Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋 @bibliolater@qoto.org

Fascinating article about Cambridge University scholar Rishi Rajpopat who solved 2,500-yr-old Sanskrit algorithm problem in Panini’s text.
Read here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/solving-grammars-greatest-puzzle

@cambridge_cpt @camdighum
@histodons @intellectualhistory #history #sanskrit #literature #mathematics #puzzle

Is Santa based on Odin? Is he a Siberian shaman?

These theories are based on selective info, false info, and Mircea Eliade. They revolve around Santa's reindeer.

The key facts are:

* Santa's reindeer were invented in 1820s New York.
* Other Anglo-American Santa traditions are derived from 17th cent. Dutch customs.
* Sleipnir isn't a flying horse.
* 8-legged horses aren't typical in Siberian shamanism.

(Reading time: 15-20 mins.)
#Christmas #Odin #StNicholas #shamanism https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2022/12/reindeer.html

The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635), an emission nebula about 8,000 lightyears from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Image: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team

Why do French 'école', Spanish 'escuela' and Portuguese 'escola' have a vowel before /s/ that Italian '_scuola' lacks?

It used to be 'iscuola' but initial /i/ was lost when followed by /s/ plus a consonant.

It was preserved in certain fixed phrases, for example: 'per iscritto' (in writing), 'in Isvizzera' (in Switzerland).

"God bless you, my dear":
the last words of Samuel Johnson, lexicographer and critic, renowned for his #dictionary, who died #OnThisDay 1784
#histodons

William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585–1649) was born #OTD, 13 Dec. The leading Scottish poet of the age, his preference for his Lothian home over the Court did not diminish his engagement with wider culture; Ben Johnson once walked all the way from London to converse with him
📷 William Drummond of Hawthornden (1619) – oil on panel; attributed to Abraham van Blijenberch

@litstudies
#Scottish #literature #poetry #Jacobean #earlymodern
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/2309

It's a 200 year-old question, can #AI invent? 💻

Today, machines are increasingly surprising us – whether it's #ChatGPT or #Lensa.

From 3D circuits to antibiotics, there are examples and #evidence of AI helping humans invent.

In some cases, it might even be the inventor.

💬 According to AI #experts, it's likely to transform how we invent: https://theconversation.com/can-machines-invent-things-without-human-help-these-ai-examples-show-the-answer-is-yes-196036

#tech #technology #science #ScienceMastodon #journalism #news #AcademicMastodon #academia

“The transformation of Homo sapiens (modern humans) from a “non-speaking” to a “speaking” species happened at about the same time as our hunter-gatherer ancestors migrated out of Africa.” - When did humans first start to speak? How language evolved in Africa? When did humans first start to speak? How language evolved in Africa @linguistics #linguistics #language
https://theconversation.com/when-did-humans-first-start-to-speak-how-language-evolved-in-africa-194372

“Reading is drinking and eating; the mind that does not read lose weight like the body that does not eat.” Victor Hugo #QOTD #quote #french #literature #histodons @histodons

Happy Birthday to English mathematician Ada Lovelace, born in London #OnThisDay in 1815. Lovelace, the only child of Lord and Lady Byron, is often called the first computer programmer for her machine algorithm written in the 1840s to be carried out by Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine (which existed only on paper at the time).

#AdaLovelace #OTD #WomenInSTEM #history #histodons #HistoryOfScience #WomensHistory

Why don’t rare book professionals wear gloves when handling old books? Because we’re trying to protect them! 🙌 Using clean, dry hands is best practice when it comes to working with most* rare material. #BookHistory #BookHistodons

There are a lot of great content creators focused on early America. These are some of our favorites.

If you have a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel focused on early America, let us know so we can add it!

#USHistory #AmericanHistory #Histodons #Geneadons #Genealogy

https://www.earlyamericansources.org/early-american-content-creators

Earth at night viewed from space.

Credit: NASA Johnson

#space #nasa #timelapse #science

#GeorgeBoole, one of the founders of the computer age and the first Professor of Mathematics at
@UCC, died in Cork #OTD in 1864.

#BertrandRussell, who made efforts to have Boole’s papers printed, said that "An Investigation of the Laws of Thought" as “the work in which pure mathematics was discovered”. In it Boole applied his #boolean mathematics to the philosophy of #Spinoza and others as a practical demonstration.
https://www.irishphilosophy.com/2014/12/08/ones-and-zeros/

Bio: https://www.ucc.ie/en/heritage/historicpeople/ucc-staff/professor-george-boole/

#IrishPhilosophyOTD

NEW: After interviewing hundreds of philosophers, these are the most recommended philosophy books on Five Books.

https://fivebooks.com/category/philosophy/most-recommended-philosophy-books/