How Horseshoe Crab Blood (鱟血) Saves Millions Of Lives

How Horseshoe Crab Blood (鱟血) Saves Millions Of Lives

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/how-horseshoe-crab-blood-saves-millions-lives/

Inside The Race To Build A Battery That Can Power The 21st Century

Inside The Race To Build A Battery That Can Power The 21st Century

urle.me/13f

Why Energy Storage May Be The Most Important Technology In The World Right Now

urle.me/13g

Moore’s Law Will Soon End, But Progress Doesn’t Have To

http://www.digitaltonto.com/2016/moores-law-will-soon-end-but-progress-doesnt-have-to/

Innovation Needs To Shift From Disrupting Markets To Tackling Grand Challenges

urle.me/13h

Intercalation (chemistry)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercalation_(chemistry)

A flow battery, or redox flow battery 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_battery

Lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery (abbreviated as LIB) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

值得細讀, 深讀的幾篇文章

值得細讀, 深讀的幾篇文章

These 3 Technological Forces That Are Changing The Nature Of Work

urle.me/13a

The New, New Economy of Accelerating Returns

http://www.digitaltonto.com/2012/the-new-new-economy-of-accelerating-returns/

Business Models and the Singularity

http://www.digitaltonto.com/2012/business-models-and-the-singularity/

Collaboration Is The New Competitive Advantage

http://www.digitaltonto.com/2015/collaboration-is-the-new-competitive-advantage/

If You Want to Create a World-Class Team, Research Says Focus on These 3 Things

urle.me/13b

陸量子衛星空拍249億畫素 路人車牌清晰可見

陸量子衛星空拍249億畫素 路人車牌清晰可見

http://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20170414002975-260412

上海全景

http://sh-meet.bigpixel.cn/?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0

【來長點學問】BBC - The Story of Maths

 【來長點學問】BBC - The Story of Maths

Is math discovered or invented?

https://goo.gl/Tssh0L

BBC Documentary 

​- ​

The Story Of Maths 

​

1

​ 

The Language of the Universe

https://vimeo.com/74547305

2 

The Genius of the East

https://vimeo.com/74859005

3 

The Frontiers of Space

https://vimeo.com/75488142

4 To Infinity and Beyond 

https://goo.gl/z8lpSs

Een interview met Robert Bresson

https://vimeo.com/35664732

The Story of Maths

https://goo.gl/lR40af

Mathematics - The Language of the Universe 

https://goo.gl/UNa67g

Mysteries of the Mathematical Universe

https://goo.gl/PTcE8Z

The Story Of One | BBC Documentary 2014

https://goo.gl/YyM6AK

The History Of Numbers And Mathematics 

​- ​

The Story Of 1 One 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09l2nR3knYk

NOTHING: The Science of Emptiness

https://goo.gl/uLnt7w

To Infinity and Beyond

https://goo.gl/AQEZzQ

From zero to infinity, and beyond!

https://goo.gl/1bsFId

Infinity: The Science of Endless

https://goo.gl/Kjqigp

Mysteries of the Mathematical Universe

https://goo.gl/PTcE8Z

The Sacred Geometry of The Universe

https://goo.gl/3lXuTv

Mathematics is the queen of Sciences

https://goo.gl/dd9J5X

The Problem of Modelling the Mathematical Mind

https://goo.gl/LRM7Qm

Riemann Hypothesis - Numberphile

https://goo.gl/hHS6s8

Indian mathematics

https://goo.gl/DgKavZ

Science and Islam [BBC Documentary]

https://goo.gl/y3f1bG

MATHS, MATHEMATICIANS

https://goo.gl/TM7P7O

BBC 'The Story of Maths' Workbook

https://goo.gl/CIf3UF

【來長點學問】 Dangerous Knowledge

 【來長點學問】 Dangerous Knowledge 

Dangerous Knowledge (1/5)

http://goo.gl/4c9Gav

Dangerous Knowledge (2/5)

http://goo.gl/Cv3sHW

Dangerous Knowledge (3/5)

http://goo.gl/TWffb7

Dangerous Knowledge (4/5)

http://goo.gl/P5hy9J

Dangerous Knowledge (5/5)

http://goo.gl/TegmGX

【來長點學問】Everything & Nothing

 【來長點學問】Everything & Nothing

Everything & Nothing [1/2]

http://goo.gl/FWeSlJ

Everything & Nothing [2/2]

http://goo.gl/aAdVk4

【來長點學問】 Prime Numbers

'7 Things You Need to Know About Prime Numbers' - Dr Vicky Neale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nch1ho77gQ

