her, keeping up with her sisters, taking care of them while also trying to do her duties as the eldest child of Oceanus, making sure she is not neglecting her education and just overall trying please everyone. This really concerened him and as a last resort promised her that she will get his title, hoping he can make it up to her for all the pressure. But when he met with the Fates it was clear that Poseidon was supposed to be the ruler. Oceanus knew he can’t oppose the fates as that is the reality and tried to find a way to keep his promise yet make sure he didn’t change the prophecy. This resulted in him arranging a marriage with Poseidon, meeting him before Amphitrite to see if he was a great man. On the marriage day itself Oceanus lost his composure and even offered Amphitrite to cover and run away if that’s what she wants despite putting everyone in danger, Amphitrite noticed this and reassured him that she would be fine.

Oceanus and Poseidon an Peido

Oceanus and Poseidon have a civil relationship. Oceanus was the one to come to Poseidon and offer the marriage proposal. He used sensitive and degrading manners to do so, telling Poseidon that he has no connection to the sea and bringing up the fact that the Inhabitants and dukedoms won’t accept or acknowledge him as the new ruler. After pointing out the flaws, Oceanus offered Poseidon to marry Amphitrite as she was well loved by the inhabitants and was the best fit for him, half because she was the only daughter that could handle someone like Poseidon but mainly to keep his promise. Poseidon and Oceanus only ever saw each other when necessary, Oceanus even took on a mentor like roll for Poseidon helping him with sea duties and not judging him unlike Tethys. During their first meeting they were actually surprisingly chill.

Trivia: still need to be updated

[occasionalflicker]

From now on, all names and terms in Gaelic (seriously, I should dilute this with other selected languages, but I never get around to it).

In AU, honey is harvested in two ways: by candying fruits and nectar, or by collecting it from the local lightfolk bees, which are called milcru (mil – honey, cruithear – maker).

What's interesting about these creatures is that they work non-stop until they are no longer able to move or defend themselves. They can't recover on their own and are left only to wait until their polarity is taken by the darkfolk drones of their own species – milith (ith – consume), who live in the same hive.

At first glance, this might seem like a great loss for the milcru, but in fact, it's an essential part of their life cycle. It’s a salvation for the milcru, because once polarities are exchanged, the former milith becomes a working milcru and takes on the duties of the swarm, while the milcru turned milith gets to rest and consume excess honey. Then, once recovered, it switches polarities again with another exhausted milcru to take its place, allowing it to recover in turn.

If a milcru becomes exhausted outside the hive, their polarity can be taken by a starfolk of another species, after which they return to the hive in the form of a milith.

In fact, switching polarity immediately restores energy and heals wounds, but it’s not advisable to do it too often in one day, as it drains the energy from the core. The larger and complex the organism, the longer it’s recommended to refrain from frequent changes.

But for such small starfolk as milcru, this rule is an exception, considering they don’t remain in the milith form for long and immediately switch again, because during that time they feed to restore their strength to switch once more.

Moreover, in a colony of about 10,000 milcru, there are at most only 400 milith, and the number of exhausted lightfolk doesn't decrease. That’s why their time as drones is brief.

This is just one example of life from a branch of the species anaclaign.

By the way, what are these branches, and what are they for?

One fact worth mentioning is that, regardless of the size or strength of the opponent, and whether they belong to the same branch or leaf, polarity exchange will still occur. However, there are a few exceptions established by the starfolk themselves, the first of which is the anaclaign.

Anaclaign are essentially all animal starfolk, such as the Butterfly, Unicorn, and Phoenix. What sets them apart from others is that they are not particularly eager to cooperate with other starfolk. Others must either work very hard to earn their favor or be lucky enough to encounter an already tamed anaclaign.

This is the second point that distinguishes them from other species. Anaclaign are born in common cradles- those cared for by other starfolk - and thus they can be tamed, though they still retain their freedom-loving nature, choosing freely whom they accept, while still being more inclined to befriend others. However, they also have so-called wild cradles, the locations of which are known only to other wild anaclaign.

A third difference is that some of their species, in most cases, spend their entire lives with their counterparts and feel comfortable doing so. Whole herds of unicorns can be seen traveling freely between the two kingdoms with their darkfolk counterparts.

Polarity exchanges do occur between them as well, but mostly due to instinct. Among starfolk, there is a special rule that applies to them: darkfolk are forbidden from taking their polarity, and lightfolk are not allowed to attack them simply because an anaclaign is a darkfolk. Doing so is considered an act of cowardice and dishonor (though it's hard to control, most still follow this rule).

Another fundamental trait that sets them apart is that other starfolk cannot sense them or understand their emotions. Only body language offers some clues, but even that is not always clear.

As for how one can sense a starfolk, that will be explained better by the next branches.

Cilean (cileadair – guardian, soipean – small wisp) includes species such as Ariman, Moon, Star, and Break. What sets them apart from anaclaign is that others can already perceive their emotions more clearly, as they have more expressive body language and are better at understanding what is expected of them. However, only a select group of starfolk can understand them on a deeper level.

They are more open to contact and cooperation with others and are rarely found in the wild, preferring to live under someone’s roof or near settlements. They earned the name “Little Guardian” also because they love spending time with the youngest members of society - the starlets - acting as their first guides and helping them with the elemental forces stirring within them.

Most often, they carry out other domestic roles. Like anaclaign, they should generally not be harmed, but if they provoke conflict, it is allowed to retaliate, as their closeness to others and alignment with foundational rules classify them as a more intelligent species.

Anais (anam – soul, sanais – whisper) are starfolk who have retained animal traits but behave more intelligently than the anaclaign, and have a higher calling than the cilean. They function fully within society and, to some extent, communicate better with members of the two previous branches. However, only a select portion of starfolk from the following branches can understand them, as most starfolk are deaf to their presence - anais cannot speak on a regular level with others.

They understand writing and can write themselves, but they do not speak, as they communicate differently, and not everyone can comprehend their language.

This branch includes Acid, Shell, Black Rose, Roots, and Adamantoise. They are more sensitive to elemental and natural changes in their environment, and can alert others when something is wrong with the water or soil.

Starting from this branch, there are no longer any restrictions on absorption.

Illea (from da-fhillteachd, meaning “dual, state of being in twos”) is named to reflect their nature, as this branch includes species capable of shifting between grounded and aerial forms, or partially transforming into weapons. Among them are also those who possess both types of magic, though such individuals are rare, since most species capable of wielding both forms of magic belong to one of the following branches.

This branch includes Holy Bat, Fairy, and Assassin. From this branch onward, all starfolk are considered fully sentient and responsible for their actions. They generally perform the same roles as other starfolk, though their strengths lie more in patrol and espionage.

They also understand anais without issue, partially understand cilean, and cooperate fairly well with anaclaign.

Eadar (between) - put simply, this branch includes species that either lack certain body parts or have too many, embodying the concept of being “between having and not having.” This branch includes Hands, Shadow Legs, and Tomberi.

Although they can communicate normally with most species (they have difficulty understanding anaclaign and cilean, and only partially anais), they are generally reserved starfolk who rarely communicate even with their own kind. Even when they gather in groups, they tend to remain silent.

