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Happy Birthday, Albert Einstein! Genius Scientist Turns 140 Years Old Today.

The year 1905 came to be known as Einstein’s Miracle Year. He was 26 years old, and in that year he published four papers that reshaped physics. 

Photoelectric effect

The first explained what’s called the photoelectric effect – one of the bases for modern-day electronics – with practical applications including television. His paper on the photoelectric effect helped pave the way for quantum mechanics by establishing that light is both a particle and a wave. For this work, Einstein was later awarded a Nobel Prize in physics.

Brownian motion 

Another 1905 paper related to Brownian motion. In it, Einstein stated that the seemingly random motion of particles in a fluid (Brownian motion) was a predictable, measurable part of the movement of atoms and molecules. This helped establish the Kinetic Molecular Theory of Heat, which says that, if you heat something, its molecules begin to vibrate. At this same time, Einstein provided definitive confirmation that atoms and molecules actually exist.

Special relativity

Also in 1905, Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity. Before it, space, time and mass all seemed to be absolutes – the same for everyone. Einstein showed that different people perceive mass, space and time differently, but that these effects don’t show up until you start moving nearly at the speed of light. Then you find, for example, that time on a swiftly moving spaceship slows down, while the mass of the ship increases. According to Einstein, a spaceship traveling at the speed of light would have infinite mass, and a body of infinite mass also has infinite resistance to motion. And that’s why nothing can accelerate to a speed faster than light speed. Because of Einstein’s special relativity, light is now seen as an absolute in a universe of shifting values for space, time and matter.

Mass-energy equivalence

The fourth 1905 paper stated that mass and energy are equivalent. You perhaps know something of this work in Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2. That equation means that energy (E) is equal to mass (m) multiplied by the speed of light © squared. Sound simple? It is, in a way. It means that matter and energy are the same thing. It’s also very profound, in part because the speed of light is a huge number. As shown by the equation, a small amount of mass can be converted into a large amount of energy … as in atomic bombs. It’s this same conversion of mass to energy, by the way, that causes stars to shine.

But Einstein didn’t stop there. As early as 1911, he’d predicted that light passing near a large mass, such as a star, would be bent. That idea led to his General Theory of Relativity in 1916.

This paper established the modern theory of gravitation and gave us the notion of curved space. Einstein showed, for example, that small masses such as planets form dimples in space-time that hardly affect the path of starlight. But big masses such as stars produce measurably curved space.

The fact that the curved space around our sun was measurable let other scientists prove Einstein’s theory. In 1919, two expeditions organized by Arthur Eddington photographed stars near the sun made visible during a solar eclipse. The displacement of these stars with respect to their true positions on the celestial sphere showed that the sun’s gravity does cause space to curve so that starlight traveling near the sun is bent from its original path. This observation confirmed Einstein’s theory, and made Einstein a household name. 

Like I thought I was just acquaintances with this person because they never told me details about themselves and we just talked movies and writing . But then they made time to have coffee with me and they showed up out of breath because they ran. Like. RAN to be on time for coffee with me?

And I was like “i don’t mind waiting” cause I never want to run

But they said they wanted every minute they could get because I’m so busy usually

Which is when it clicked that I didn’t get how much they considered me a friend because I just straight away didn’t see MY signs of affection in them and went “cool! Casual buds it is.” But now that I’m seeing their signs of affection, I feel a little silly for dismissing them like that even though I felt like we could be best bros.

TOUCH got a bro that likes to give high fives? Back slaps? Are they a hugger? Do they not blink an eye at cuddles?

QUALITY TIME this bro will (as op stated) sprint to spend every minute possible with you. Every second that you guys are together is a declaration of affection.

WORDS does your bro tell you how amazing and great and fantastic and wonderful you are all the time? Guess what…?

GIFTS do they buy you coffee? Snacks, energy drinks, spot you at the restaurant? Did that one key chain remind them of you? Ding ding!

