Scipsy

you are missed. that is all.

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:20:14 +0200

Although this break from tumblr have had some positive effects on me (I’ve stopped from compulsively sifting through the NASA’s archive like a maniac and I no longer fell the need to stay up all night trying to answer the most absurd questions) I have to admit that I miss all this sciency stuff and I miss a lot the awesome people I’ve known through this silly blog.

In the last months this blog has experienced a progressive decline in the number of produced posts....

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:31:00 +0200

In the last months this blog has experienced a progressive decline in the number of produced posts. There are several reasons that come to my mind to explain why is that, but probably the better one is about the fact that I lost motivation. Unexpectedly, despite the lack of regular updates the blog gained more and more followers. [That’s flattering, but at the same time makes me suspicious about the relationship between quality of a blog and number of followers.]

Anyway, I always feel a little lost when I follow a blog and it slowly fades away, and then it just stops posting, without saying anything, so I thought to make this post.

I’m not going to update scipsy anymore. This could change, but for now I don’t feel like posting here anymore. I’m not going to delete it.

If someone would like to stay in touch, just send a message or something. This is my mail: dr.scipsy@gmail.com

If someone is wondering: “Who will fill my dash with science now?” here’s a list of sciency tumblr I followed:

That’s it, I think.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Galaxy pair called Arp 116, composed of a giant elliptical...

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 00:05:59 +0200

Galaxy pair called Arp 116, composed of a giant elliptical galaxy Messier 60, and a smaller spiral galaxy, NGC 4647. (via ESA/Hubble)

This composite image shows a superbubble in the Large Magellanic...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:21:10 +0200

This composite image shows a superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located about 160,000 light years from Earth. Many new stars, some of them very massive, are forming in the star cluster NGC 1929, which is embedded in the nebula N44. The massive stars produce intense radiation, expel matter at high speeds, and race through their evolution to explode as supernovas. The winds and supernova shock waves carve out huge cavities called superbubbles in the surrounding gas. (via CHANDRA)

Globular cluster M4 (via ESA/Hubble)

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:24:19 +0200

Globular cluster M4 (via ESA/Hubble)

"[…] the way drugs are often portrayed as nothing but harmful and damaging is quite..."

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:10:00 +0200

“[…] the way drugs are often portrayed as nothing but harmful and damaging is quite disconcerting; it suggests that taking drugs is akin to trying to increase the speed of your computer by pouring coffee over the motherboard; you’re going to experience a lot of new sights, sounds and smells, but cause irreversible damage in the process. That’s not how it works. Many drugs are effective because they work on systems in the brain that are already there. Opiates like heroin work on opiate receptors, cocaine affects the dopamine system (amongst others). The brain and body have evolved over millions of years to recognise and utilise these chemicals, and drugs typically work because they are analogous to the substances that occur naturally in our bodies. E.g. cannabis works because the brain has endogenous cannabinoids.”

- Dean Burnett on the recent study that states that cannabis use is linked to reduced IQ.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 06:41:15 +0200

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512

Some Thoughts about Schizoid Dynamics by Nancy McWilliams. [pdf]

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:05:00 +0200

Some Thoughts about Schizoid Dynamics by Nancy McWilliams. [pdf]:

Recently I see more and more posts about introversion, how introvert people really are, how to interact with them and so on. I’ve seen dozen of those posts. I’ve read a couple of posts about ‘highly sensitive people’ (HSP) too. Apparently people like those posts. That’s ok. I understand that. People who identify themseles as introvert are pleased to know that there are others like them, that the way they are is just a normal variation within the human population. That makes them feel less alone and more “normal”.

I don’t think that finding a label for one’s own quirks of personality is useful, but that’s me. I don’t think I’m introvert or HSP, although many people have said that to me.

I don’t talk much, that’s true. I’m not easy to talk to, that’s also true. Some people find that unconfortable. I understand that. Just yesterday I had a very awful experience because of my not-talking-much thing.

Today I was searching for articles and I found this one. It’s by one of my favorite psychotherapists and it’s about something others could call introversion. Nancy McWilliams prefer to use the term “schizoid personality”. I personally don’t like the term introversion, mostly because it implies that there are only two ways you could be: you’re an introvert, or an extrovert. I don’t think it is like that. I’m not sure “schizoid personality” is the right term either, but I understand why McWilliams has chosen it.

I thought I’d share this article because I felt it’s not shallow like other I’ve read, and because I felt it as more humane.

Infrared View of the Milky Way Center

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 07:04:06 +0200

Infrared View of the Milky Way Center

Build Your Own NASA Apollo Landing Computer

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:44:33 +0200

Build Your Own NASA Apollo Landing Computer

Composite optical and X-ray picture of supernova remnant...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:26:23 +0200

Composite optical and X-ray picture of supernova remnant G272.2-03.2 (via ESA)

Things patients said to me today: “Can you explain to me why sometimes the Moon can be seen in...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:46:13 +0200

Things patients said to me today:

“Can you explain to me why sometimes the Moon can be seen in daylight?” (I later discovered that he was afraid the Moon was coming too close to Earth and that it could have eventually cause tsunami and all sort of terrible things).

“I’ve seen that psychologist having sex with that trainee while I was hiding inside the doghouse.”

“There was this guy, he was a patient here, and the psychiatrist and the nurse have killed him.”

“You were sent here to spy on me.”

"I draw strength from reflecting on what a privilege it is to be alive and what a privilege it is to..."

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:43:51 +0200

“I draw strength from reflecting on what a privilege it is to be alive and what a privilege it is to have a brain that’s capable in its limited way of understanding why I exist and of reveling in the beauty of the world and the beauty of the products of evolution. The magnificence of the universe and the sense of smallness that gives us in space and in geologically deep time is humbling but in a strangely comforting way. It’s nice to feel you’re part of a hugely bigger picture.”

- - Richard Dawkins

"Mandel was shocked to discover an alternate version of the world’s origins. He had been raised..."

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:03:29 +0200

“Mandel was shocked to discover an alternate version of the world’s origins. He had been raised to believe that the world was less than 6,000 years old; he recalls his father telling him, on a rare family visit to the Museum of Natural History, that a dinosaur skeleton was “just rocks.””

- A hasidic Jew reads science blogs and discover curiosity about what’s outside his religious beliefs.

What's Special About This Number?

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:52:03 +0200

What's Special About This Number?

Have you study or had professional experience with dyslexic adults?

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 07:02:09 +0200

I’ve worked with children with dyslexia for some time, but never with adults. I have studied the topic a little but I have just few basic notions.

Can you answer on behalf of the universe? May I inquire as to why there aren’t any catbusses nearby? I really need one, thanks.

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:53:00 +0200

Catbus on its way.

Why are there ninjas on your lawn?

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:35:21 +0200

They like to train with nunchaku there.

How insane does the American political system appear to europeans?

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:35:00 +0200

I’m Italian. Every other polical system seems to me less insane.

they are keeping secrets

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:23:04 +0200

They certainly are.