It’s difficult to define a specific area of specialization for this branch, as it varies greatly depending on the individual species - some can perform any task, while others are limited.

Peithire (messenger) includes more humanoid starfolk, among them the Edda's and Aven's species, and the Duality. They are highly valued for their versatility, being suited for most tasks. This branch contains the highest number of starfolk species capable of wielding both types of magic.

These species are also known for their heightened resistance to both magical and physical attacks, while possessing great stamina themselves. They are most valued in military, espionage, research, educational, and industrial roles.

Fiorlan (pure) are believed to embody the pure force of the elements, as this branch includes all four Elementals, Metamorphosis, Paladin, and Lightmare.

They are even more attuned to elemental shifts and can understand all types of starfolk without difficulty. Likewise, all other starfolk are the most favorably inclined toward them - though at the same time, they remain cautious in their presence.

Taibhsear (“vision seer”) includes the species Angel, Seraph, and Demon. The significance of this branch lies in their ability to perceive and sense more than others. Although they cannot understand starfolk who are unable to communicate conventionally, this is offset by their ability to “see intent.” They don’t need to read emotions or understand language - when they can instantly sense a starfolk’s intentions, which is often more useful, since tone and expressions can deceive.

They can read the intentions of all starfolk except those within their own branch. They are also able to detect health issues in other starfolk.

They are distinguished by being nearly ideal beings: possessing high magical reserves, boundless stamina, and immense strength with formidable defense. They primarily hold ruling and military roles in society.

Now a bit more detail about the branches and, most importantly - when battlefield flirting happens.

Each branch contains what are called Halfleaves - these roughly divide species into smaller groups, such as separating the plant-like darkfolk Roots from the stone-like Adamantoise, or the hoofed Unicorns from the winged Phoenixes.

Following that is the Leaf, which groups specific starfolk species based on kinship, and this level is what primarily governs starfolk attraction toward one another.

Starting with the anaclaign, their affinity doesn’t extend beyond their own leaf and halfleaf. Cilean show affinity only toward species within their leaf and sometimes halfleaf, and the same applies to anais - they do not show affinity outside of their own leaf or halfleaf. Beginning with Illea, however, affinity between starfolk can extend to neighboring branches, such as eadar and peithire, and in very rare cases, even to fiorlan.

Fiorlan, as a branch, shows relatively low affinity even within its own leaf, let alone toward other branches - so yes, affinity toward them from others is usually one-sided. Taibhsear rarely go beyond their own leaf as well, though there are occasional cases of affinity toward halfleaves within their branch.

This information is not yet complete, as fan-species and counterparts to the canon types have not been included - but I plan to expand on that in the future.

[robinsonprojection]

Attested shape of the Greater Angel "One Eyed Morphic Glory" according to testimony from the Stonefisher who was present for it's banishing in the early 200's.

"A huge sphere of darkness with a diameter of [approx. 1 mile] forms its main body, with a single eye like pattern floating in its center looking outwards towards the viewer regardless of their position. Surrounding it closely is a crest of distorted fleshy arms which intertwine and form a rough plane around its center, moving up and down slowly. Beneath it, a set of six long, crystalline legs reminiscent of an insects radiates from a point in a manner similar to a snowflake. Above it, the original Siorrot Grand Seal forms a ring above it, now shattered in a number of places."

The Siorrot Grand Seal itself bears mentioning for its historical attributes, a pattern that when copied from a reference is capable of containing Angels through a manner yet to be discovered. Known about for a long time, the original was seen swiftly moving through the ice of the Southern Polar landmass in areas where Siorrot's influence has rendered the ice transparent. Copying it from a copy will somewhat dilute its durability, with 7th order copies failing when scratched lightly. A total of 15 1st order copies remain in the world since the Greater Angel's shattering of the original, the largest of which is kept in an energetically stable complex in the Well of Night's lowlands.

[rotzaprachim]

Fiction doesn’t equal reality obvious disclaimer but one of the weird things about the shadow and bone fandom is it like…. Is to me a kind of record of the dehumanizing moral polarity people had around Jews prior to Oct 7 when everything about Judaism became Bad and Fair game. Like the darkling imho is Jewish coded and he does very bad things in ways that aren’t separated from how he is Jewish coded-not only because there are no guarantees that being a marginalized person will stop you from hurting others, but because of the fact marginalization and pain don’t teach valuable lessons and instead force many people into the idea they need violence and extremism - including against their own people, especially women - to Keep Everyone Safe. Like the darkling’s logic and thought processes are very similar to Jewish nationalists and militarists, not only to Zionism but the most specifically violent and extreme forms and fandom was OK with it because the IRL Jewishness had been scrubbed from the box at the same time they expressed genuine hatred of Jews in real life with ideologies nowhere newer as extreme. But see aleks, a fictional Jewish coded man, Had to be good and alright and cool even as he did (check notes) kill mass numbers of people and almost destroy a comity because what if those people didn’t like grisha? It’s the acceptance of fictional Jewish extremism without serious empathy for the complex politics of real Jews that disturbs me. People like Jewish violence when it’s removed from the context of real life. I’m going to mix metaphors for a second because this is a fantasy series and they mix metaphors. Leigh specifically multiple times said she didn’t model Matthias on Nazis and that he isn’t one and fandom didn’t buy her. I don’t want to let Matthias off the hook - I think he’s a fascinating and profoundly messy character- but I think the refusal to take Leigh at her word flattened the fact that Matthias as a violent religious extremist is an uncomfortably mdoern and global figure. There are evangelical Christians in the us like Matthias, there are Muslims and Hindus like Matthias, and - there are Jews like Matthias. Much of matthias’s logic and violence reflects the ideology of modern right wing religious Jewish men men in Israel, down to the fear of women’s voices or being touched by a woman. Much of Matthias’s ideology and backstory is probably closer to a his family was actually killed, as has been the case with some of the killings of Israeli civilians. So I’m not saying he /is/ a violent right wing Jew but there’s much about him that’s /like/ them in real life. To me the darkling and matthias represent two of the worst modern streaks of Jewish violence - one explicitly Jewish, one universalized but potentially so-, and so it’s wild to see years of fandom refusing to see that Jews /could/ be bad or do and things and then wiping all those things they did away at the same time as many of the same people are genuinely fine with making generalized moral claims that real Jews actually are inherent morally monstrosities of evil now that it’s become politically and culturally acceptable to do so

[premamelody]

WHYHY WHY ARE WE BREAKING DOWN BASIC NUMBERS INTO ROOTS I DO NOT CARE WHAY THE THIRD COMPLEX ROOT OF 1 IS WHY DOES THIS MATTER I KNOW THIS LEADS INTO SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT BUT WHYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYY

next I'm gonna have to find the exact square root of 2 in complex form post haste that is between the interval of 34780° and 21020° then convert it to polar form if this becomes true I'm throwing something at someone

[yuriskies]

The Fluid Relationship and Its Enemy (Iori Miyazawa)

Long long ago, when the skies were higher and the ocean was deeper, and the publishing companies were still publishers and not content owners, 'relations' began to sprawl between people. 'Lovers', 'unrequited love', 'rivals', 'spouses', 'boss and subordinate', 'senior and junior', 'idol and producer' -- certain "states" that occured between people were codified with specific words.