Terence Tao: Structure and Randomness in the Prime Numbers, UCLA

https://goo.gl/8LLvkA

Terry Tao, Ph.D. Small and Large Gaps Between the Primes

https://goo.gl/XhhviS

Terence Tao: 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics Symposium

https://goo.gl/ov9n0K

Interview With The Smartest Man In The World

https://goo.gl/xLz3dq

【來長點學問】Precision: The Measure of All Things

【來長點學問】Precision: The Measure of All Things

Precision: The Measure of All Things 1 of 3 Time and Distance

http://goo.gl/ar5AmR

Precision: The Measure of All Things 2 of 3 Mass and Moles

http://goo.gl/kKzvO9

Precision: The Measure of All Things 3 of 3 Heat, Light and Electricity

http://goo.gl/WxpzIU

 Deep Learning: Intelligence from Big Data

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czLI3oLDe8M

【來長點學問】The Secret Life of Chaos

 【來長點學問】The Secret Life of Chaos

The Secret Life of Chaos

http://goo.gl/qDVIKi

The.Secret.Life.of.Chaos.

http://goo.gl/UOPozV

Prime Numbers

7 Things You Need to Know About Prime Numbers' - Dr Vicky Neale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nch1ho77gQ

Terence Tao: Structure and Randomness in the Prime Numbers, UCLA

https://goo.gl/8LLvkA

Terry Tao, Ph.D. Small and Large Gaps Between the Primes

https://goo.gl/XhhviS

Terence Tao: 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics Symposium

https://goo.gl/ov9n0K

Interview With The Smartest Man In The World

https://goo.gl/xLz3dq

黑白集／阿扁包廂，法治破窗

黑白集／阿扁包廂，法治破窗 
有一種遊戲叫「得寸進尺」，陳水扁掌權時曾百玩不厭，如今陳致中也盡得其真傳。陳水扁昨夜以「阿扁包廂」的變相手法，完成他參加凱校募款餐會的目的，突破保外就醫的法網，完全應驗了「法律碰到阿扁會轉彎」的說法。
陳水扁要參加這次餐會，台中監獄原本不准，明言違反保外就醫規定。孰料，一開會，中監就讓了一步，准許他返回民生東路老家；再隔一天，法務部又退一步，用「三不」原則開了小門。然後，就有了「阿扁包廂」的發明，直接讓阿扁在餐會現場旁開個包廂會客。
在整場遊戲中，扁家得寸進尺、步步進逼；反觀中監和法務部，則是毫無堅持、步步退讓。餐會在大飯店舉行，席開一百卅桌，賓客上千人，阿扁在一旁弄個包廂接受膜拜；試問，這如果不叫出席餐會，怎樣才叫出席餐會？
新政府一上台就大談司法改革，但是，如果連一條明確法律的界線都畫不出來，獄政管理一碰到陳水扁就轉彎放水；在這種情況下，誰會相信司法改革是玩真的？阿扁昨夜會見扁迷的包廂，其實就是新政府的一面法治破窗，這是法務部自取其辱。
以陳水扁貪腐對台灣民主的傷害，陳致中還有臉打著他的招牌出來募款，這是難以想像的事。陳水扁已獲得保外就醫的優渥待遇，陳致中還強將他推上政治舞台來試法律的刀鋒，可見，他早已看出法務部是隻紙老虎。這是扁家的鬧劇，也是台灣的民主悲劇

‪騙子遇到高手了

‪騙子遇到高手了

老老實實的朋友多次遭到騙子的欺騙，憤怒至極。一天，她按照網上流傳的方法“教育” 騙子，沒想到，招招靈驗，居然有個騙子在電話中哭求朋友說，別再懲罰他了，繞過他罷。
招數內容如下：

1.  收到騙子要你匯款的短信後，先別忙著刪除,看看他的卡號是什麼銀行的,並登入此銀行的網上賬戶,輸入該騙子的卡號,密碼隨便填寫,只要3次錯誤,此卡在24小時之間，就不能進行任何的交易，也就是被凍結了。

2. 先查出這個手機號碼的城市，然後找到那個城市的同性戀交友網站，注冊帳號，聯繫方式留下那個手機號碼。
 
3. 在當地的房屋出租網站發帖，市中心兩室一廳，月租超平只$300，急出手。24小時開機，同樣留下那個電話號碼。
 
4. 在銀行辦理滙款“ 請把錢滙到”賬號上”，就按照賬號每次匯出1分錢，便從收款人賬戶扣掉2元，連續匯出大概1元多錢，這時，終於收到收款人發來信息： 別再匯款了，已經扣掉200多了，你是內行吧！叫我們怎麼生活呀！(匯款時選“收款人支付手續費”，國内每筆2元，香港每筆20元) 。
請你轉發給你認識的群組朋友，讓大家都知道怎麼對付騙子，快樂接力，讓他們立即停止詐騙，危害社會!
分享也是一種功德喔！

