Atoms and Smaller: Cosmos

Cosmos
Author: Carl Sagan 

Another interesting clip from the classic book from Carl Sagan: 

Democritus invented the word atom, Greek for “unable to be cut.” Atoms were the ultimate particles, forever frustrating our attempts to break them into smaller pieces. Everything, he said, is a collection of atoms, intricately assembled. Even we. “Nothing exists,” he said, “but atoms and the void.”

Marinate on that for a second.

Religious Tolerance: The Economist

The Economist
November 24th, 2012

These quotes come from a great article in the Economist about Islam and religious tolerance. I think they did a great job highlighting the fact that followers of Islam are not homogeneous, rather there are various sects all over the world existing within a diverse set of cultures. It also gives me some perspective on the controversial approach of mixing church and state.


Indonesia, for example, demands that people declare themselves as one of six religions; atheism and agnosticism do not count. Egypt’s draft constitution makes room for only three faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

It's always nice to know a quote from a religious text if you are conversing(or debating) with people about religion. I thought this quote is particularly pertinent:

The Koran’s notably tolerant Sura 109 includes words such as “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.”

Legal tricks: The World According to Monsanto

The World According to Monsanto

by Marie Monique-Robin

A great read, The World According to Monsanto provides a startling look at the corporate titan. While discussing the legal problems of Monsanto in regards to their improper PCB disposal in Alabama. It brought up an interesting point about corporations, individual responsibility and the loopholes in our legal system. 

The status of corporations as “persons” in United States law generally shelters company officials from individual liability. “In the American legal system,” said Cook, “it is very rare for executives or managers of companies to be found criminally liable. On the other hand, companies can be sued in civil court, and they are made to pay. But in fact, the damages they pay decades later are only a fraction of their profits. So it pays to keep secrets. I wonder what secrets Monsanto is keeping now. You can never trust a big company like Monsanto to tell us the truth about a product or a pollution problem. Never.”

New word- hyponym: Dictionary

Occasionally I'll post an interesting word that I've learned while reading. I don't claim to have the largest vocabulary so I apologize if these are too low brow for you.

hy·po·nym  n. a word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it. For example, spoon is a hyponym of cutlery. Contrasted with HYPERNYM.