To answer 'what are their relations?', you can reply, "they're going out" or "they're on bad terms", specifying the "state" at a particular moment. These are 'relations.'

What's important is that it describes that state at a point in time. The reply to "what are their relations?" is a static, fixed answer. In the sense that given an initial state and a set of rules you can derive the next state, you could construct a world model based on something akin to classical mechanics.

However, more and more phenomena began to be discovered that couldn't be described by it. For example, telling a very intimate couple something like "hurry up and get married" is based on a shared tacit understanding that the next step on the road of love from 'dating' is 'marriage'. But while it certainly does confirm to societal templates, it ignores the existence of a vast number of possibilities and unnamed relations occurring outside of them.

There is also, for example, the idea of "just business." Two people act very intimately with each other, but it is actually just a performance to please the audience, and they're not that close in reality. In this situation a relation just for show, one that's not the real deal, would be called "just business." 'Real' and 'business' are thought to be completely separate, and 'on bad terms' and 'intimate' are treated as exclusive. This is the classical mechanics understanding of relations.

In this system, you cannot explain the following states:

On stage they pretended to get on well, but at some point the distinction between stage and reality started to blur.

Behind the scenes they were like a cat and a dog, but even so, they respected each other's skill.

There should have been no strong feelings towards the other party, but it's unpleasant when they're close to someone else.

Despite being polar opposites with the other party, they can't help but think of them even when they're not around, to one's own annoyance.

...Something along these lines.

We need something that can handle not just discrete '0' and '1' states, but various aspects tying people together and their complex changes over time. This would be the notion of "relationship".

As a side note, even within the classical mechanics model of relations there are still some ambiguities. A good example would be 'more than friends, less than lovers.' However, this still places "friends" and "lovers" on the same line and points to a segment on that line. It's not suited for describing anything more complex than that.

Much like how modern physics is built on the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, a more subtle approach is required to talk about the interactions between the multitude of aspects.

Even given the same initial state, interactions between humans won't necessarily display the same predicted behavior. They won't take the same form, and will keep constantly changing, so much so that a snapshot in time would be meaningless. "Relationship" expresses this kind of dynamic interaction.

So when asked "What are their relations?", a modern otaku will keep their mouth shut.

Because you cannot describe it with a few words. No matter the answer, you will feel like you missed something. Because if it's not based on the process and context of how the relation came to be, you know there will be something you just won't be able to convey.

There are relationships in this world that can only be described as "there is a relationship."

Seeking to gain even a slightly deeper understanding of them, everyone desperately chases after more information. Because, like collecting the pieces of a complex puzzle, they want to increase the accuracy of their own perception. However, by following relationships you will learn the horrifying truth that it leads to a swamp with no bottom.

Human relationships, when viewed from the outside, can only be perceived up to a certain level. Anything that doesn't appear outside can only be known by those in the relationship itself. Above all, it physically cannot be observed.

Yes, they're "unobservable."

This is an important point about modern relationships. No matter how hard you try, you cannot understand others' relationships. No matter how strongly you imagine it, based on the information that's out there, it will be just that: your imagination. And even while you're imagining, the relationship keeps building up out of your sight.

This is, in fact, the same for fictional characters as well as for real ones. Even though something crucial may be happening where an otaku can't see it, they will never know about it. This is the notion of "don't understand a thing.'

When you try to observe a relationship, you will hit this wall no matter how much you increase the resolution. But on the other side of this semi-transparent wall you can see an incredibly bright, bare 'love' shining through.

Relationships are but one of the forms 'love' manifests in the world. Those drawn in by its dazzling light, burning themselves to ashes, are the 'extreme otaku'. How pitiful.

Please be careful all of you.

[bwhitex]

American Leftist as the Political Cuck Mind

“In the mind of the political cucks, the United States, is a rentable hegemon for foreign cultures to migrate to and use to influence events in their homelands. Groups may band together, forming influential political alliances that overshadow the interests of the nation's founders', and even their descendants. This approach represents a skewed perspective, favoring self-interest over communal legacy and courage.”

This quoted that I came up with portrays a perspective where the United States is seen as a power that individuals and collectives from other nations can move to and then use as a base to impact their countries of origin. This viewpoint is technically called diaspora politics, but also suggests that as these groups form and gain influence, they might overshadow the intents and visions of the nation's founders and their descendants. The underlying concern here is that these actions could be driven by self-interest rather than a dedication to the shared values and collective bravery that are part of America's heritage.

In simpler terms, this take suggests that when people come to America and focus on their own goals, especially those tied to where they came from, they might unintentionally shift the focus away from the common good. It's as if everyone is playing a game of tug-of-war, pulling in directions that benefit their personal agendas. As a result, the fabric of what the U.S. stands for could start to fray. The big idea of sticking together and looking out for each other gets lost if we're all too busy competing for our own interests. The fear is that this might lead to a loss of the shared stories, values, and sense of unity that have held the country together. If this happens, the trust in our institutions and leaders could erode, as people might think they're just in it for themselves. It's a warning that the U.S. needs to balance welcoming new influences with preserving the collective spirit that has defined the nation. So how does their social force happen anyways?

Exploring the Social Fabric and Decoding Our Collective Dynamics

In the complex of society of the star spangle banner, people often seek to understand how various elements come together to shape the world we live in. A thought-provoking way to examine these dynamics is through an intriguing formula that might look like something straight out of a mathematics textbook, yet it speaks to the very human experience of social interaction:

F_s = (1 / CLC) * (SI * ST + SI * C + SI * I + SI * MD + SI * PP) - (SC + CH + TI + PG + GR)

Let's break down this equation into everyday language and explore what each piece really stands for in our communities though. The social force, represented by F_s , is determined by the inverse of communal legacy and courage, (CLC) , multiplied by the sum of self-interest, (SI) , interacting with various social issues such as short-termism (ST) , conflict (C ), inequality (I), moral decline ( MD), and political polarization ( PP ). This product is then reduced by the sum of positive social factors such as social cohesion ( SC ), cultural heritage ( CH ), trust in institutions ( TI ), the availability of public goods ( PG ), and the global reputation ( GR ). The result is the net social force which could either be positive or negative, indicating either a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on society.

Why Did I Use?

In the metaphorical equation provided, the number one is used in the context of an inverse relationship. It's situated in the denominator alongside the term 'Communal Legacy and Courage' (CLC) to indicate that as CLC increases, its effect on the social force, denoted as F_s, becomes inversely smaller. The use of 1 here is like a constant that represents wholeness and unity, suggesting that a strong communal legacy and courage can reduce the negative impact of various societal challenges.

By placing 1 over CLC, the equation highlights the importance of communal legacy and courage in scaling the outcomes of social interactions. It's a common approach in mathematical expressions to use 1 as a normalizing factor, ensuring consistent units or scale of the result. When it comes to metaphorical equations, the actual numerical value is less important than the conceptual relationships it illustrates. Here, the number 1 serves as a stable reference point, a baseline against which the influence of communal ties and historical valor on society's well-being is measured.

