#a natural history of the senses

[pclysemia]

Our sense of smell can be extraordinarily precise, yet it’s almost impossible to describe how something smells to someone who hasn’t smelled it. The smell of the glossy pages of a new book, for example, or the first solvent-damp sheets from a mimeograph machine, or a dead body, or the subtle differences in odors given off by flowers like bee balm, dogwood, or lilac. Smell is the mute sense, the one without words. Lacking a vocabulary, we are left tongue-tied, groping for words in a sea of inarticulate pleasure and exaltation.

Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses

#smell #senses #fragments #diane ackerman #a natural history of the senses #language

[sehnsuchtz]

from A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman

#literature #prose #diane ackerman #a natural history of the senses #quote #excerpt #on being #on being human #on earth we're briefly gorgeous #sensory #the human experience #humanity #dark academia #dark academia aesthetic #light academia #light academia aesthetic #academia aesthetic #academia #chaotic academia #chaotic academia aesthetic

[paint-me-primary]

your bones can vibrate when you hum? i did not know this

#music #diane ackerman #a natural history of the senses

[th3wizardoz]

I am a avian natural historian, but I am helping with the overhaul of the fish collection at my university and the common names make me laugh.

My favorite so far is “Southern Slippery Dick” but “Alabama Hogsucker” is a VERY close second.

#like bird common names can be funny #but you fish folks have a great sense of humor #natural history #fish #fishblr #science #biology #alabama hogsucker #Southern Slippery Dick

[markscherz]

Hello Dr. Frog guy, may I ask for the biggest frog species please!

Thanks for the prompt! Here’s a TikTok by way of answer.

#frogs #science #animals #museums #natural history museum #Conraua goliath #Rhinella marina #Pyxicephalus adspersus #Lithobates catesbeianus #TikTok #my face #that thing on the front of my skull #me #waistcoat academics #I call my dress sense ‘academic chique’ #Not pictured: the frog socks I am wearing #or my tweed jacket

[chimaerakitten]

So the Temeraire series doesn’t do the Pern-derived magic/telepathic bond thing, and it’s nice to have some variety on that count since the telepathy thing is pretty widespread. But there’s this passage in crucible of gold that’s like—

Wait, my thriftbooks order arrived, let me go grab the quote

Or, Temeraire thought, he might as easily have gone alone--more easily, in fact; he had to carry Forthing cupped in his talons, and it was not at all convenient to always be looking to make sure he had not dropped out; Temeraire was not aware of him in quite the same way as of Laurence.

(Emphasis mine)

And this combined with the number of times it’s mentioned that (Russians aside) aviators just don’t seem to be capable of fearing their own dragons (and not just aviators who raised the dragons from the egg—it’s the same with inherited dragons) indicates to me that there’s something really interesting psychologically/biologically going on “under the hood,” there, so to speak.

And maybe this is just me and all those anthropology classes I took in college but that actually makes a lot of sense?

The historical record in the series dates the intentional breeding of dragons to a couple thousand years in the past, in china, but there’s a lot of evidence that there’s been a looser symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons a lot longer than that. Namely the domesticated elephants and the dragons in the Americas being the same species and of the same attitudes towards humans as dragons in Eurasia. So that’s likely at least 20 thousand years of symbiosis/mutual domestication, (if we assume they migrated together, which I do because it’s the simplest explanation) and it could well be much longer than that. That’s a long ass time. Like. The spread of IRL lactase persistence took less time than this.

And much like the benefits of being able to drink milk as an adult, the benefits of mutualism with an intelligent dinosaur-sized flying predator would absolutely have selective pressure on human populations. That’s just a given. I would talk about early hominins being third-tier scavengers here and Pleistocene megafauna and the canonical prevention of malaria via dragon proximity as compared to sickle cell anemia, but nobody wants me to regurgitate my entire biological anthropology 215 class in a tumblr post. Just trust me on this one.

Basically, the entire human species in the Temeraire universe will have been under a lot of positive selective pressure to be good symbiosis buddies to the dragons, so it’s no wonder aviator attachment is so intense.

