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Galileoâs Pendulum, by Roger G. Newton [2004] (nominative determinism strikes again!) https://t.co/ceex48sLqv
Interesting that Galileo has an apocryphal story just like Newton does Newton chilling under a tree + falling apple = gravity! Galileo bored in a cathedral + the oscillation of a cathedral = isochronism! Let your mind wander, ponder, wander, piddle with things https://t.co/4WIvmZE9tB
(Feynman idling in a cafeteria + watching a guy fooling around with spinning plates = quantum electrodynamics!) https://t.co/R6GuArM1Dg
I think a lot about how Feynman got his Nobel Prize from âpiddling around with wobbly platesâ. Iâm always looking for wobbly plates to piddle with. And of course the point isnât to get the Prize, but to enjoy the piddling https://t.co/FQNTZdChsN
âOur entire notion of the passage of time is based on the perception of periodic change, on the repeated transition from day to night - the rising and setting of the sun [...] and on the recurrence of the seasons. Time was born of rhythm, and periodicity is part of who we are.â https://t.co/ymCntNOChs
Flying his Winnie Mae westward around the world in 1931, American aviator Wiley Post is reputed to have been the first to explore and record the bothersome phenomenon we now know as jet lag. He died aged 36, doing what he loved. https://t.co/f19THkMTNK https://t.co/UlFUoMwueS
Taking an extra moment to appreciate Wiley Post. Thanks Wiley. Your legacy lives on in the skies âď¸ https://t.co/8MZKjPvDMO
Ok, so circadian rhythms, whassup? Circadian is literally âcirca diesâ, ie âabout a dayâ. A bunch of human body functions follow a daily rhythm: pulse rate, deep body temperature, kidney activity and over 100+ other physiological and psychological variables https://t.co/9OPyC4nXiu
âThe autonomy of biological clocks is now a well-established fact. Isolated from environmental cues, the human circadian system proceeds at a fairly uniform speed that is *longer* than the 24-hour day.â Our internal clock is slow by about an hour a day, but gets reset daily đ¤ https://t.co/OkgydRLdlK
Cute & cool: the snowshoe hare changes colours for camouflage. But it doesnât know what month it is - it relies on a circadian timer to keep track of the daylight:darkness ratio. If you blindfold it in July (omg đ) it starts changing color earlier đâ¤ď¸ https://t.co/d6nDaHTv2I https://t.co/NeIbHB19Vx
Some crabs living in coastal waters have circa-tidal clocks. Other maritime animals have spawning and fertility governed by timers geared directly to the moon. Rhythmic behavior appears to be a property of most biological systems https://t.co/eWmPqTbaHt
Swiss physician Auguste Forel was eating breakfast one morning in 1910 and noticed bees at his jam jar. Subsequently, he noticed they came right before breakfast - even if there was no food. Since they didnât visit at any other time, he concluded they must have a âmemory of timeâ https://t.co/QrrQbMO0LS
Christiaan Huygens is arguably one of the giants who Newton stood on the shoulders of â and his father Constantijn would organize house parties where Descartes would hang out. Constantijn was also mutuals with Galileo and Mersenne https://t.co/3iSamXebWs https://t.co/NfQ17lQ7Wt
~50 years after Erasmus came Marin Mersenne (1588-1648), an ordained Catholic priest who was called "the post-box of Europe". He was mutuals with Descartes, Pascal, Hobbes, Galileo, Huygenes. If you wanted to get something to someone, you sent it to him, and he'd reroute it https://t.co/v8SdXhAROq https://t.co/xnQQQSho7K