【美學系列】蔣勳／池上日記 5（上）（下）

【美學系列】蔣勳／池上日記 5（上）（下）

等日頭翻過山脈，天光大亮，我就回到畫室，面對著空白的畫布，想畫下大坡池沒有日光時的寧靜，想畫下水渠裡錚錚淙淙的水聲……

一個關於便當的故事

2016年初春節有九天連假，我不在池上。

這幾年，一到周末，池上遊客就多起來。如果是超過三天以上的連假，湧進來的人就更驚人。遊客如潮水，小小的鄉村，原有簡樸寧靜的生活自然被淹沒了。

我在池上住了一年多，日日享受安靜無人的村居生活，大概覺得自己福分太多，不應該霸占，不應該獨享，慢慢連假日就離開池上，把這裡的一切留給別人。

春假過後，我回到池上，許多人臉上驚魂甫定，好像經歷一場大戰。

「很多人嗎？」我問。

「光火車站附近的便當一天賣了八千個──」有人這樣回答。

一天「八千便當」，對一個總共只有六千人口的農村而言，是有點像被「淹沒」了吧。

池上人口少，中山路上傳統服務鄉民的產業都有一定規矩。我常去的「吉本肉圓」，三代經營，年輕一代遵守古法，四神湯的湯底熬得到位，芡實、薏仁、淮山都入口即化。我吃的時候不加豬腸，一樣濃郁淳厚。生意的對象都是左鄰右舍，對象是認識的人，自然不會草率敷衍。他們的肉圓、米苔目都好，因為池上的米就夠好。池上遊客多的時候，年輕的帥妹賴品毓忙到沒有時間坐下來。她偷偷告訴我，「十一點以前還不夠濃──」但是常常三點鐘去，已經賣完了。他們也不想多做，每天就好好做一鍋，吃到就是緣分，不是都會速食店，為了牟利，快速打發客人，那不是池上人要的。

一個朋友在食安出問題時提出口號：不吃不認識的人做的東西。我笑她太偏激，但我也慢慢相信，島嶼偏鄉還留著許多好東西，像吉本的四神湯，像池上的米，像玉蟾園阿嬤做的豆腐乳，像關山的蜂蜜，像富里陳媽媽的「手路菜」，像家家戶戶自己吃的蘿蔔乾，醃橄欖，自己種給自己吃的枇杷、木瓜、梅子，市場買不到，吃到恍如一夢，原來食物可以這樣本分，健康又好吃。許久以來，縱谷被遺忘在島嶼的一個角落，慶幸還留下了人在產業裡的溫度與認真。

池上被記起來了，都會裡的人像潮水湧進來，池上可以屹立不搖嗎？

關於八千便當的故事，有個哀傷的結尾，一家三口為了趕火車，匆匆擠在人群中買了三個便當上車，小孩打開便當，有滷肉，一口咬下去，「啊！滷肉外面有醬油，裡面都是白的──」

池上長大的孩子都知道，那是賣給觀光客的便當，不用花時間，意思到了就好，外面看是滷肉，沒有人在意裡面是不是滷肉。

不只是池上，所有島嶼還留著人的關心與溫度的產業面臨著同樣被「淹沒」的危機吧。

「有錢為什麼不賺？」你去質問賣便當的，你去質問惡質招客的自行車業者，你去質問給司機分紅招攬遊覽車拉客的大飯店，他們一定這樣回答。

「有錢為什麼不賺？」許多縱谷踏實過生活的人啞口無言。

池上中山路上的幾家好餐廳常常「休息去了」，我常去午餐的「保庇」素食，老闆娘一「休息」就十天，吉本肉圓一休息常常兩星期，我抱怨沒東西吃，年輕帥妹說：「去日本賞楓──」

他們要生活，生活作前提，錢可以賺，錢也可以不賺。人生沒有取捨，最終是悲哀無明的人生吧。

我在池上

我生活在池上，沒有電視，不看報紙，沒有社交應酬。這個小小鄉村，晚上八點，最熱鬧的中山路也少行人了。沒有戲院、卡拉ok，沒有夜店，台九線上的seven，開卡車的司機買了飯包，匆匆來去。他們不算池上居民，只是路過。居民晚餐後多就上床，餐廳也熄燈打烊，拉下鐵門。我因此不多久也習慣這樣作息，八點就上床看書睡覺。