The Foundation is Communal Legacy and Courage (CLC)

At the heart of our societal strength is what we can call: Communal Legacy and Courage (CLC). Think of it as the inherited wisdom and bravery of our forebears that shapes how we tackle today's challenges. When this foundation is strong, it seems to turn down the volume on the chaos that can otherwise dominate our social lives.

The Catalyst is Self-Interest (SI)

Self-Interest (SI) is a thread that runs through the entire equation, hinting at how our personal desires and goals are a driving force in society. This isn't necessarily selfish; it's just human nature. Our individual ambitions can be a powerful engine for progress, depending on how they interact with other societal elements.

The Challenges

Short-Termism (ST)

Short-Termism, (ST), when mixed with self-interest, captures our often myopic focus on the immediate rewards rather than the long haul. It's the societal equivalent of choosing instant gratification over enduring success.

Conflict (C)

Conflict (C) reflects, the inevitable clashes that happen when people with different views and interests cross paths. When fueled by self-interest, these disagreements can turn from sparks into wildfires, threatening the social peace.

Inequality (I)

Inequality (I), is about the gaps between the haves and the have-nots. When self-interest leads to a few getting more while many get less, the stability of society is at risk.

Moral Decline (MD)

Moral Decline(MD), suggests a slipping of societal values and norms. It's what happens when self-interest overshadows what's right, and personal gain trumps ethical considerations.

Political Polarization (PP)

Political Polarization (PP), describes the growing divide in political beliefs. Self-interest here amplifies the us-versus-them mentality, making it harder to find common ground.

The Stabilizers

Social Cohesion (SC)

Social Cohesion (SC), is the glue that holds society together. It's the community spirit that combats the divisive effects of self-interest and the various challenges we face.

Cultural Heritage (CH)

Cultural Heritage (CH), represents our shared history and traditions. It's a stabilizing force, reminding us of our collective identity and the stories that unite us.

Trust in Institutions (TI)

Trust in Institutions (TI), is about our faith in the systems and structures that govern us. When we trust that these institutions work for our benefit, it helps to counterbalance the more disruptive forces in society.

Availability of Public Goods (PG)

The Availability of Public Goods, (PG) is about having access to resources and services that benefit everyone. Good schools, clean water, and safe roads are examples. When these are available, they help smooth out societal wrinkles caused by self-interest.

Global Reputation (GR)

Global Reputation (GR), reflects how the rest of the world sees us. A strong reputation can lead to international support and opportunities, which in turn can mitigate some of the internal pressures we face.

Understanding this "social force equation" gives us a glimpse into the push and pull of societal dynamics. It's about recognizing that while our personal desires shape our actions, they don't exist in a vacuum. They interact with a host of broader issues that can either destabilize or strengthen our collective existence. Through this lens, we can appreciate the delicate balance required to maintain a society that is both vibrant and stable.

Conclusion

In a world teeming with diverse individual aspirations and collective goals, understanding the forces that shape societal dynamics is crucial. The tug-of-war between self-interest and the pursuit of communal legacy has been the subject of scholarly debates for decades. Modern research suggests that this interplay is far from being a simple dichotomy and instead operates within a vast spectrum of social motivations and behaviors.

Historically, self-interest has been painted with a rather unidimensional brush, often associated with selfishness and short-term gains. However, in contemporary times there is a more nuanced view. For instance, one could argue that self-interest, when aligned with ethical standards, can lead to innovation and societal progress. This equation did not highlight how personal gains, in the form of entrepreneurship, can contribute to community development and job creation. Instead, it talked about the problems that need to be addressed and the process of how they unfold.

The concept of communal legacy extends beyond mere altruism. It encompasses a set of values and practices that ensure the long-term welfare and resilience of communities. Community-driven initiatives in the U.S. showcase the profound impact of collective efforts in social, and political sustainability, and preservation of cultural heritage. These things often require the sacrifice of immediate personal benefits for the sake of future generations.

The interaction between self-interest and communal legacy is intricate. The equation presented is a model where these forces are antagonistic, but there can be synergistic. The pursuit of self-interest can lead to the development of skills and resources that, when channeled appropriately, enhance communal strength and legacy.

The implications of this dynamic are vast. Policymakers and social planners are tasked with creating environments where the pursuit of personal goals does not come at the expense of communal well-being. This balance is delicate and requires a deep understanding of the motivational factors that drive individuals and communities.

As we forge ahead, the challenge remains to cultivate societies where self-interest and communal legacy do not just coexist but collaborate. Further research in this domain is imperative. By harnessing the power of self-interest in service of the community, we can aspire to create a legacy that is not only enduring but also enriching.

The Complex Web of Self-Interest and Community Legacy in Society invites us to explore the multifaceted nature of our actions and their broader implications. It encourages a reflection on the balance needed to maintain an environment where individual and communal interests harmoniously coexist - a balance that is the essence of societal progress and stability.

[hollosene]

"Marvel of the Snow Gems" by Wilson A. Bentley

"What magic is there in the rule of six that compels the snowflake to conform so rigidly to its laws? Here is a gem bestrewn realm of nature possessing the charm of mystery, of the unknown, sure richly to reward the investigator. For something over a quarter of a century I have been studying it and the work has proved to be wonderfully fascinating, for each favorable snowfall, during all these years has brought things that were new and beautiful to my hand. I have never yet found a time when I could entertain an idea of relinquishing it. During the time that I have carried on the work, I have secured sixteen hundred photo-micrographs of snow crystals alone, and no two are alike. Is there room for enthusiasm here? Doubtless these pictures serve to represent with some fairness almost every type and variety of snow that occurs in nature, but they show scarcely an infinitesimal fraction of the individual variation of form and interior design among the countless myriads of crystals comprising each type.

The clouds, and the tiny liquid particles - water dust- of which they consist, play no part in true snow crystal formation. They coalesce only to form the amorphous - granular - varieties of the snow, or to coat true, mature crystals with granular material. The true crystals, forming the bulk of the snowfall, are formed directly from the almost infinitely small and invisible molecules of Water in solution within the air, and floating between the vastly larger cloud particles.

Most of the crystals are, of course, imperfect, made so especially during thick and heavy snowfalls, largely as a result of crowding and bunching during development, or to fracturing due to violent winds. In general, the western quadrants of wide spread storms furnish the majority of the more perfect tabular shapes. As a rule low clouds, if relatively warm, tend to produce the more rapidly growing open branching forms, and the inter mediate and upper clouds, if relatively much colder, the more solid, close columnar and tabular forms. Sometimes, however, crystals differing but slightly or not at all from Those falling from storm clouds, drop out of apparently cloud-free skies. Much wonder has been excited, because the snow crystals exhibit such a bewildering diversity and beauty. They form with in a very thin gaseous solvent, the air, and this allows the molecules of water an unexampled freedom of motion and adjustment while arranging themselves in crystal form.