This is likewise true for the dragons. A lot can be put down to intentional breeding in the last couple thousand years, but the foundation of dragons being prosocial with humans would have to be laid before then. Humans have domesticated predators IRL, but dragons are like 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than wolves and it took a long time to get dogs. The romans wouldn’t have had any luck if the dragons weren’t already partially on board. My theory is that this would have started way back. Australopithecus times, way back, because— [Anth 215 sneaks up behind me whilst the jaws theme plays] ANYWAY there’s a few benefits I can guess at for dragons having assistance hunting from small bands of persistence predators on occasion. I also think this would have intensified post-Pleistocene as the megafauna that would have been the dragons’ main prey went extinct and eventually agriculture would be the only way to replace— [Jaws theme intensifies] JUST TRUST ME BRO.

All this to say that humans being able to very quickly lose all instinctive fear of the dinosaur-sized flying predators they spend their time around and said predators developing not only attachment to humans but particular awareness of their humans specifically so as to prevent any possible accidental harm makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary biology perspective. It’s evidence of the same mutualistic relationship biologically shaping both species across the broader time spans that the series hints at.

#Temeraire #the kitten rambles #idk I just think it’s interesting that there’s more going on than the history the characters know #and it makes sense the characters wouldn’t think about this #because the time period in the series is about 35 years pre-theory of evolution by natural selection #'hey chi what are you doing with your Sunday night?’ #I’m writing a speculative evolutionary biology essay about a fantasy novel WHAT ELSE WOULD ONE DO ON A SUNDAY EVENING

[michaeljoncarter]

this makes negative sense, but to me, "oc" takes on a completely different meaning in the context of comics than what it means out in the wild. like there's new characters and then there's writer's ocs. being a writer's original character in the literal sense doesn't automatically make them that writer's oc, and actually, they don't even have to have been created by that writer to be their oc. it's all very diachronic

#something about the collaborative nature of comics makes it so like... #it's not that originality is a bad thing obviously #but when your ch or take on a ch is so new & unrelated to everything before that it requires scrapping all of history to make it work #why are you even putting them in this story at this point #it's like... not 'original character' in the literal meaning but 'original character' as in 'literally nothing about them meshes #with this story/world and they're feel like an original character that's been pulled out of a completely different original universe' #does that make sense????? #like you could say that's juts like a fave/bias/whatever when it's about an existing character #but also NO because it's so specific to comics #because it's more than that when there's an established canon you should be sticking to #but you instead just decide to make up a bunch of whole new shit out of nowhere #both in terms of the universe around them and their place in it #and/or how that character specifically has been written for their entire history #and that a lot of the time directly conflicts w & erases huge portions of the story instead of adding to it #they will just make up a whole new character and slap an existing character's name & face on it #as if the aesthetics of the character are what people have been reading for all these years lol #sir that is your oc committing identity theft

[asterwild]

Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica)

#id in alt #sorry no spiel today but these guys are fascinating. highly rec reading about their history + current status and conservation efforts #endangered species #wildlife #animal art #animals #nature #anyway for junicorn i'm not drawing unicorns but i'm drawing antlered/horned animals in magical girl poses....this makes sense yes #ungulate june

[musical-chick-13]

Regarding the previous post, I think the way I approach trying to evaluate a piece of art is asking "Do I think the positive things I get out of it outweigh the parts of it that I don't like?" And when I call something a "guilty pleasure" song/show/book/piece of media/etc. it's really more in the sense of, "Given who I am as a person, the flaws I've found in this should be complete dealbreakers for me, but somehow they aren't, and it makes me feel like I'm having an identity crisis."

#like. I think something like...idk shiki or cxgf excels on multiple levels. I understand why I like them. given the things I look for in art #it makes sense that these shows would speak to me because they make the effort to showcase those things I look for. because the people #in charge of those works clearly valued the same kinds of things and cared about seriously exploring them. #but with something like. uh. ctrlz. that is NOT the case and I frequently found myself going 'why would anyone make this writing #decision?' but I still sat through all 3 seasons of it! I still really enjoyed it! those flaws SHOULD have made me give up according to #personal history but they never did. and I very very much genuinely question why. I have NO IDEA why I still care about this #silly convoluted teen drama show so much. but I do. I wrote SO MANY FUCKING POSTS ABOUT IT. #I really love wicked the musical. I've heard many people call it 'hokey' or 'cheesy' or 'objectively bad' but here's the thing! I DON'T #think it's bad!!! like literally at all!!!!!! and it does do some genuinely cool things in regard to the music and the way the characters #develop and what the show says about the nature of prejudice and human connection. is it like. idk Serious™ the way that something like #Parade is? no. but it doesn't have to be. it does what it sets out to do and it does it well and this is why the whole '''objective #evaluation''' thing doesn't actually mean anything. I value thoughtfully-constructed music and dynamic female characters #(which this musical has). I value stories that deal with the complex and messy feelings that come with being a human (which this musical #has). I value stories about 'other'ness and romantic subplots that aren't just built on 'This Girl Is Pretty' (which this musical has). #and I value professional displays of technical vocal ability because I know how fucking DIFFICULT that is (which this musical...if you cast #it well...has). #if you value something else in a musical then yeah you will probably think THIS one is '''objectively bad''' #if you don't see the point of musicals as an art form you will probably think wicked is '''objectively bad''' #do you see where the problem with categorizing analysis like this is??

