Let's befriend a ... tree ...

I did not expect this book will change so much in my attitude to nature... "The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World" by Peter Wohlleben. (See GoodReads entry) Passionate, scientific, non-fictional - don't know how to label it :-), yet it really changed the way I thought about nature.

There was perhaps something inside me when I was sick seeing a tree cut without a reason or the large parts of forests in North Poland "cultivated" as the lumber industry calls it. Don't take me wrong, I'm not in the camp of people who protest the lumber industry. Not at all. But I saw so many examples of a very bad way the forests were managed... We heard the stories of officials (here in Poland) trying to kill the last pristine forest we have: Puszcza Białowieska...

The book will tell you more about that. I read it audio. Great voice of Mike Grady.

This seems to be my real return to blogging about books. Even short notes are better than nothing.
However, the post like the three earlier, are from my early morning reading of mostly physical books, so they are a bit different in character and the way I write ...

Cheers
Mirek@Lodz

PhotoSynths of my holidays

I made some experiments with Microsoft PhotoSynth technology. I used pictures I made during my holidays. You will be asked to install Microsoft SilverLight to view them.
The interesting thing of these Synths is that you do not need any preparation to make them.
Just through a number of pictures of the place - and the software does the rest.
Sometimes the effect is astonishing !
See:












Enjoy !!!

Semantic Web on Greek Island. Conclusion

ESWC 2009 - European Semantic Web Conference.

It was great conference and amazing experience. Not only I could understand and grasp where the world is today when it comes to Semantic Web, but also we witnessed deep and hot discussion about its philosophical implications. After these 5 intensive days one can really feel the big change that will soon shake the web and the way we use it.

I think, instead of long review, I rather point readers to two web resources about the conference:

1) Its website: http://www.eswc2009.org/
2) The recordings of key lectures will be soon available on http://www.videolectures.net/

Finally, it was also right choice to organize it in such amazing nature...

See just two pictures:

World without us - old prophecies in modern skin ?

Reading Alan Weisman "The World Without Us" is a terrific experience. The book contemplates the state of the earth after the human race is gone... The author is not giving us the another catastrophic theory - instead he speculates on how and what can happen to our mother earth if we are no longer there....

The prevailing conclusion is that the nature will manage the world without us much faster we could ever imagine. He gives examples that are so convincing - like the example of Puszcza Bialowieska in Poland - the last forest primeval in Europe, Chernobyl abandoned areas, Korean DMZ - the places where the power of nature prevails - only because we are not there.....

The author also suggests, that what could happen to us, in some sense already happened in the history - in the case of Maya civilisation. Although on a micro scale, what happened to Maya's - can happen to us - on much larger scale.

The book is fascinating and captivating - once you started - you can not stop reading.

It also relates to "end-of-time" predictions of major world religions.

The only criticism I may have - is in the "Coda" where author apparently apotheoses the idea of "one-couple - one child" idea. On this point, I dare to disagree, but I also think, the fantastic book would be even better if the author would not endorse the questionable idea....

Four days of silence ....

I was outside any "connected world", outside any electronic books...
I was in total solitude canoeing on two wild rivers Bukowina and Łupawa in Northern Poland.
Pictures (about 300 ...) will come later.
The only things I was reading deep into the nights, against starry sky were: Tomer Devorah and Mesillat Yesharim by Moshe Luzzatto. At this moment I will not comment about these lectures ... Too deep feelings ....
After the silence I finished the Sepulchure (see next entry) and started to read "Shadow of the Wind" - the second after an advice from my beloved daughter.... See next entries ....