The fact doubtless largely explains why the crystals of snow far exceed other crystals in complexity and symmetry. Snow crystals, like all crystals of water, develop under the hexagonal system and invariably divide into six. Nothing absolutely certain is known as to why they grow thus, except as it is assumed that the number and arrangement of the attractive and repellent poles possessed by the molecules of water, impose this habit of growth upon them. This dividing into six is necessarily discussed and best explained in somewhat technical sounding terms. We may assume each water particle or molecule possesses two opposite primary poles, positive and negative, corresponding in direction with the main tabular axis of the crystals, and in addition three of six equidistant secondary poles arranged around what may be called the equatorial diameter of the molecules. Water, being a dia magnetic substance, and susceptible to polar repulsion, presumably has a tendency to arrange itself thus, in a position between and at right angles to the primary electro-magnetic poles. This alignment of the lines of growth, opposite to the lines of greater magnetic force, would compel the crystals of snow to grow mainly outward in the directions of their equatorial diameters and secondary poles. This theory would perhaps best explain why the crystals grow upon thin tabular or in the hollow columnar form, and increase so little in the direction of their main axes, that is, in the direction in which, it is assumed their main positive and negative poles lie.

Each of the six parts or segments of the crystals, while in process of growth, increases simultaneously outward, yet each one usually grows independently and by itself. So each of the six parts may, for all practical purposes, be considered as being a separate crystal by itself, and the whole as being an aggregate of growing crystals. And the law under which they form not only gives them a general hexagonal plan of growth, but in addition gives them two specific secondary habits of growth under the same plan. We may best distinguish these as the outward or ray habit, and the concentric or layer habits of growth respectively. The ray habit causes growth to occur always outward and away from the nucleus. This tends to produce open branching forms. Crystals that grow rapidly, or within relatively warm low clouds, usually build upon this plan. In the case of the concentric or layer habit, growth tends to arrange itself in massive form, around the nucleus. This tends to produce the close, solid flakes. Slowly growing crystals, as the columnar, form solid tabular hexagons, and all such as crystallize in a very cold atmosphere, or at great altitudes, usually grow according to this latter habit.

Snow producing clouds, if single, are perhaps as a rule of some depth, or if double, or multiple, vary one with another in temperature. The growth, habits and conditions under which the crystals form therefore are commonly unstable, with a multiplicity of diverse conditions, tending to hasten or to retard their rates of development, and momentarily, at least, to change or modify their forms. This state of things may cause them to grow after solid plans at one moment and altitude, after branching plans at another, after composite plans at yet others, and tends to cause them to become increasingly complex in outline and structure as growth progresses.

In those especial cases where the crystals form and grow wholly within a single relatively thin and uniform cloud, as within low detached clouds, for instance, they are likely to follow from start to finish after one single, uniform plan, and all be very much like each other. The frail branching snow crystals, falling during snow flurries, are oftentimes of this character. In some cases, the crystals will form composite fashion, after but two specific plans. A solid, mosaic centerpiece portion will form within a cold upper air stratum and, falling earthward, acquire branching additions at some lower, warmer level. Composite crystals of this character perhaps exceed all others in beauty of design, combining into one, as they do, the two most beautiful types of snow.

It is all most marvelous and mysterious, these changing habits of growth, and this momentary shifting about of the points of maximum development. Growth ofttimes occurs in alternate order, first at the corners of the hexagon, and then at the sides. In some cases, this pendulum-like swing of outgrowth may continue from beginning to end.

But perhaps the most wonderful fact of all is the marvelously symmetrical way in which all this is accomplished. If a set of spangles or branches, or tiny hexagons or other adornments, form and grow at certain points upon any one of the six, or alternate, rays, or segments, similar or identical ones are almost sure to form at the same places and moments on all of the others, so that the balance of form is always kept unimpaired. It appears as if the magic that does this might be, in part at least, of an electric nature, and due to the presence of tiny electric charges around their peripheries. Would not the presence at certain points, and the absence at others, of tiny electric charges, shifting momentarily about, as fresh charges collected, and causing momentary realignments in the locations of the several charges, stimulate growth at certain points and retard it at others? It seems worth while tentatively to advance this theory, as a possible explanation of these perplexing mysteries. But it is a fascinating mystery this, that the crystals assume such a marvelous diversity of form, though forced by the crystallographic law under which they come into being to assume always the hexagonal form. Six rays or parts, there always are, yet what an amazing variety these parts exhibit among themselves. Individual crystals of the open, branching variety, differ one from another, in the shape, size or thickness of their primary rays and these rays in turn, in the number, size or shape, of the secondary branches that they possess. Those of solid tabular form differ as to their layers, or segments, and in the number and arrangement of the air tubes and shadings within them.

Similarly those of a quasi-open formation vary in individual cases. In their spangles, the tiny hexagons composing them, as well as in the way in which these are combined with each other, or with rays, and arranged around the central nucleus. Yet in innumerable cases the crystals assume, at some one or more stages of growth, identical forms and outlines. It often happens that their nuclei, or ultimate outlines are alike, yet it seems to be rarely the case that any two pass through a long series of such changes of form. Hence the astonishing variety.

Snow crystals are noted among crystals, because they bridge over and include within themselves so much of the solvent, air, wherein they form. This remarkable habit, in connection with the multitudinous changes of form, gives great richness and complexity to their interior designs, and lends endless interest to their study. The air tubes and shadings have a biographical value, for they outline more or less perfectly, transitionary forms. The air tubes are largely formed while the crystals or parts of such, are in process of solidification, as at the moment when branch unites to branch, layer to layer, or segment to segment, and so growth may be traced through its successive stages.

The snow crystals being, in the truest sense, exquisite works of art in themselves, charmingly adapt themselves to a great variety of uses in the industrial arts, and in various other ways. These uses are steadily broadening, though they and their artistic possibilities have been as yet hardly discovered or realized by artisans in general. Metal workers and wall paper manufacturers are, however, beginning to realize their value, and there should be a great field of usefulness for them in these lines. They also seem well adapted for use in designing patterns for porcelain, china, glassware and many other things. Silk manufacturers are beginning to see their adaptability as patterns. Their value as models in the realm of pure art is also being demonstrated. Their uses as models in schools of art, and craft shops are steadily increasing. Only recently Dr. Denman W. Ross, lecturer at Harvard on the theory of pure design, has adopted a large number for classroom use. Prof. James Ward Stimsom used them to illustrate the ‘‘beauty of nature's art,' in his book, ‘‘The Gate Beautiful.'

Perhaps their greatest field of usefulness, however, is along other lines as objects for nature study, and for illustrating the forms of water. They should be invaluable to the crystallographer, for they show the forms and habits of growth of crystals in a most charming way. Certain it is that normal and high schools, universities and museums both here and abroad, are finding them most useful in an educational way. One university alone - Wisconsin - has over one thousand lantern slides of snowflakes. Indeed it seems likely that these wonderful bits of pure beauty from the skies will soon come into their own, and receive the full appreciation and study to which their exquisite loveliness and great scientific interest entitle them."

(printed by the Technical World then featured in The History of Jericho Vermont)

Wilson Bentley Gouttes de rosée (Dewdrops), circa 1900

[sunaleisocial]

When Earth iced over, early life may have sheltered in meltwater ponds

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/when-earth-iced-over-early-life-may-have-sheltered-in-meltwater-ponds/

When Earth iced over, early life may have sheltered in meltwater ponds

When the Earth froze over, where did life shelter? MIT scientists say one refuge may have been pools of melted ice that dotted the planet’s icy surface.

