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Oumuamua is the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, it was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, on 19 October 2017, 40 days after it passed its closest point to the Sun. When first seen, it was about 33,000,000 km (21,000,000 mi; 0.22 AU) from Earth (about 85 times as far away as the Moon), and already heading away from the Sun.
The name comes from Hawaiian “oumuamua”, meaning “scout” (from “ou”, meaning “reach out for”, and mua, reduplicated for emphasis, meaning “first, in advance of”), and reflects the way this object is like a scout or messenger sent from the distant past to reach out to humanity.
Hit by Oumuamua would have not meant an extinction level impact for the planet, but it would have unfortunately been enough to hit a city with hundreds of thousands dead and millions injured.
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The following basic characteristics sum up a neophiliac: The ability to adapt rapidly to extreme change. A distaste or downright loathing of tradition, repetition, and routine. A tendency to become bored quickly with old things. A desire, bordering on obsession in some cases, to experience novelty. A corresponding and related desire to create novelty by creating or achieving something and/or by stirring social or other forms of unrest. A complete objection to or distrust of commitment.
Neophile or Neophiliac, a term popularised by cult writer Robert Anton Wilson, is a personality type characterized by a strong affinity for novelty. The term was used earlier by Christopher Booker in his book The Neophiliacs (1969), and by J. D. Salinger in his short story Hapworth 16, 1924 (1965).
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Jonathan Bailey and Jon Harney are two New York City based sound designers forming the alias Poppa Jons – a (tongue-in-cheek) commemoration of the duo’s recent entry into fatherhood.
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In the seventeenth century, Iranian patrons began commissioning large-scale paintings as decoration for palatial interiors. While the use of oil paint on stretched canvases was probably derived from European tradition, the Iranians did not frame the paintings to hang individually on the walls like their European counterparts. Instead the paintings were part of an overall architectural design, fitting neatly into recessed spaces on the walls.
The subject of this portrait, Shahzadeh Navvab Yahya Mirza, was a son of the second ruler of the Qajar dynasty, Fath ‘Ali Shah (reigned 1797 to 1834). His father appointed him at an early age to govern the province of Gilan, near the Caspian Sea. With its emphasis on his costume’s many pearls, his prominently displayed sword, and his European-style pocket watch, the portrait captures the wealth, authority, and modernity of its youthful subject.
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In The Joy of X, a new podcast by Quanta Magazine, acclaimed mathematician and author Steven Strogatz holds intimate, lively conversations with top-tier scientists about their discoveries and the inspirations, frustrations and pleasures along the way. In each episode, Strogatz shares with listeners his passion for scientific inquiry – as one scientist genuinely interested in the inner world of another.
The topics of conversation range from the beginning of time, the power of black holes, the evolution of brains and behaviors, the mathematics of rigged elections, the nature of scientific evidence and how a former NFL player ended up pushing the boundaries of graph theory.
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“Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day.”
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Beginning in the 12th century, ceramics were produced in Iran with a frit body that provided a clean, light surface for painting. The most luxurious of these wares contained luster, added to the surface in a second firing and creating a metallic sheen that complemented mystical texts and images.
While the image on this dish does not appear to be narrative, the presence of a bird, a familiar theme in Persian mystical literature, and human features associated with light (such as the moon-shaped faces) set the tone for the mystical verses appearing in two bands around the rim and interior. The text includes poetry by Rumi’s spiritual master, Shams al-Din Tabrizi (d. 1248), as well as verses believed to have been composed by the lesser-known Baba Afzal al-Din Kashani (d. 1213–14).
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Which is bigger? The number of grains of sand on Earth or the number of stars in the sky? A group of researchers at the University of Hawaii went out and calculated exactly this. They said, if you assume a grain of sand has an average size and you calculate how many grains are in a teaspoon and then multiply by all the beaches and deserts in the world, the Earth has roughly 7.5 × 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains.
With the help of Hubble telescope scientists came up with an estimate of 2003 stars for every grain of sand in the sky. Author and science writer David Blatner says we can find the same number of molecules in just ten drops of water – an equal number to all the stars in the Universe. Mind-boggling? Go read the book.
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Amidst a plethora of online resources one can still buy Xeroxed movie scripts sold by the only friendly script salesman of New York City, South of Houston.
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Horn Bowl
This horn bowl is from Madagascar and a timeless good which is enduring in quality. A true classic for design homeware collector.
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Caran d’Ache Rotary Pencil Sharpener
Paying homage to its fatherland and its creative roots, Caran d’Ache has chosen to produce 4,478 numbered copies of the “Matterhorn” collector’s edition of its rotary pencil sharpener.
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New Tendency Meta Side Table
Meta is a universal side table suitable for living or bedrooms, offices, kid’s rooms or any other place that needs a highlight of its own kind.