春分以後，天亮得早，遠近雞啼鳥鳴，吱吱喳喳，不起床也似乎愧疚。通常五點鐘就出外散步，看清晨的雲無事在水田上浮盪，流連徘徊。太陽還沒有翻過海岸山脈，稻秧上結著清晨的露水，空氣裡都是植物的香，泥土的香。隔夜苦楝的花香像一片淡淡紫色的霧，還在四處飄浮流蕩，像找不到歸宿的搽了香粉的女子。

我通常出大埔村，沿著水渠往南走，左手邊是東邊海岸山脈，右手邊是西邊中央山脈。山都還沉在暗影中，像沒有甦醒的巨大的獸。走到土地公廟，拜一拜，由南轉東走，朝向萬安村，聽水渠流淌，潺潺湲湲。水渠有引道，嘩嘩連貫到不同高低的田裡，像有說不完的親暱話，要說給每一片不同的田土聽。每一方田裡一樣平平的水，像盛在淺淺的盤中，不多也不少。沿著萬安村再轉向北走，走到大坡池，天還未全亮，霧濛濛的，山影水光像一張濕透未乾的元明水墨，不用題跋，也不需要落款，空靈潔淨到一塵不染。岸邊水鴨驚飛，啞啞叫著，一長隊成群貼著水面掠過，飛到對岸。上一個冬天留下稀疏枯殘荷葉蓮蓬，像水墨裡的乾筆飛白，在春天的溫柔嫵媚裡帶著殘冬的淒厲孤冷。陽光還沒有露臉，色彩也都躲在暗影裡。色彩在等待，只要海岸山脈上一線曙光亮起來，色彩便被召喚醒來，紅的、綠的、黃的、紫的，喧譁繽紛，熱鬧如簇擁著的新妝女子，要一起走出來見客人了。

我或許也是路過吧，等日頭翻過山脈，天光大亮，我就回到畫室，面對著空白的畫布，想畫下大坡池沒有日光時的寧靜，想畫下水渠裡錚錚淙淙的水聲，想畫下苦楝樹春分時四處瀰漫的香氣，想畫下這初春時一個小小村落彷彿被遺忘的乍暖還寒。

然而，池上還是被記起來了，因為商業廣告重複播放，人們記起了這個在縱谷的小鄉村，記起一條沒有路燈兩邊都是水田的美麗道路，記起一棵樹，樹底下坐著一位明星，那棵樹就首當其衝，遊客爭相跟樹拍照，彼此推擠，踩到水田裡去，踩壞了剛插的秧苗，農民哭喪著臉央求：不要踩秧苗。遊客彼此惡言相向，把氣出在農民身上，質問農民：為什麼不插牌子，寫「不准踐踏」！

島嶼有什麼東西變質了？急躁、自私、蠻橫、草率，這個時代還會有真正土地的厚實安靜嗎？

「有錢為什麼不賺？」一日一日隨著變質的將不會只是一個便當而已吧。

黑色騎士

在池上受到很多照顧，池上書局的簡博襄夫婦，農民梁正賢、葉雲忠、張天助，世代住在池上，他們身上有一種篤定沉穩，不誇張、不虛飾矯情，常常是我拿來檢查自己的榜樣。

有一次我問梁正賢：「梁大哥，你覺得池上下一代會傳承下去嗎？」

問得沒頭沒腦，自己也覺得空泛得很，只是我對池上上一代的居民有一種敬重，好像希望在他們身上找到一些對的答案，減低我對類似便當故事的疑慮吧。

梁正賢沒有回答，他對不確定的事果然不隨便妄言。

得不到回答是我沒有認真思索吧，我也相信，解決問題的答案通常不會是一兩個人看似有智慧的一兩句話，而是許多人日積月累默默力行的力量吧。

傍晚以後，入睡前，我習慣到中山路的「田味家」喝一碗張力尤研製烹調的熱杏仁茶。力尤家原來開瓦斯行，池上街上會看到一個斯文優雅的少女，騎摩托車，肩上扛著沉重的瓦斯桶四處送貨。力尤是客家人，家裡本來就有做杏仁茶、牛汶水、草粿的習慣。把家學本業開店服務鄉里，很理所當然。一碗一碗現磨現烹調，不會是大生意，但做的人安然知足，來的人是親戚鄰居，外地人也很容易跟不忙的力尤攀談，不會被當成觀光客。

力尤是台灣好基金會義工，做很多地方的公益的事，也還是沒有把「賺錢」當唯一的生活目的。

2015年的耶誕節，我看到力尤店裡聚集一些年輕人，七手八腳，忙著包禮物。我問：這是什麼？力尤說：「黑色騎士耶誕節要去萬安國小跟小朋友同歡，在準備每一位小朋友的禮物。」