In a study appearing today in Nature Communications, the researchers report that 635 million to 720 million years ago, during periods known as “Snowball Earth,” when much of the planet was covered in ice, some of our ancient cellular ancestors could have waited things out in meltwater ponds.

The scientists found that eukaryotes — complex cellular lifeforms that eventually evolved into the diverse multicellular life we see today — could have survived the global freeze by living in shallow pools of water. These small, watery oases may have persisted atop relatively shallow ice sheets present in equatorial regions. There, the ice surface could accumulate dark-colored dust and debris from below, which enhanced its ability to melt into pools. At temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Celsius, the resulting meltwater ponds could have served as habitable environments for certain forms of early complex life.

The team drew its conclusions based on an analysis of modern-day meltwater ponds. Today in Antarctica, small pools of melted ice can be found along the margins of ice sheets. The conditions along these polar ice sheets are similar to what likely existed along ice sheets near the equator during Snowball Earth.

The researchers analyzed samples from a variety of meltwater ponds located on the McMurdo Ice Shelf in an area that was first described by members of Robert Falcon Scott’s 1903 expedition as “dirty ice.” The MIT researchers discovered clear signatures of eukaryotic life in every pond. The communities of eukaryotes varied from pond to pond, revealing a surprising diversity of life across the setting. The team also found that salinity plays a key role in the kind of life a pond can host: Ponds that were more brackish or salty had more similar eukaryotic communities, which differed from those in ponds with fresher waters.

“We’ve shown that meltwater ponds are valid candidates for where early eukaryotes could have sheltered during these planet-wide glaciation events,” says lead author Fatima Husain, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). “This shows us that diversity is present and possible in these sorts of settings. It’s really a story of life’s resilience.”

The study’s MIT co-authors include Schlumberger Professor of Geobiology Roger Summons and former postdoc Thomas Evans, along with Jasmin Millar of Cardiff University, Anne Jungblut at the Natural History Museum in London, and Ian Hawes of the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Polar plunge

“Snowball Earth” is the colloquial term for periods of time in Earth history during which the planet iced over. It is often used as a reference to the two consecutive, multi-million-year glaciation events which took place during the Cryogenian Period, which geologists refer to as the time between 635 and 720 million years ago. Whether the Earth was more of a hardened snowball or a softer “slushball” is still up for debate. But scientists are certain of one thing: Most of the planet was plunged into a deep freeze, with average global temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius. The question has been: How and where did life survive?

“We’re interested in understanding the foundations of complex life on Earth. We see evidence for eukaryotes before and after the Cryogenian in the fossil record, but we largely lack direct evidence of where they may have lived during,” Husain says. “The great part of this mystery is, we know life survived. We’re just trying to understand how and where.”

There are a number of ideas for where organisms could have sheltered during Snowball Earth, including in certain patches of the open ocean (if such environments existed), in and around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and under ice sheets. In considering meltwater ponds, Husain and her colleagues pursued the hypothesis that surface ice meltwaters may also have been capable of supporting early eukaryotic life at the time.

“There are many hypotheses for where life could have survived and sheltered during the Cryogenian, but we don’t have excellent analogs for all of them,” Husain notes. “Above-ice meltwater ponds occur on Earth today and are accessible, giving us the opportunity to really focus in on the eukaryotes which live in these environments.”

Small pond, big life

For their new study, the researchers analyzed samples taken from meltwater ponds in Antarctica. In 2018, Summons and colleagues from New Zealand traveled to a region of the McMurdo Ice Shelf in East Antarctica, known to host small ponds of melted ice, each just a few feet deep and a few meters wide. There, water freezes all the way to the seafloor, in the process trapping dark-colored sediments and marine organisms. Wind-driven loss of ice from the surface creates a sort of conveyer belt that brings this trapped debris to the surface over time, where it absorbs the sun’s warmth, causing ice to melt, while surrounding debris-free ice reflects incoming sunlight, resulting in the formation of shallow meltwater ponds.

The bottom of each pond is lined with mats of microbes that have built up over years to form layers of sticky cellular communities.

“These mats can be a few centimeters thick, colorful, and they can be very clearly layered,” Husain says.

These microbial mats are made up of cyanobacteria, prokaryotic, single-celled photosynthetic organisms that lack a cell nucleus or other organelles. While these ancient microbes are known to survive within some of the the harshest environments on Earth including meltwater ponds, the researchers wanted to know whether eukaryotes — complex organisms that evolved a cell nucleus and other membrane bound organelles — could also weather similarly challenging circumstances. Answering this question would take more than a microscope, as the defining characteristics of the microscopic eukaryotes present among the microbial mats are too subtle to distinguish by eye.

To characterize the eukaryotes, the team analyzed the mats for specific lipids they make called sterols, as well as genetic components called ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA), both of which can be used to identify organisms with varying degrees of specificity. These two independent sets of analyses provided complementary fingerprints for certain eukaryotic groups. As part of the team’s lipid research, they found many sterols and rRNA genes closely associated with specific types of algae, protists, and microscopic animals among the microbial mats. The researchers were able to assess the types and relative abundance of lipids and rRNA genes from pond to pond, and found the ponds hosted a surprising diversity of eukaryotic life.

“No two ponds were alike,” Husain says. “There are repeating casts of characters, but they’re present in different abundances. And we found diverse assemblages of eukaryotes from all the major groups in all the ponds studied. These eukaryotes are the descendants of the eukaryotes that survived the Snowball Earth. This really highlights that meltwater ponds during Snowball Earth could have served as above-ice oases that nurtured the eukaryotic life that enabled the diversification and proliferation of complex life — including us — later on.”

This research was supported, in part, by the NASA Exobiology Program, the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life, and a MISTI grant from MIT-New Zealand.

[vuole-tu-sia-in-pericolo]

The mind behind gender in My Brilliant Friend and The Queen's Gambit

I kind of lost count of the number of times I have gone back to the characters of Beth Harmon and Lila Cerullo with Elena Greco. One from The Queen's Gambit and the other 2 from My Brilliant Friend. There are not many shows that depict the complexities of the female experience. The type of woman who can not be fit into the madonna-whore box or the prude, the one who is brilliant in mind but at the same time lives in a constant battle with the world because of this.

In both depictions, this topic is explored in different forms; Beth Harmon is autistic, and that immediately puts her into the outlines of the society she lives in. She takes chess as her refuge because it is the only thing that makes sense in her mind, the only thing she can control in comparison with how uncontrollable life is and with the social dynamics that, for an autistic woman, are like dealing with blurry words. She does want closeness, but her limitations are too mixed up with the lack of stability growing up. Most of her dynamics with her loved ones are faced with the wall of emotional disconnection that can be a consequence of her autism and trauma.

In Elena Ferrante's trilogy, My Brilliant Friend, femininity is depicted between these 2 women as a violent scream of self-assurance, as freedom itself. Lila manifests this with quickness of mind through actions, even though life prevented her from reaching her fullest potential in academia. She kept trying to maintain a high level of awareness of the realities she lived and how to play the mental gymnastics while dealing with the camorra (the mafia). No book can give you the proper steps to handle those kinds of situations, only enough cunning and high attention to people's intentions, knowing how to read people's unsaid cryptic words.