[blluespirit]

I sort of like the thought that Zuko and Aang take the Sun Warriors' warning not to tell anyone about the dragons a little more seriously… and they keep it between them. Of course, they trust Sokka, Toph and Katara. Of course they know they wouldn’t tell anyone, but now three people (including Iroh) know the truth about Ran and Shaw. And that’s three too many when you’re trying to keep a secret.

(and there are other people at the temple as well - like Haru, Teo and The Duke - who, while trustworthy, aren’t as close to them as the others, and when it comes to secrets with as much consequence as this one, you can’t afford to take any chances.)

Furthermore, the culture within the Fire Nation since Sozin’s rein has been warped. The culture is not to respect the dragons as the original firebenders, it’s to conquer and kill them. It’s the ultimate proof of your strength as a firebender. All it takes is one mistake before rumour spreads, and people go looking for the ultimate hunt. It’s not something Zuko or Aang can risk.

Whether Katara, Toph and Sokka (and Suki) ever find out the truth is up to you. But post-war, after Zuko returns from a strange, poorly explained trip with a dragon, and eventually develops the ability to use rainbow fire, either the others have some questions about Aang’s knowing look, or they are finally let in on a monumental secret.

#it’s a kids show so i think for that reason it was played for laughs about keeping the dragons a secret is not necessarily a bad choice... #the show does that sometimes where it says something off hand and then leaves me lying face down contemplating ✨the consequences✨ of that #but there are some… implications there about being too loose lipped with the truth in leading up to the end of and immediately post #war fire nation. just because zuko understands the spiritual significance of a dragon it does not mean the rest of his people will. actuall #its more likely that they'd reject zuko's opinion considering that he's basically coming into power and then telling everyone that #they've been lied to their whole lives. the fire nation is drowning in propaganda. for a lot of people this opinion of dragons and #firebending's true nature being violence and destruction is all they know. fire is LIFE but to most people that's an alien concept #and in terms of keeping secrets - it’s not even a matter of trust it’s a matter of too many people knowing #you might not even realised you’ve revealed some incredible information to someone who has the means to spread it or pursue it #so… i think zuko would be hyper aware of this. since he grew up hearing stories about the 'glory' of dragon hunting #and since iroh has also made a concerted effort to keep this information hidden i think it makes sense he’d be very hesitant to let it #get out to the public #aang would agree i think esp if zuko explained the importance of hiding them even from loved ones #ALSO random but it also makes me wonder what the fire nation said about roku in wake of the war #he had a dragon but he didn’t kill it. he didn’t ’conquer’ it #sozin would have had to work his ASS off to reframe history as him being the more… loyal(?) patriotic (?) of the two #did he frame it as roku didn’t have the courage to kill a dragon??? that he lacked the strength of a true firebender? #the avatar works hard but sozin's propaganda machine works harder 🧍‍♀️ #zuko #aang #avatar the last airbender #zuko & aang #jack talks #sun warriors #book 3 #what is it with me having a whole separate post in the tags 👁️👄👁️

[communistkenobi]

I know being like “communism is religious” is an extremely annoying thing to say but I’m reading a book called red demiurge which is about the legal history of the soviet union and honestly that title is not hyperbole

#red demiurge #only getting like 60% of it bc I don’t know that much about soviet history or law #or really anything . but like I’m reading about them moving an entire industrial plant #like physically disassembling it and moving it along with all the labourers #as well as equipment resources etc #bc of the german invasion #like they can’t afford to lose the factory so they just. move it lol #and like honestly just reading about it does evoke a sense of like #this is very close to a divine act you know #I know political theology is like contentious and I’m not fully familiar with all of those arguments #but like I am sometimes persuaded by the general concept #the state is the closest you get to like divine acts of god #aside from natural disasters and shit #to rhetorically capture the power of the state you sort of end up just talking about god #anyway sorry I’m being insane I’m high rn I think I’m gonna go play animal crossing #please don’t be weird in my notes abt this thank u <3

[switchcase]

Thinking about how my mother would tell me that she didn't remember me being traumatized ever and that I had a "really great" childhood that I'm "unappreciative of," except that in court paperwork (from before I had a DID diagnosis) she is on the record as saying I displayed "severe dissociative symptoms" "from an early age." Very interesting. Funny even.