我因此認識了「黑色騎士」，除了張力尤，也認識了「走走池上」的羅正傑，21House民宿的張俊偉，舒食男孩黃清譽，米貝果的郝朝洋，「莊稼熟了」的魏文軒，還有一位香港來池上的陳志輝，雲遊在外，沒有見到。

最初是池上七個三十歲上下的青年，騎著黑色單車，沿街兜售自己的產品。好像是做生意，但是純粹做生意，當然不會關心到偏鄉國小學生怎麼過耶誕節。

我因此上了「走走池上」羅正傑的臉書，更進一步了解這些池上「新青年」到底在做什麼。

正傑是新竹關西人，大學學資訊管理，畢業後做設計，也愛攝影。他常常環島，幾次經過池上，愛上了池上。住過「莊稼熟了」民宿，認識文軒，又住了21House民宿，俊偉知道中山路有老屋要出租，問他有人要租嗎？

老屋就在鄉公所旁，兩層的小樓，挑高很高，原來是老診所，二樓全是老式木窗，正傑三十歲，心裡想：要不要離開台北？賺錢之外，可不可以過自己嚮往的生活？

這樣破釜沉舟的事，沒有人能夠回答，必須自己做選擇。

正傑跟房東見了面，老房子要整理，要花時間，也要花錢，房東答應簽九年的約，一個月一萬租金，正傑覺得壓力不大，夢想就實現了。

「台北的業務怎麼辦？客戶如何應付？」我還是想到實際要解決的問題。

「許多事現代電腦視訊可以解決，必要的面對面的溝通，就上一次台北開會。」

正傑好像是樂觀的人，要過理想的生活，大目標訂了，其他都可以調整。

「現在有多長時間在池上？」我問。

「四分之三時間吧，偶然回台北，也覺得有不同角度看台北。」

我很高興聽正傑這樣說，我自己剛好有同樣感覺，回台北看電影，看表演，或無所事事坐在捷運裡看人，都有不同感覺。困在都會裡久了會煩躁，厭恨自己的環境，離開一段時間，知道都會有都會的好，也有都會的必要。帶著對都會的「恨」逃避到鄉村，多不長久。正傑是健康的，他愛池上，卻沒有放棄都會，小小的島嶼，過自己平衡的生活，正傑提供一種包容的想法。

中山路九十九號開了「走走池上」，是民宿嗎？不是，是咖啡廳，也不全然，正傑說：「既然做設計，就把池上應該停留的地方繪圖印出來，提供給外地人用──」「自己的書從台北運下來了，擺在書架上，也就開門給大家看──」

正傑不是開「店」，只是喜歡「分享」。他還是照常做自己的設計。

文軒的家裡有小小的田，耕耘機施展不開，就吆喝幾個「騎士」下田耘土插秧。力尤是「女騎士」，我看到照片裡的她坐在田壟上，便說：「力尤只是旁觀嗎？」其他騎士辯解說：「她有下田。」我們或許不自覺就會歧視女性吧，力尤卻不介意。

騎士裡像張俊偉是富里長大的，黃清譽和郝朝洋也跟關山有淵源，都是在縱谷度過童年青少年，出外讀書或工作，繞了一圈，最後再回到縱谷，重新開始跟這片土地的關係。（上）

蔣勳／池上日記5（下）

玉蟾園與曬穀場

我觀察「黑色騎士」，也開始了解池上或縱谷年輕一代面臨的問題。

池上沒有高中，國中畢業，如果繼續升學，一定出外，像玉蟾園的賴霆駿，祖父母在海岸山脈坡腳有一塊地，種肚臍柑、樹薯。第二代在這塊地上經營了民宿，用上一代名字裡的「玉」和「蟾」命名。

池上常用上一代名字命名，像中山路上的「曬穀場」，聽起來與人名無關，但是原住民阿嬤叫「稻穗」（Banai），阿公是「廣場」（buda），漢姓潘的兩姊妹開店，就起名「曬穀場」。我喜歡他們總記得上一代，他們的桑葉茶也跟池上養蠶記憶有關。

「玉蟾園」是很美的一塊地，我喜歡早上在那裡眺望中央山脈，看白雲舒卷。或走到工作室看賴先生用老檜木製作筆，看賴太太用牛樟、桂花精油做手工皂。但是這樣大的一塊地，夫婦兩人也忙不來。2015年兒子霆駿退伍了，決定回家接續家裡的工作，都會裡待了好多年，重回鄉下，一定有不適應，也一定有歡喜。看到賴霆駿聽奉阿嬤命令到田裡挖了一早上的樹薯，滿身是汗，腰也直不起來，好像一臉無奈，但看著一車自己挖出來的樹薯，又彷彿很有成就感。