On the polar opposite, there's Elena Greco, a booksmart who hides her insecurities behind books due to her mother's envy for her opportunities. The only woman in the town who was given the opportunity to be someone other than just a married woman. Through her story, she starts writing, thinking of Lila, her friend who always challenges her mentally and the source of her drive to be better, even if in some moments there was a tangible rivalry. A rivalry that is addictive only when you find someone who pushes you without any kindness, just to find out how much you can push each other, to the point of provocation.

“Lila was able to speak through writing; unlike me when I wrote, unlike Sarratore in his articles and poems, unlike even many writers I had read and was reading, she expressed herself in sentences that were well constructed and without error, even though she had stopped going to school, but–further–she left no trace of effort; you weren't aware of the artifice of the written word. I read and I saw her, I heard her. The voice set in the writing overwhelmed me, enthralled me even more than when we talked face to face; it was completely cleansed of the dross of speech, of the confusion of the oral; it had the vivid orderliness that I imagined would belong to conversation if one were so fortunate as to be born from the head of Zeus and not from the Grecos, the Cerullos.”

― Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend

You still waste time with those things, Lenu? We are flying over a ball of fire. The part that has cooled floats on the lava. On that part, we construct the buildings, the bridges, and the streets, and every so often, the lava comes out of Vesuvius or causes an earthquake that destroys everything. There are microbes everywhere that make us sick and die. There are wars. There is a poverty that makes us all cruel. Every second, something might happen that will cause you such suffering that you'll never have enough tears. And what are you doing? A theology course in which you struggle to understand what the Holy Spirit is? Forget it; it was the Devil who invented the world, not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do you want to see the string of pearls that Stefano gave me?”

― Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend

From the outside, Lenu is not as thrilling to watch as Lila, but in my eyes, I kind of relate to her intentions; her hesitance is in some ways, her virtue. It was a way of survival in a violent world that eventually, with patience through her studies, allowed her to show that rebellion. Once she started to write and publish her work, until that moment, she became a problem; she revelled too much and talked too much.

She's far away from a perfect character; for moments, we question her decisions, the same as Lila. She can become too unpleasant, rude or even confrontational for the rest .

 There's even a part of the book and in the tv series in the 4th season when Lila openly explains her reason behind this.

"She was like that; she threw things off balance just to see if she could put them back in some other way."

— Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend

No man can understand deeply this idea; they might understand it superficially, what it is, but never to the point of the feeling of being reduced to a mother, a pretty thing that walks for the sake of fulfilling the loneliness of another. Even if conforming is keeping up with the man while he focuses on his endeavours, meanwhile, you are repeating the expectation of following the care of a child on your own. Most of the time, from what I have seen (not always, since there are some cases), the men prioritize their commodity, possibly the title of being a father, but not the parenting part. 

In the case of Lila's, she violently fought against that expectation to the point of having an abortion through hard labour.

On the other extreme, Lenu indulges herself into a doomed affair. Can you blame her after she ended up having all the burden on her shoulders? Neglecting her dreams, her writing. The only one who still didn't see her in those reductive societal terms was the only friend who kept challenging her. Questioning her thoughts, her decisions.

 Elena Ferrante's way of showing womanhood is visceral, far away from reductive topics. Is the grief of how time is cruel when we are reduced as objects of desire to be filled and dropped after no longer being the muse of another. I always heard from other women that being a woman means living in cycles. We are cyclical with our periods, from the moment we have our first stain of blood and the fear we have that we are no longer a child but a woman with the fear of what it implies. Your first breakup, your first sexual encounters, and the confusion it leaves. Seeing women using it as a tool for control or survival. It's like, " or I use it to my advantage, or it will be used against me." And the decay.. Womanhood is a constant loss of the perceptions society says you are.

I'm not as logically gifted as Beth Harmon or confident enough to defy someone who is actively hurting you like Lila's. Maybe I fall into the same insecurities and approach to things as Lenu. I tend to retreat behind books and random articles, constantly questioning if my efforts are sufficient. Finding things to not disappoint.

Lila and Lenu are not like this, not even Beth Hamon. The mind is their survival and a rebellion against those barriers. Time may pass, but their spirits will remain, and to me, that is the most beautiful depiction of what it means to be a woman in this violent world.

[govindhtech]

Xanadu Achieves Scalable Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill States

States Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill

Xanadu leads photonic quantum computing with their development of a scalable building block for  fault-tolerant quantum computers. The achievement involves on-chip Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill state production and was initially reported in January 2025 by Nature and summarised in June 2025. “First-of-its-kind achievement” and “key step towards scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing” describe this work.

Understanding GKP States' Importance

GKP states are error-tolerant photonic qubits. These complex quantum states consist of photons stacked in specific ways. Due to its unique structure, quantum error correcting methods may identify and fix phase shifts and photon loss. Zachary Vernon, CTO of Xanadu, calls GKP states “the optimal photonic qubit” because they enable quantum logic operations and error correction “at room temperature and using relatively straightforward, deterministic operations.” It has always been challenging to construct high-quality Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill States on an integrated platform. This discovery advances continuous-variable quantum computing architectures by overcoming that obstacle.

GKP states provide fault-tolerant computing by using linear optics and measurement algorithms, unlike probabilistic entanglement methods that require repeated trials and complex feed-forward control. They fit well with hybrid systems because they generate quantum networks that link chips or modules or create larger cluster states for measurement-based computation.

Quantum systems' interoperability with optical fibre makes scaling easy, allowing them to be distributed among system components or data centres. This demonstration changed photonic quantum computing by taking a different approach from superconducting and trapped-ion platforms and bringing these systems closer to utility-scale quantum machine error thresholds.

Aurora: Photonic Quantum Computing Architectur

The “sub-performant scale model of a quantum computer” “Aurora” represents Xanadu's work. This system uses scalable, rack-deployed modules connected by fibre optics to incorporate all basic components. With 35 photonic devices, 84 squeezers, and 36 photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors, Aurora provides 12 physical qubit modes each clock cycle. All system components except the cryogenic PNR detection array are operated by a single server computer and fit into four server racks.

Aurora's key technologies and their functions:

Silicon nitride waveguides feature minimal optical losses. This waveguide uses 300 mm wafers, which are common in semiconductor production. Newer chips based on Ligentec SA's 200-mm silicon-nitride waveguide architecture show potential for better squeezing and lower chip-fiber coupling losses.

The efficiency of photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors is above 99%. In 12-mK dilution coolers, 36 transition edge sensor (TES) arrays form its base. These TES detectors cycle at 1 MHz and detect up to seven photon counts with little miscategorization error. Despite being highly effective, PNR detection efficiencies of over 99% are needed to meet the architecture's strict P1 path loss constraints.

Loss-optimized optical packaging—including accurate alignment, chip mounting, and fibre connections—was emphasised. This protects critical quantum information during routing and measurement.

