Book Read Free

The Science of Discworld II

Page 40

by Terry Pratchett


  learning 154

  lies 285–6

  music as 264

  ontic dumping 211

  perception of 273

  primary function 284

  speech development 269, 290

  and storytelling 158–9

  Laplace, Pierre Simon de 304, 305

  Law of Supply and Demand 51

  laws of nature 19

  Laws of Thermodynamics 189–93, 196

  lead, alchemy 68

  learning

  cultural evolution 93–4

  from failure 78–9

  Leeuwenhoeck, Antonie van 72, 73

  Leibniz, Gottfried wilhelm 77

  Lemminkainen 157

  Lennox, Annie 273

  lenses, eyes 268

  Leonardo da Vinci 69

  libraries 50

  Library of Congress 50

  lies 340

  detecting 285–6, 289

  and evolution 284–6

  ‘lies-to-adults’ 291–2

  ‘lies-to-children’ 268, 291–3

  perception and 289–90

  life

  autonomous agents 57

  Elixir of Life 66–7

  evolution 54, 55

  light

  cold dark matter 20

  colour and 289–90

  learning about 293

  lions 109, 151

  brain 149–50

  cannibalism 117

  and human evolution 90–1, 92

  Liverpool 142

  logic 166–7

  love 216–17

  Loxodonta africana 110–11

  Loxodonta cyclotis 110–11

  luck 157–8, 167

  lungs, elephants 110*

  lying see lies

  M

  Macbeth (Shakespeare) 343

  MacCrellish, Frederick 242

  mad cow disease 245*

  magic

  belief in 66

  illusions 72

  meanings 73–5

  technology as 73, 75, 76

  ‘wonder of nature’ 73, 76

  worldviews 248

  Maidenhead 142

  Malawi, Lake 134*

  Malaysia 131

  Malinowski, Bronislaw 264

  Malta 112

  mammals

  evolution of sea-mammals 110*

  evolution of titanotheres 310

  The Man in the High Castle (Dick) 312

  The Man Who Folded Himself (Gerrold) 314

  mantis shrimps 119

  ‘many-worlds’ concept 197–8, 313

  Mars 245*, 249

  Marsh, David 92

  Mary Tudor, Queen of England 65

  Masai 132

  mathematics

  combinatorics 48–9

  modelling innovation 55

  phase spaces 43–8

  pitch and harmony 270

  tunes 271–3

  matter

  cold dark matter 20

  distribution in universe 193–6

  duality with mind 324

  wormholes 315

  Mayr, Ernst 110

  Mead, Margaret 264

  meaning

  DNA 188

  information and 184–5

  meat-eating 95, 117

  mechanical energy 189, 190

  medicine

  alchemy 67

  homeopathy 71, 72

  Paracelsus 67–8

  medieval Europe, education 69

  Mediterranean 125, 237

  The Meme Machine (Blackmore) 329, 330

  memeplexes 332

  memes and memetics 328–33, 345

  memories, art and 275

  Memphis 120

  mental models 25–7, 166

  mercury 67, 68

  messages

  compressing 183–4

  context 187–8

  digital communications 182–3

  entropy 189

  language 284

  meta-patterns 116

  metals, alchemy 68

  metaphors 26

  Mickey Mouse 117

  microscopes 72

  Middle East 131

  A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) 100, 327, 335–6, 342–4

  migration, early humans 131–2

  Milgram, Stanley 136

  mimicry 284

  mind

  consciousness 22

  duality with matter 324

  evolution of 23

  guessing what other people feel 282–3, 286

  learning from failure 78–9

  making choices 175

  memes 328–33

  mental models 25–7, 166

  need for storytelling 31, 325, 326, 327

  in pets 119

  recognising lies 285–6

  selectivity of perception 266–9, 290

  theories of 19–21

  Mind and the Universe (Bateson) 158–9

  mineral acids 66

  miracles 326

  ‘mitochondrial Eve’ 122–4

  models

  mental 25–7, 166

  scientific 247–8

  molecules, phase spaces 48

  Mongols 121

  monkeys 95

  evolution 90–1, 107–8

  lying 284–5

  play 159

  writing Hamlet 271

  monogamy 141–2

  monotheism 157, 172–3, 247

  monsters 340–1

  Montefiore family 141

  Moon 342

  formation of 56, 245*

  ignorance of 170

  landing on 26, 27

  perception of 266–7

  stories about 26–7

  moons, solar system 47, 303

  Morgan, Elaine 91–2

  Morgan, Lewis 134

  Morris, Desmond 265

  Moses 76

  Moses, Vivian 141

  motion, laws of 56, 190–2, 303, 326

  movement, patterns 269–70

  Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 262, 263, 264, 265

  MRI scans 263

  Murray, George 181, 183

  muscles, patterns of movement 270

  music

  background music 262–3, 265

  CDs 187–8

  cultural influences 270–1

  essence of 264–5

  hearing 268

  liking for 269

  memes 330

  musical ability 137

  musical instruments 131

  perception of 274–5

  pitch and harmony 270, 274