ACTS are they always doing things for you? Ie: Nah bro, I got this, I can do that, need me to get anything for you, I can help with…?

I have seen a post circulating for a while that lists 10 short stories everyone should read and, while these are great works, most of them are older and written by white men. I wanted to make a modern list that features fresh, fantastic and under represented voices. Enjoy!

1. A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri — A couple in a failing marriage share secrets during a blackout. 

2. Stone Animals by Kelly Link — A family moves into a haunted house.

3. Reeling for the Empire by Karen Russell — Women are sold by their families to a silk factory, where they are slowly transformed into human silkworms. 

4. Call My Name by Aimee Bender — A woman wearing a ball gown secretly auditions men on the subway. 

5. The Man on the Stairs by Miranda July — A woman wakes up to a noise on the stairs. 

6. Brownies by ZZ Packer — Rival Girl Scout troops are separated by race. 

7. City of My Dreams by Zsuzi Gartner — A woman works at a shop selling food-inspired soap and tries not to think about her past. 

8. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor — A family drives from Georgia to Florida, even though a serial killer is on the loose. 

9. Hitting Budapest by NoViolet Bulawayo — A group of children, led by a girl named Darling, travel to a rich neighborhood to steal guavas. 

I’d like to add:

11. Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor

12. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (this one is my favorite short story of all time)

13. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

14. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates

15. Désirée’s Baby by Kate Chopin

16. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

17. Impressions of an Indian Childhood by Zitkala-Ša

18. “My Dear You,” Rachel Khong — love, loss, & absurdity in the afterlife

19. “The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado — a feminist retelling of the folklore story “The Green Ribbon”

20. “Inventory,” Carmen Maria Machado — one woman’s retrospective list of her life’s sexual encounters

21. “Boys Go to Jupiter,” Danielle Evans — what happens after a white college student poses for a photo in a Confederate flag bikini

23. “Those Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “Mountain Ways” by Ursula K. Le Guin — The first is a study of philosophical questions similar to the trolley problem, told in very loose form. The second is a science-fantasy story about two women navigating love and sexuality in their society’s polyamorous marriage rituals. But honestly you should read all of Le Guin’s short stories and novels, she’s amazing.

24. “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler — One of my all-time FAVORITE short stories, about a future where humans live alongside large insect-like aliens, and serve as hosts for their eggs and larval young. It’s gruesome, gory, unsettling, and honestly pretty horrific but it’s really wonderful–if you can handle horror in your stories I highly recommended it. Butler’s novels are also wonderful, please check them out if you can (not all of them are this unsettling)

25. “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi” by Pat Cadigan — A trans allegory in which future humans go through surgery to become invertebrate sea creatures (cephalopods and arthropods mostly) in order to better work in space. Wonderfully weird in so many ways.

November 29, 2016

The Antlers; Hospice

42 + 29 = 71

for neurotypical people, they use the method we were all taught in grade school where you add 9 + 2 to get 11 and then move the extra one over to make 4 + 2 + 1 which equals 7 to give you 71

but the way I do it (as many other people with ADHD as I’ve come to find out) is this:

okay so you have 42 + 29. if you take 1 away from 42 and give it to 29 to make it an even 30, you now have 41 + 30 which is an easy 71

or, another problem: 53 + 88

round that 88 up to 90 and take the two from 53 so you have 51 + 90. but wait I can make this easier. take 10 more from 51 to make 90, 100 and now you have 41 + 100 which equals 141

fucking HATED that. as someone who could get from point A to point D in my head in a split second, I felt like showing my work was often a waste of time when sometimes it felt like I just automatically knew the answer

or, if I did put down my work, I went through a process that wasn’t taught and would get points reduced anyway because it wasn’t the way we were taught just because my brain worked differently than the rest of the class. my answer was always right. they just didn’t like how I got it

because I do things to that extent too

so if you give me something like 37 + 45 I’ll go “well 30 + 40 is 70 and 7 + 5 is 12 so 70 + 12 is 82″

Pituitary Tumours: 

May be hormone-secreting or non-secreting

Most are benign

May cause visual disturbances and headaches as they grow and compress surrounding tissues

Often results in excessive amounts of one pituitary hormone and decreases in others.