The refinery array has six photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on a thin-film lithium-niobate substrate. Each refinery's two binary trees of electro-optic Mach-Zehnder modulator switches dynamically select the best output state based on PNR detection system feedforward instructions. Even though current Aurora refinery chips use probability-boosting multiplexing and Bell pair synthesis, future generations will use homodyne detectors to complete the adaptive breeding method.

Interconnects: Phase- and polarization-stabilized fiber-optical delay lines connect the refinery to QPU and refinery modules. These delays allow temporal entanglement and buffer information heralding in the cluster state.

Experiments and Results

Two large trials benchmarked Aurora's main features.

To generate a 12 × N-mode Gaussian cluster state, the system was set to send squeezed states to the QPU array. Data was collected at 1 MHz for two hours to synthesise and measure a macronode cluster state with 86.4 billion modes. Despite substantial optical losses (approximately 14 dB), the nullifier variances remained below the vacuum noise threshold, proving squeezing and cluster state entanglement.

Detecting Repetition Code Errors: This experiment showed the system's feedforward and non-Gaussian-state synthesis using low-quality GKP states. In real time, the QPU decoder assessed the system's two (foliated) repetition code checks. The decoder calculated bit values and phase error probabilities to change the measurement basis for the next time step.

Limitations and Prospects

Despite these notable examples, the “component performance gap” between existing capabilities and fault tolerance needs remains large. The main limiter of quantum state purity and coherence is optical loss. Ideal designs for fault-tolerant operation require loss budgets of about 1%, whereas the Aurora system lost 56% for heralding pathways (P1) and nearly 95% for heralded optical paths (P1 and P2).

Xanadu's future projects include:

Hardware improvements: Chip fabrication, waveguide geometry, and packaging are optimised to improve fidelity and reduce optical loss. The photonic components' insertion loss must be improved by 20-30 times (on a decibel scale).

Architectural Refinements: Testing cutting-edge hardware-level photon generation and detection rates and error mitigation measures to reduce loss and imperfection.

Integration and Scaling: combining the new GKP generation methods with Aurora's networking, error correcting protocols, and logic gates. The company believes scalable, semiconductor-compatible platforms can mass-produce, modify, and monitor error-correcting components for modular quantum computing.

Even though quantum hardware across all platforms is currently in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) period, Xanadu's work shows how to scale photonic quantum computers to address real applications. Fiber-optical networking, classical control electronics, and photonic-chip fabrication can scale and modularise a realistic photonic architecture. We must continuously improve optical GKP-based architectures to find the most hardware-efficient and imperfection-tolerant systems.

[physicallyimprobable]

Hello Ryan I am here to help. So the first step is pretty easy: Three cheeseburgers are worth 18, so each one is worth 6. If these are dollars, that's a steal!

From the second equation we get that cheeseburger plus fries-squared is five. Subtracting cheeseburger, which is six, from both sides, we get that fries-squared is negative-one. Math fans will know that there are two solutions to this; either fries are the "imaginary unit" 𝒾 or they are its negative, -𝒾. We'll do the rest of the problem with 𝒾, keeping in mind that at the end we should also take the complex conjugates as solutions.

Finally, we have that cup to the power of fries, minus cup, equals three. Replacing fries with 𝒾, and moving a cup to the other side, we get that cup-to-the-𝒾 is equal to cup-plus-three.

Now, the weird part about this is the cup-to-the-i. The problem with this is that complex exponentiation is technically not a thing. That is to say, there is no one function which is mathematically equal to "input-to-the-power-of-𝒾". In fact, there are infinitely many such functions.

Fortunately, due to reasons that take about six pages to explain (trust me I've done it), there is one particular function that many people have agreed is "the most reasonable one". This is not a mathematical notion, but a human preference. Seeing as this question was presumably written by a human, I am comfortable with using this function.

So, what function is this? Well, given a complex number r∠θ written in polar form (if you don't know what that means don't worry), where -π < θ ≤ π, then (r∠θ)^𝒾 = e^(-θ)∠ln(r).

Applying this to our problem a value r∠θ will be a possible solution for cup if e^(-θ)∠ln(r) = r∠θ + 3. Splitting this into real and imaginary parts, we get two equations: e^(-θ) cos(ln(r)) = r cos(θ) + 3 and e^(-θ) sin(ln(r)) = r sin(θ). We can graph these equations on Desmos:

The possible values of cup are the intersections between the red, green, and purple. There are infinitely many of these which have an angle of around -π/3, and there are two weirdos: One which is a complex number very close to -2.98, and one which is somewhere around -25. The possible values for cup are all of these infinitely many solutions, and also all of their complex conjugates.

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Forecast Discussion

Product: Forecast Discussion Issued: 2025 Apr 12 0030 UTC Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center Solar Activity .24 hr Summary... Solar activity reached moderate levels following an M1.1 flare at 11/1650 UTC and an M1.0/Sf at 11/2220 UTC from Region 4055 (N08W51, Dkc/beta-gamma), the largest and most active spot group on the disk. This region was also the source of a C7.2/Sf flare at 11/1215 UTC, a C7.4 at 11/1625 UTC, and three C6.8 flares at 11/1638 UTC, 11/1852 UTC, and 11/1859 UTC respectively. This region continued to increased in size and magnetic complexity, and was again responsible for the majority of the flare activity. Region 4058 (N17W53, Cso/beta) was the only other region that exhibited growth during the period, but was mostly inactive throughout. Region 4060 (N07E50, Cao/beta) exhibited weak decay and slight separation in its leader spots. Newly formed Region 4061 (N17E10, Bxo/beta) was numbered, but had already started to show signs of decay as the period progressed. The other numbered active regions were quiescent. No Earth-directed CMEs were identified in available coronagraph imagery. .Forecast... There is an increased chance for M-class flares (R1-R2, Minor-Moderate) on 12-14 Apr due primarily to the flare potential from Regions 4055 and 4060. Energetic Particle .24 hr Summary... The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geostationary orbit was at high levels, reaching a peak value of 3,362 pfu at 11/0230 UTC. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux was at background levels. .Forecast... The 2 MeV electron flux is expected to remain at moderate to high levels through 13 Apr before returning to mostly moderate levels by 14 Apr. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux is expected to be at background levels for the next three days. Solar Wind .24 hr Summary... Solar wind parameters remained slightly enhanced due to influence from a negative polarity CH HSS, and possible early interaction with the anticipated glancing CME. Total magnetic field strength was between 5-8 nT, the Bz component continued to fluctuate between +/-7 nT, and solar wind speeds were predominantly between 400-500 km/s. Phi angle remained firmly oriented in the negative sector. .Forecast... The solar wind environment is expected to continue under CH HSS influence through 14 Apr as the large, negative polarity CH in the southern hemisphere moves into a geoeffective position. Geospace .24 hr Summary... The geomagnetic field was at quiet to active levels, likely in response to continuing CH HSS effects combined with the glancing influence of the expected CME. .Forecast... The geomagnetic field is expected to reach active levels, with G1 (Minor) storm levels likely, on 12 Apr due to influence from a negative polarity CH HSS. Unsettled to active conditions are expected to continue into 13-14 Apr, with a chance for isolated G1 (Minor) periods on 13 Apr, as CH effects persist, yet slowly wane.

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