  ‘primitive’ tribes 263, 264–5

  recognition by babies 263–4

  time in 242–3

  tunes 271–3, 274–5

  mutations

  DNA 52

  mitochondrial DNA 123

  Muybridge, Eadweard 242

  muzak 265

  myelin 92

  mysticism 66

  mythology see storytelling

  N

  Nagel, Thomas 287, 288

  Narrative Causality 23

  narrative imperative 24, 324–5, 327, 341

  ‘narrativium’ 24–5, 26, 27, 30, 78, 152

  nations

  commitment strategies 215–16

  tribalism and barbarism 138

  ‘natural’, as an illusion 265

  natural philosophy 236

  natural selection, altruism 213

  Nature 288

  nature, ‘wonder of nature’ 73, 76

  Neanderthals 113–14, 216, 273

  extinction 114, 134–5, 137

  musical instruments 131

  perceptual abilities 276–7

  Needham, Joseph 67, 172

  nervous system

  transmission of signals 92

  see also brain

  Nesse, Randolph 215, 216

  nests 94, 113

  neurons, visual cortex 267, 288

  neutrons

  carbon formation 28–9

  models of atom 247

  New
Ageism 71, 344

  New Guinea, tribes 95

  New Orleans 264

  New Testament 116

  New York, taxi-drivers 51

  newspapers

  ‘lies-to-adults’ 291–2

  storytelling 31, 325–6

  Newton, Isaac 71, 77

  alchemy 68, 238–9

  hidden knowledge 72

  law of gravity 73, 303

  laws of motion 190–2, 303, 326

  Nigeria 116–17

  Nile perch 134

  nitric acid 66

  Nixon, Richard 304

  nobility, barbarian attitudes of 89, 99–100

  Nod, land of 125*

  Nørretranders, Tor 187

  Norse legends 157

  North Africa 141

  North American Indians 121, 122, 265

  Northern Ireland 173

  Norway, storytelling 74

  nose, vomeronasal organ 287

  Nostradamus 170, 174

  nuclear reactions, transmuting lead into gold 68

  nuclear weapons 215

  nucleotides, DNA 52

  nucleus, carbon formation 28–9

  nursery stories 74, 115–16, 157, 285

  O

  obedience to authority 136, 157

  Obedience to Authority (Milgram) 136

  O’Brien, Stephen 111

  occultism 66–8

  Olympus, Mount 206

  ontic dumping 211, 212

  opera 263, 265

  Opie, Peter and Iona 115

  optic nerve 266

  orangutans 108

  organisms

  altruism 213–14, 215

  complexity 57, 188

  evolution 54, 55

  genomes 185–6

  orreries 237–8

  Out of Africa theory, human evolution 122, 124, 131–3

  overcommitment strategy 215, 216–18

  ozone layer 326

  P

  pain, puberty rituals 135–6

  paintings 235–6

  by apes 265

  cave paintings 113, 265, 275–6

  images of God 344

  looking at 266, 275

  primitive paintings 265

  Pan paniscus 88, 325

  Pan troglodytes 88, 325

  pantheism 77

  parables 151, 156

  Paracelsus 67–8, 70, 71, 169

  paradoxes, time travel 313–14, 315–16

  parallel universes 311, 313

  parasites 155

  particles, quantum mechanics 306–7

  patterns

  emergent dynamics 311–12

  movement 269–70

  pattern-seeking by brain 209

  recognition of 91, 116

  signals 183–4

  peasants, tribal attitudes 99–100

  Pecon-Slattery, Jill 111

  Peking Man 113

  Pennsylvania 142

  Penrose, Roger 194–5

  perception 273–7

  art 275–6

  hearing 268–9, 273

  music 274–5

  and reality 289–90

  recognition of other people 282

  vision 266–8

  watching films 273–4

  words of songs 273

  Peretz, Isabelle 274

  Perrault, Charles 155

  PET scans 22, 263

  Petitto, Laura Ann 154

  pets 118–19

  phase spaces

  biology 51–5

  biospheres 55, 56–7

  dynamical systems 303–4, 305

  economics 50–1

  messages 193

  music 271

  physics 43–8, 53, 56

  solar system 47, 303

  thermodynamics 48, 54–5, 56, 193

  pheromones 286–7

  Philipp, Elliott 142*

  ‘philosopause’, scientists 238–9

  Philosopher’s Stone 68

  Philosophical Review 287

  philosophy, worldviews 248

  The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (Whewell) 236

  Phoenicians 125

  phonemes 269, 283, 290

  physics

  entropy 189–90, 192–3

  fundamental constants 28, 30, 48

  illusion of free will 175

  Newton’s laws of motion 190–2

  and paradoxes 315–16

  phase spaces 44–8, 53, 56

  quantum physics 196–7, 198

  Theory of Everything 247

  thermodynamics 189–93

  time travel 314–16

  and truth 290

  Picasso, Pablo 265

  pitch, music 270

  Planck, Max 28

  planets

  astrology 66, 169–70

  hidden knowledge 72

  orreries 237–8

  solar system 47, 303

  plans 327

  play

  and cultural evolution 94

  music as 269

  with dogs and cats 118–19

  plays 333, 340–1

  Pluto 305