Growth Hormone Deficiency:

Variety of causes

In children it causes delayed growth and short stature

In adults it can lead to muscular weakness, fatigue, decreased bone mass, and obesity.

Hypopituitarism: 

Variety of causes including tumours, trauma, decreased pituitary blood supply, infection, sarcoidosis, an autoimmune process, radiation, surgical removal of the pituitary, or a side effect of pituitary surgery

Results in a general decrease in pituitary hormone production.

Hyperprolactinaemia: 

a pituitary tumour that secretes prolactin or a tumour that prevents the regulation of prolactin production

In women can cause galactorrhoea (milk secretion from the breasts) and amenorrhoea (loss of menstrual cycles), and in men decreased sex drive and impotence.

Empty Sella Syndrome: 

The sella is the structure that surrounds the pituitary gland

It may increase in size and put pressure on the pituitary

Rarely, the pituitary gland shrinks in response and hormone production decreases, leading to hypopituitarism.

Craniopharyngioma: 

A type of brain tumour that develops close to the pituitary gland

Most commonly occurs in children and adolescents but can also occur in adults over 50 years old

Benign but may put pressure on the pituitary, causing hypopituitarism, headaches, visual disturbances, and delayed growth.

Rare pituitary disorders

Acromegaly and Gigantism: excess growth hormone production, usually due to a tumour; when it occurs in childhood, it causes gigantism associated with excessive bone growth and abnormally tall stature; in adults, it causes acromegaly, with increases in bone thickness, coarsened facial features, enlarged hands and feet, carpal tunnel syndrome (aching, numbness and tingling in hand), headaches, sweating, sleep apnoea (breathing problems at night associated with snoring), fatigue, and hypertension.

Cushing’s Disease: caused by a pituitary tumour that produces excess ACTH and leads to excess exposure by the body to the adrenal gland hormone cortisol; symptoms vary but include: upper body obesity, a rounded face, thin skin, pink streaks on the abdomen, muscular weakness, osteoporosis, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.

Diabetes Insipidus: decreased production of ADH by the hypothalamus; patient’s kidneys don’t conserve water and concentrate urine; patient is thirsty and has frequent, dilute urination.

Nelson’s Syndrome: may result when both adrenal glands are removed as part of the treatment for Cushing’s Disease; a pituitary tumour develops that produces ACTH and can cause darkening of the skin due to increased production of melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH).

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 (MEN1): an inherited genetic mutation that increases the risk of developing tumours in the pituitary and in other endocrine glands.

Kallman’s Syndrome: deficient release of GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) from the hypothalamus leads to lack of FSH and LH production; causes delayed or absent puberty; associated with no sense of smell; occurs only in males.

Pituitary Infarction: restricted blood supply to the pituitary gland; may cause gland tissue damage and lead to hypopituitarism.

Me : wants to become a youtuber

Me : wants to learn philosophy

Me : wants to become an author

Me : wants to top the academics

Me : wants to learn literature and history

Me : wants to be aesthetic

Me : wants to know dark academia

Me : wants to become famous

The lives of great classical composers.

Ancient Egypt's social hierarchy and attitudes towards women, homosexuality etc.

Poisons.

The tea trade, and how it became so important to British culture.

18th century fashion and the production of clothing.

How corsets aren't the terrible patriarchal torture devices everyone thinks they are.

The use of recreational drugs in the late 19th century.

The French revolution.

Methods of forensic investigation at crime scenes.

Controversy in psychological studies.

Matriarchal societies.

How nostalgia influences fashion, media, and literature.

The nature versus nurture argument.

The history of trains and railroads.

Symbolism in art.