Category Archives: Books

Mimicry in Insects: A Victorian Print signed H. Morin

 Mimicry in  Insects (19th century; restoration by Ptera Hunter, 2020). This plate contains different mimicking insects. Plates like these challenged the 19th century reader to find as many of the creatures as possible, thus discovering their various deceptions.  Check it out and see how many you see before scrolling down to the key. challenged theContinue reading “Mimicry in Insects: A Victorian Print signed H. Morin”

Microlending

Many people need a small loan to get them through a hard time or to expand their business.  Microlenders tend to charge higher interest rates than traditional banks, but they also take more risks.  They loan to many people who might otherwise be turned down for a loan. Kiva is one of these organizations.  TheyContinue reading “Microlending”

Population and Violence?

Spite is a natural behaviour among organisms, just like mutualism and parasitism. Behaviourists define war as a loose-loose interaction in which each party is harmed by the exchange. Among humans, war is typically fought to gain control of resources.  The Nazis’ moved against the Soviet Union and waged war in North Africa primarily to gainContinue reading “Population and Violence?”

On Track for a Societal Collapse Soon

One of the things we look for in good science is the ability to make predictions. In 1972, an MIT team modeled twelve different possible scenarios for the future based upon different responses to the environment. Since then, we have followed the BAU2 (Business as Usual) scenario. Based upon our desire for continued economic growth,Continue reading “On Track for a Societal Collapse Soon”

New in Science: Plastics a Devil’s Bargain

In July, 2021, Science, one of the most prestigious journals in science, dedicated an issue to the ecological threat of plastics. In industrialized societies, avoiding plastics is nearly impossible. From our clothing to our kitchenware and homes, tons of plastics surround us. Plastic waste, including microplastics from our laundries, now pollute the soil and theContinue reading “New in Science: Plastics a Devil’s Bargain”

An Intelligent Spider?

When we think about animal geniuses, arthropods don’t usually top the list of usual suspects. However, one genus of jumping spiders, Portia, includes spiders who have a gift: they can devise hunting strategies and make decisions. Portia makes their livings by hunting other spiders. These eight-legged geniuses do not simply attack; they appear to makeContinue reading “An Intelligent Spider?”

Wasps!

Most of us have an innate suspicion that wasps are ill-tempered beasts that hunt you down like a dog. Not true. Most wasps will not wasp harm you. Many are helpful creatures, and most are beautiful. Many attack crop pests. Only a fraction of wasps are the social wasps that defend themselves with venom. MostContinue reading “Wasps!”

Remembering Ravensbrück

Ravensbrück served as a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women. An estimated 130,000 women were interned there during the Nazi era, and between 30,000 and 50,000 women died there.  It was one of the smaller camps. That did not make it any less horrific. There, women were used like horses, pulling heavy equipment. With sheerContinue reading “Remembering Ravensbrück”