  Poincaré, Henri 43–4, 50

  Poland 141

  polar bears 94

  politics

  ‘lies-to-adults’ 291–2

  memetics 345

  polyphyletic species 122

  polytheism 172

  popular music 263

  population, early humans 122–5

  potential energy 45

  prayer 246

  predators

  co-evolution 310

  and human evolution 90–1

  predictions

  chaos theory 304–5

  cheating 307–8

  complex systems 305–6

  divination 168

  evolution 309–10

  prophecy 173–4

  scientific method 240, 248

  storytelling and 166, 171

  of universe 304–5

  Y2K 173–4

  pre-formation theory 72

  present

  predicting future 303–5

  and sense of music 274

  prey, co-evolution 310

  Price, Derek de Solla 237

  prices, Law of Supply and Demand 51

  pride 138–9

  priests 157

  negative effects of 208–9

  predictions 166

  rituals 136, 210, 217–18

  ‘primitive’ tribes, music 263, 264–5

  printing 99

  privilege, in evolution 93

  The Privileged Ape (Cohen) 74*, 136

  Prodigal Son 116

  prophets 156–7, 166, 170, 171, 173–4

  proteins 186

  protons

  carbon formation 28–9

  models of atom 247

  psychology 73

  puberty rituals 134–7

  Puck 157

  punishment 167

  pygmy elephants 112

  pyramid selling 329

  Pythagoras’s Theorem 192

  Pythagoreans 270

  pythons 109

  Q

  qualia, consciousness 22

  quantum mechanics 165, 198

  and free will 174–5

  information universe 196–7

  ‘many-worlds’ concept 197–8, 313

  Planck’s constant 28

  predictions 306–7

  Theory of Everything 247

  questions

  ‘what if’ questions 155–6, 311

  ‘why’ questions 47

  R

  racial differences, humans 122

  radio 344

  radioactivity 68

  rainbows 293

  Ramapithecus 108

  Reagan, Ronald 66

  reality, perception and 289–90

  recognition of other people 282

  red giant stars 28, 29, 30

  reflexes 154

  relativity

  theory of 249

  time travel 314–15 />
  religion 205–13

  atrocities 218, 220, 221–2

  beliefs 206–8, 218–22

  cargo cults 80

  cat worship 120–1

  conflicts with science and technology 171–2, 241

  cultural identity 98

  gods 205–6

  memetics 331–3, 345

  monotheism 172–3, 247

  pantheism 77

  priests 208–10

  prophets 166

  ‘right way to heaven’ 157

  rituals 217–18

  rules 212

  storytelling 326

  tribal conflict 132*

  universe and 209–12, 213

  worldviews 248

  Renaissance 65–6, 69–70, 71–2, 76, 344

  ‘Renaissance man’ 69

  resonance, carbon formation 27, 29–30

  retina 266–7, 268, 289

  rewards, smiles as 153–4

  Reynolds, Len 271*

  rhythms

  music 274

  patterns of movement 269–70

  ribosomes 186–7

  Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) 264

  rituals

  priesthood 136, 210, 217–18

  puberty rituals 134–7

  and tribal identity 95–6

  robust forms, evolution 109–11, 113

  Roca, Alfred 111

  rockets, Moon landings 27

  Roman Empire 69, 99

  romantic stories 75

  roses, perception of 289–90

  Rothschild family 141

  Rudolf II, Emperor 68

  rules 324

  child development 77

  complex systems 305

  dynamical systems 303–4

  fairy tales 155*

  of history 302–3, 308

  of physical world 77

  religion 212

  tribalism 116, 167

  rumours 328

  Rumpelstiltskin 115, 116, 327

  Russia 275

  S

  sabretooth tigers 310

  Sakhmet 120

  sal ammoniac 66, 68

  Samoa 264

  sand, phase space 47–8

  savannahs 90–1, 92, 108–9

  Schechem 139–40

  Schrödinger, Erwin 306*

  Schrödinger’s equation 306–7, 326

  science 235–50

  conflicts with religion 171–2, 241

  defining 235, 236, 239

  development of 238

  God and 77

  hidden knowledge 71–2

  limitations 72

  models 247–8

  objection to alternative theories 75–6

  and pantheism 77

  paradigm shifts 249

  predictions 166

  Renaissance 69, 71–2

  role of 246

  scientific method 32, 239–41, 243–5, 248–9, 344

  spellings 236*

  as storytelling 246–7, 248, 326

  teaching with lies 293

  technology and 238

  worldviews 248

  Science 111

  Science and Spirit 215

  science fiction

  ‘alternate universe’ stories 312–13

  time travel 313–14

  scientists, ‘philosopause’ 238–9

  scientology 72

  seafood, and human evolution 92

  seasickness 274

  Second Law of Thermodynamics 55, 57, 189–91, 193, 196

  seeds 331

  selection, puberty rituals 134–7

  Self, sense of 21

  The Selfish Gene (Dawkins) 328

  semaphore 181, 183, 188

  sense organs 266–9, 284, 286–7

 

‹ Prev