#this is on the court docs where I got my restraining order til 2099 lol #I have no idea what would compel someone to believe that 'this person has bad memory stemming from trauma btw don't believe I did it' #is in any way a good defense #she was also naturally a Big Huge part of my abuse history but growing up I assumed that she had the same memory issues I did #because she would say she didn't remember and I would go 'oh haha of course that makes sense. It would be upsetting to remember that' #anyway I really think that like 'person has dissociative disorder and brain injuries their memory can't be trusted in a case about abuse' #was really really funny #top 10 dumbest things to say in court #.log #abuse .

[teasemic]

real meaning behind show’s title

insp 

ʷʰᵉⁿ ᶦᵐ ˢᵗʳᵉˢˢᵉᵈ ᶦ ʳᵉᵈʳᵃʷ ᵐᵉᵐᵉˢ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#the eclipse #the eclipse the series #my art #semicart #I saw word 'eclipse' and well #this show making me unwell every single week #I don't really like shows set in school but here it absolutely makes sense #using school structure as metaphor for country as a whole #reminded me of aristotle's view on politics and how cities naturally grow from smaller communities #school being a small community should have rules and laws similar to a city or country #but school system don't give students right to decide on anything #and it's interesting to see this main conflict about school uniforms that is about so much more #and ahh I love all these references to famous philosophers and history and literature and also internet #and its role in making younger generations more knowledgeable about all these topics and allowing them to actually regain some power #I like how we see different perspectives on same philosophies #where each person using same source material is able to support their respective believes #like with hobbes #teacher was fixated on ruling aspect of his philosophy meanwhile ayan brought up matter of freedom #that teacher purposefully avoided #but also ayan himself didn't mention fear factor that hobbes considered crucial in creating communities and then countries #ahhh I thought I could draw little silly meme and put all m thoughts in the tags bc im too stupid to make whole serious post about it #but turns out i could only fit some kind of preface here aksjgaksdgakgf #there so many other things that could be said about whole hobbes locke and other philosopher debate from ep 4 #and also 1984 like hhhh #I might ramble some more in the future #ANYWAYS #I need to finish more serious eclipse fanart someday that is patiently sitting in my drafts aha

[hartmannyoukaigirl]

Eren x Freedom is my OTP actually that isayama felt the need to personally and vehemently sink for the sake of pseudo incest ending because he forgot that he wrote an actually good story and not typical anime garbage

#Society if eren just went with 100% and went down as THE most unique anime protagonist of all time to LITERALLY MURDER EVERYONE AND WIN #AND BE RIGHT. LIKE. ACTUALLY BE NOT WRONG AND EVIL #AOT would've been the literally perfect revenge story. but isayama related a bit too much with the oppressors to give the oppressed a good #ending #and thought well it is natural that everyone we came to love throughout the 10 years airing time of AOT gets VIOLENTLY NUKED at the end. an #the allegory for every oppressive and colonizer country and emprire through history won and our cast of characters died. and people praise #this. #of course the 80% american reddit would think that ending is peak fiction and makes sense. lol

[yoga-onion]

The Quest for Buddhism (53)

Punnovada Sutta – Buddha's teaching to his No.5 disciple, Purna (Pali: Punna)

The Punnovada Sutta is the 145th discourse of the Majjhimanikāya.

On one occasion, Buddha was staying at the Anathapindika (Jetavana) in Sāvatthi (Skt. Shravasti). Bhikku Punna (Skt.Purna :Ref) visited him there and asked him about the art of devotion in seclusion that he may follow it and be purged of self. The Buddha tells him to avoid finding delight in the pleasures of the senses.

The Buddha's teaching on the Buddha Dharma to the Bhikkhu Punna. Reveals that suffering is caused by 'joyous pleasure' arising from stimuli entering from the six places.

