To ask you to post the most intellectual thing you have learned recently?

[ethelfleda]

I dont care what subject it is about or how specific or random it may seem. I'm just in the mood to soak up some knowledge! I've been doing a lot of free course on the openlearn website and some of them are fascinating and I feel my self esteem is increasing just through learning. I didn't get the chance to study past GCSE level when I was younger and I have always regretted it.

I will start:

That I think in art history, it can almost be considered a hindrance to try and relate the artist's work with details of their life. This can discount many other factors influencing their work such as patronage or available materials and can cause you to read a painting 'incorrectly' - that is not in the manner in which it was intended'

A cow is not actually considered to be a cow until it has birthed a calf.
They are Heifers if they have never had a calf.

Frogs and toads are poisonous to dogs!

The reason dogs circle before they poo is that, pre-civilisation, their ancestors would have been pooing in long grass. The circling is to tamp the grass down; the behaviour has been passed down through generations of dogs.

The colour - bright pink - is said to be the oldest colour in the world after scientists found pigments in rocks from 1 billion years ago.

I had often heard the term [https://understandinguncertainty.org/another-look-entropy Entropy]] but only recently learned what it actually means.

It makes so much sense to me now- why my kitchen is untidy 15 minutes after I clean it through to the organisation of the universe.

Bugger....link fail
Entropy

That criminality has a positive effect (some think) on society as a whole.

I'm doing a Sociology MOOC at the minute.

Southend Pier, the longest in the world, does not go out to sea - it is in the Thames Estuary. Not an intellectual fact perhaps, but stopped me in my tracks.

The Six Day War. Drip irrigation. The 1940s actress Hedy Lamarr patented an invention which is later used for modern wireless communications including wifi and Bluetooth - perfect marriage of beauty and brains.

@LastOneDancing
I can totally see that. Interesting
Your answer is my answer to the op

Lastonedancing. I'm interested how so?

LastOneDancing that's fascinating - can you explain why they think that?

Haha @LastOneDancing
Has derailed the thread already!

That a CDO is A collateralized debt obligation is a type of structured asset-backed security. Originally developed as instruments for the corporate debt markets, CDOs evolved into the mortgage and mortgage-backed security markets.

(I've just watched The Big Short)

Stormina did you understand that? Love The Big Short BTW.

That every day there is the opportunity to learn something new. That new technology can help us look back into the past and provide for the future. I've been reading about new uses for drones and robots. Example there was a news story about a robot that delivered water to a village, which enabled the women to have free time to do other things like work, instead of collecting water. So robots can be used for simple or complex tasks. Another was use of drones to deliver first aid in remote areas or in the sea.

Earlier today, I was reading about how astronomers pinpoint the actual postition, (not just apparent) of stars. They record the stars position as seen from opposite sides of the earths orbit around the sun, and it's roughly in the middle. Then they have to take gravity into account, to work out the exact location, as other stars, energy and all the other things between earth and a star, distort how we see it.

Also, both Eastern and Western branches of astronomy, devised globes with poles etc, independently. I thought there had been some sharing of knowledge, but apparently that came later? Off to google how accurate that is

3D printing is beginning to take off, will be interesting to see how it develops in the future

Some monks have been able to move large, heavy objects using only sound

How’s that @LastOneDancing?

TheGr3atEscapez

Do you have a link to that? Sounds really interesting.

LastOneDancing - Persuming you are studying the Functionalist point of view in terms of criminology? I’ve just finished my course and it was ever so interesting!

TheGr3atEscapez How?

The criteria used by historians for assessing the validity of their sources, and the application of these to the sources relating to the life of Jesus.