我最常去吃飯的「邊界花東」在富里，陳媽媽的「手路菜」是島嶼慢慢不容易吃到的樸實家常料理了。民宿剛好在花蓮台東交界，三層樓，沒幾間房，光靠陳媽媽一個人當然不行，大兒子陳律遠在都會學觀光休閒，在大飯店工作過，也跑到澳洲打工，很典型的島嶼今日青年的摸索模式吧，但他有老家，有母親，有父親留下的一塊不大的田，最後就回來了，跟弟弟宣帆一起把民宿接下來，自己做外場，弟弟在廚房做幫手，有自己的事業，也能陪伴母親。我去熟了，覺得不只是為了用餐，有時是去感覺一個家庭的溫暖歡樂。

律遠開始下田插秧，斯文的年輕人，一點也不像傳統農民，插秧幾天，也是腰痠背痛，有時哭喪著臉，告訴我秧苗一大片被金寶螺吃光了。我趕緊去問池上老農民，他們說苦茶油的渣可以治金寶螺，我又趕緊告訴律遠，他說「知道」，但又說「不想補秧了」。縱谷青年創業定居的故事或許並不浪漫，每一步都有艱難瑣碎的事，每一步也都要踏實走穩。

丰宿

外地來池上開店我最早知道的是「甘盛堂」，黃重德在高雄做業務，陳良武補教老師，都因為過勞，良武換了「肝」，重德換了「腎」，九死一生，兩人到池上休養，彷彿重生，中年經營了健康料理的「甘盛堂」。

我不喜歡重德跟我說的故事，太慘了，希望下一代不用換肝換腎才有覺悟。

許多池上創業的青年中新近出現的「丰宿」是較特殊的。

主人何仲騏和妻子施得心，都和池上沒有淵源。我看了他們的學歷經歷，應該是島嶼青年典型的「菁英」吧。建中、北一女、台大，畢業後兩人都進頂尖的IC產業。這樣的學、經歷，在不到三十歲的時候，為什麼辭職？為什麼選擇了池上？買了一塊地，自己動手建造民宿，仲騏從頭學習調製咖啡，拿到證照。

因為朋友到池上住在「丰宿」，我有機會認識這一對青年夫婦，帶著兩個聰慧眼睛明亮的孩子，過幸福的生活。三間房的民宿，大部分的空間還是自己一家人過日子。主人慢條斯理調製咖啡，孩子畫畫，做功課，但不時跑過來攀住媽媽的脖子說話，磨蹭在爸爸的腿上懷裡。大兒子何丰勻九歲，小兒子何丰升六歲，看到這樣一家人親近的畫面，我沒有問，但大概感覺到他們放棄大企業高薪股票的原因吧。兩個孩子名字裡都有「丰」這個字，和他們新創業的「丰」同名。不到三十歲，「丰」，不僅僅是開民宿、賣咖啡，他們選擇了自己要的生活，他們提供給下一代豐富而健康的童年。

仲騏台大讀造船海洋工程，他曾經有過奇特的夢想吧，他親自設計打造了一個家，像一艘滿載夢想的船，現在航行在池上一望無際的綠色稻浪上。

原來可能對「菁英」兒女跑到偏鄉頗有意見的上一代，也因此常來池上了。

仲騏跟岳父說早上在窗口看到一隻鳥，發出咇咇聲音，順手用手機拍了下來。岳父喜歡攝影，看了手機照片，很感興趣，就問仲騏：「牠現在在哪裡？」

我喜歡仲騏一副無辜的表情，他跟我說：「我哪知道『牠』現在在哪裡啊！」

池上青年的故事讓我快樂，黑色騎士新近決定每個月一個星期六騎車去遊客最多的伯朗大道撿垃圾了。遊客丟的垃圾，愛池上的青年們去收拾，聽起來不正義，但也沒有什麼不好。

我還是想著那隻會發出咇咇聲音的鳥，到底現在飛去了哪裡。（下）

Human Brain : BBC

Human Brain : BBC

My Brilliant Brain: Make Me A Genius

http://goo.gl/26tif

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

http://goo.gl/IVsBg

The Brain: With David Eagleman | 

http://documentaryheaven.com/brain-david-eagleman-what-is-reality/

The Human Brain

http://goo.gl/88dC4J

The Brain Story

http://goo.gl/nDwGC

God on the Brain

http://goo.gl/Lp59l

David Lynch: Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain

http://goo.gl/1zNMx

The Creative Brain How Insight Works

http://goo.gl/lhX0Ya

Phantoms in the Brain

http://goo.gl/mIE6J

Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Mathematics is the language of science and has enabled mankind to make extraordinary technological advances. There is no question that the logic and order that underpins mathematics, has served us in describing the patterns and structure we find in nature.