The Buddha explains the control of the Six Ayatana (the six internal-external organs of sense):

Six roots - the six organs or senses on the side of subjectivity:

Eye - visual ability or the organ of sight.

Ear - the ability to hear or the organ of hearing.

Nose - olfactory abilities or olfactory organs.

Tongue - the ability to taste or the organ of taste

Body - Tactile abilities or sense of touch

Will - Perceptive abilities or organs of perception

Six borders - the six objects on the objective side, the objects of the senses:

Colour - the colours and forms seen by the eye root.

Voice - objects of hearing.

Aroma - object of the sense of smell.

Taste - object of the sense of taste.

Touch - firmness, heat, heaviness, etc. perceived by the roots of the body.

Dharma - all existence, including concepts, perceived by the mind-root.

仏教の探求 (53)

プンナ教誡経 (プンナきょうかいきょう、巴: プンノーヴァーダ・スッタ)〜ブッダが５番弟子のプールナ(富楼那、巴:プンナ）に説いた仏法

プンナ教誡経とは、マッジマニカーヤ(中部)の145番目の講話ことである。

ある時、ブッダはサーヴァッティー（舎衛城）のアナータピンディカ園（祇園精舎）に滞在していた。そこに比丘プンナ (富楼那、プールナ：参照)がブッダのもとを訪れ、、��里離れて精進していく術を問う。それに従って自己を浄化するようにと頼む。ブッダは、六感の楽しみを見出さないようにと言う。

ブッダが、比丘プンナ（富楼那）に六処の制御を説く。六処より入る刺激に基づいて生起する「喜悦」によって、苦が発生することを明らかにする。六処（しょ、梵・巴: アーヤタナ）とは、感覚器、感覚媒体、感覚範囲を意味する。仏教では、6つの内部感覚器六根（ろっこんと、6つの外部感覚器六境（ろっきょう）に��類される:

六根（ろっこん、六内入処(ろくないにゅうしょ)とも） - 主観の側の六種の器官、感官のこと:

眼（げん） - 視覚能力もしくは視覚器官

耳（に） - 聴覚能力もしくは聴覚器官

鼻（び） - 嗅覚能力もしくは嗅覚器官

舌（ぜつ） - 味覚能力もしくは味覚器官

身（しん） - 触覚能力もしくは触覚器官

意（い） - 知覚能力もしくは知覚器官

六境（ろっきょう、六外入処(ろくげにゅうしょ)とも） - 客観の側の六種の対象、感官の対象のこと:

色（しき） - 眼根によって見られる色彩と形象

声（しょう） - 聴覚の対象

香（こう） - 嗅覚の対象

味（み） - 味覚の対象

触（そく） - 身根によって感じられる堅さ、熱さ、重さなど

法（ほう） - 意根によって知覚される概念を含むすべての存在

#Punnovada Sutta #Majjhimanikāya #pali cannon #buddha #buddhism #punna #Purna Maitrayiputra #buddha's teaching #buddha's disciple #ayatana #the six internal-externa organs of sense #body and mind #buddha dharma #history #nature #art

[ronanlynchbf]

basically there's been a void inside of me since i was 6 and that's what's wrong with me.

#YO BRO DESTINED TO NEVER BELONG 👆🔥🔥🙏💥💯❗❗❗ #r.txt #like. ever since i was a little kid i've felt a sense of alienation and lonesomeness whenever wherever & it's only gotten worse over time #<- lonesomeness really THE adam parrish word i can't not think of him whenever i use it. also shakira moment woo that wasn't intended but💪 #anyway. urgh. february's such a weird month tbh like one day i'm feeling fine the next i'm contemplating changing my entire life and then #i'm back to feeling fine and waxing poetic abt nature only to feel guilty for simply existing and like i'm never gonna be happy EVER in the #history of my life two days later........fuckass month. count ur days 🔫😐 #but we move 👍🙏💪 #in other more positive news that i am gonna focus on instead of the stupid february feelings: i've applied for a new ID yday which was long #overdue and i'm over halfway through the 500+ page book i was reading for exams and i'm getting a newspaper job so i'll have a little bit o #income and guaranteed at least an hour outside in the fresh air biking and walking every week and it'll also leave me with enough time to #study without me feeling added pressure bc of the job & come july i'll be two years clean <33 so yay for me 👏