Chikara @chikara@qoto.org

In November 2018, representatives from 58 countries voted unanimously to redefine four basic units of measurement: the kilogram, the mole, the kelvin, and the ampere. The New York Times published a photo of the assembled conference delegates. -- see "The Kilogram is Dead. Long Live the Kilogram!" (Xiao Zhi Lim). New York Times. November 16, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/science/kilogram-physics-measurement.html

In May 2019, the redefined kelvin unit of thermodynamic temperature went into effect as an international legal standard.

This event caused me to recall wanting to know more about the under-publicized role of Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) in the rapid process of transforming Japan from a feudal a modern industrial state. -- see Colin Latimer, "Kelvin and the Development of Science in Meiji Japan," Chapter 13 in "Kelvin: Life, Labours and Legacy" by Raymond Flood et al. (2008) http://www.f.waseda.jp/sidoli/Latimer_Japan_Kelvin.pdf

Kelvin's Japanese students at the University of Glasgow eventually became professors at the University of Tokyo and senior members of the civil service.

The Meiji government sought and acted on Kelvin's personal recommendations about bringing British STEM experts to Japan. These European-educated men were part of a larger group that were collectively called o-yatoi gaikokujin (御雇い外国人 honorable hired foreigners")

Going forward, I plan to do some casual reading about these oyatoi. It's likely that I'll come across a few anecdotes which might be of some use or interest to one or more people in our QOTO group.

We'll see. Just a thought.

What do you think?

QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?

@Fslowly tooted this text on Humblr on Oct 19

I've noticed that it's customary to thank followers. But I haven't done it before now

I didn't understand that every kind of feedback in this Humblr site is like a link in the chains I'm struggling with -- slowly

I don't think much about the size of my chain -- or the number of my followers. But I know each of the links in chains are important in ways I need to figure out. This I do care about.

So, thank you -- each of you -- for what you've done (even when I don't "get it" yet)

_______

In a context of grief, I've been thinking a lot about chains which hold me in the past. I can't distinguish between love and chains. I must let go. I want to hold on. I can't figure it out.

I construed it as a good omen when I discovered an image of chains here. This rope repair in this chain makes it the most important image I've found online in November.

The answer to questions I can't put into words is captured by this photographer. I just have to wait until understanding comes to me.

QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?

@Fslowly tooted this text on Humblr on Oct 17

In my hour of darkness, he is standing right in front of me
speaking words of wisdom, let it be

_______
I never liked "Let it be," still don't. So I was puzzled when the tune began playing over and over in my head in mid-October.

In a context of grief, I can only theorize that something in my sub-conscious demanded acknowledgment of the song lyrics. I can't recall anything like this happening before, probably won't happen again.

I construed it as a good omen when I discovered a Venn diagram about "Let it be" here in the local feed.

I still don't know what to make of a graphic image showing "Let it be" at the core of Venn or Euler intersections. But at least the tune isn't on a constant re-play loop in my thoughts.

There is a common phrase in Japanese which is similar -- usually translated to mean "it can't be helped" or "nothing can be done about it" (shikata ga nai 仕方がない; shō ga nai しょうがない)

QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?

@Fslowly tooted this text on Humblr on Aug 26

Every time I "toot" an image, I have an intention, a purpose, a plan

Occasionally I manage to hit the bull's eye. But sometimes it becomes clear that I was aiming at the wrong thing. I realize that what I really want is something I've overlooked or misunderstood

It's like I'm trying to hit a moving target. And I've noticed that where I stand is changeable as well

They say the archer gets better with practice, even when his arrows fail.

_______

I deleted this soon after it was uploaded. I had second thoughts -- guessing that neither the words nor the 1878 drawing were likely to be welcomed here. But then, an unanticipated response caused me to think again.

I was thinking compare-and-contrast the Japanese bow (daikyū 大弓) and the English long bow when I downloaded my image from the internet.

Feedback which developed the same compare-and-contrast theme was a big surprise for me.

And so I'm uploading this again.

Maybe there's a place here for some of the things which interest me.

QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?