The successes that have been achieved, from the mathematics of the cosmos down to electronic devices at the microscale, are significant. Einstein remarked, "How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality?"

Amongst mathematicians and scientists there is no consensus on this fascinating question. The various types of responses to Einstein's conundrum include:

1) Math is innate. The reason mathematics is the natural language of science, is that the universe is underpinned by the same order. The structures of mathematics are intrinsic to nature. Moreover, if the universe disappeared tomorrow, our eternal mathematical truths would still exist. It is up to us to discover mathematics and its workings--this will then assist us in building models that will give us predictive power and understanding of the physical phenomena we seek to control. This rather romantic position is what I loosely call mathematical Platonism.

2) Math is a human construct. The only reason mathematics is admirably suited describing the physical world is that we invented it to do just that. It is a product of the human mind and we make mathematics up as we go along to suit our purposes. If the universe disappeared, there would be no mathematics in the same way that there would be no football, tennis, chess or any other set of rules with relational structures that we contrived. Mathematics is not discovered, it is invented. This is the non-Platonist position.

3) Math is not so successful. Those that marvel at the ubiquity of mathematical applications have perhaps been seduced by an overstatement of their successes. Analytical mathematical equations only approximately describe the real world, and even then only describe a limited subset of all the phenomena around us. We tend to focus on those physical problems for which we find a way to apply mathematics, so overemphasis on these successes is a form of "cherry picking." This is the realist position.

4) Keep calm and carry on. What matters is that mathematics produces results. Save the hot air for philosophers. This is called the "shut up and calculate" position.

The debate over the fundamental nature of mathematics is by no means new, and has raged since the time of the Pythagoreans. Can we use our hindsight now to shed any light on the above four positions?

A recent development within the last century was the discovery of fractals. Beautiful complex patterns, such as the Mandelbrot set, can be generated from simple iterative equations. Mathematical Platonists eagerly point out that elegant fractal patterns are common in nature, and that mathematicians clearly discover rather than invent them. A counterargument is that any set of rules has emergent properties. For example, the rules of chess are clearly a human contrivance, yet they result in a set of elegant and sometimes surprising characteristics. There are infinite numbers of possible iterative equations one can possibly construct, and if we focus on the small subset that result in beautiful fractal patterns we have merely seduced ourselves.

Take the example of infinite monkeys on keyboards. It appears miraculous when an individual monkey types a Shakespeare sonnet. But when we see the whole context, we realize all the monkeys are merely typing gibberish. In a similar way, it is easy to be seduced into thinking that mathematics is miraculously innate if we are overly focused on its successes, without viewing the complete picture.

The non-Platonist view is that, first, all mathematical models are approximations of reality. Second, our models fail, they go through a process of revision, and we invent new mathematics as needed. Analytical mathematical expressions are a product of the human mind, tailored for the mind. Because of our limited brainpower we seek out compact elegant mathematical descriptions to make predictions. Those predictions are not guaranteed to be correct, and experimental verification is always required. What we have witnessed over the past few decades, as transistor sizes have shrunk, is that nice compact mathematical expressions for ultra small transistors are not possible. We could use highly cumbersome equations, but that isn't the point of mathematics. So we resort to computer simulations using empirical models. And this is how much of cutting edge engineering is done these days.

The realist picture is simply an extension of this non-Platonist position, emphasizing that compact analytical mathematical expressions of the physical world around us are not as successful or ubiquitous as we'd like to believe. The picture that consistently emerges is that all mathematical models of the physical world break down at some point. Moreover, the types of problems addressed by elegant mathematical expressions are a rapidly shrinking subset of all the currently emerging scientific questions.

But why does this all matter? The "shut up and calculate" position tells us to not worry about such questions. Our calculations come out the same, no matter what we personally believe; so keep calm and carry on.

I, for one, believe the question is important. My personal story is that I used to be a Platonist. I thought all mathematical forms werereified and waiting to be discovered. This meant that I philosophically struggled with taking limits to infinity, for example. I merely got used to it and accepted it under sufferance. During my undergraduate days, I had a moment of enlightenment and converted to non-Platonism. I felt a great burden lift from my shoulders. Whilst this never affected my specific calculations, I believe a non-Platonist position gives us greater freedom of thought. If we accept that mathematics is invented, rather than discovered, we can be more daring, ask deeper questions, and be motivated to create further change.

Remember how irrational numbers petrified the bejesus out of the Pythagoreans? Or the interminable time it took mankind to introduce a zero into arithmetic? Recall the centuries of debate that occurred over whether negative numbers are valid or not? Imagine where science and engineering would be today if this argument was resolved centuries earlier. It is the ravages of Platonist-like thinking that have held back progress. I argue that a non-Platonist position frees us from an intellectual straightjacket and accelerates progress.

Is there life on Mars?

Not yet, but we could all be living there soon. Some complicated challenges to overcome first though, but synthetic biology might just have the answers…

Published this week in Journal of the Royal Society Interface ‘Grand Challenges in Space Synthetic Biology’ reviews recent progress in achieving long-duration missions to Mars and highlights the challenges and opportunities of using synthetic biology in space. We spoke to lead author Adam Arkin.   

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Have you always been a space biologist?

I’ve been fascinating by the vastness of space and the possibilities it holds, but no, I’m a chemist and bioengineer. Amor Menezes (co-author) joined my lab a couple of years ago and really opened this line of thought in the laboratory. He has an aeronautical engineering background and we started designing microbes to optimize their use for more proximal applications. He began to interact with NASA scientists we knew and was inspired to push towards how engineered biology could help support long term space missions. 

How does this paper differ to the Review you previously published in Interface? 

In the first paper we focus on what could almost be done now with existing technologies to address key point challenges, generally in resource utilization. In this paper we describe the greatest barriers to long duration space missions and prioritize what scientific and technological approaches will require the deepest thought and innovation.

How did you decide on the six ‘grand challenges’ featured in this review?

Our choice was driven by the basic needs of human life. To live anywhere we need to be able to obtain resources, construct things from them, and use them to adapt ourselves to changing environments. Mars has an especially resource limited and harsh environment to which to adapt, so we needed ways of turning the simple and rare building blocks available into the more complex materials needed to build shelters, support our health and establish micro- and macro-ecologies to make the land more hospitable. In each case cited biology was of course the key barrier.

I’ve never heard the word ‘terraforming’ before – what is this and what does it mean?

Terraforming means making an inhospitable environment more favourable to long-term human occupation through engineering. In its extreme, it is the transformation of a planet to have an environment that can support human life effectively. While we recognize the technical and ethical barriers to even limited terraforming on an alien planet, the subject is key to understanding how to improve polluted or otherwise eroded lands on Earth, and to use in situ resources effectively no matter where humans may travel.

Are all these challenges as difficult as each other, or are some easier to accomplish than others?

Waste recycling and space medicine have many solved pieces and there are some key but clearly approachable engineering challenges to optimizing them. But efficient in situ resource utilization and effective limited and contained terraforming (limited to an enclosure as opposed to a planet-wide effort) both have a number of less understood steps involved in scaling the technology to be useful and safe.

With advances in synthetic biology and accompanying technology, how long could we feasibly ‘live’ in space for – would there be a limit? 

It would depend on what the scope of all the technology is and how much we are willing to spend. I would bet we could live a long a time in space with the proper support – even establishing permanent colonies at some point. Though I would not survive a second in Mark Watney’s position.

How scientifically accurate was The Martian – could we survive that long and grow potatoes on Mars?

I just read the book and as an engineering nerd and fan of stories of extreme competence I can say I really liked it. There was enough reason behind the solutions that even a scientist could suspend disbelief for the sake of the story. Growing plants is feasible though difficult of course. He has the right materials and approach. Mars geeks will point out that he skipped steps like washing perchlorates from Martian soil and dealing with the possibly pathogenicity of the human waste that would normally be composted. [Nine real NASA technologies in The Martian]

The first picture of Mars was taken 50 years ago and now we’re thinking about colonising the planet. It seems we’re advancing pretty quickly – it this true? Where do you see our knowledge expanding to in another 50 years?

I am astounded and utterly delighted at the pace and progress of science on all fronts these days. We are making progress in energy, medicine, engineering, synthetic biology and data science that should greatly lower the barriers to a trip to Mars. The same science that supports this should also help us address critical problems of increasing the efficiency, productivity and resilience of agriculture here on earth to feed our growing populations. It should help us address infective and chronic disease with engineered biological solutions. We should be able to better steward and repair our environment. I think we will see transformative change in our understanding and repair of the human brain too.

Our greatest challenge perhaps will be how to responsibly use our rapidly growing knowledge and capabilities best and most effectively as the pressures on our planet grow due to our demands.