Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Everything You Need to Know About the Brain

(click to enlarge)
 

These simple, easy-to-follow charts are fun, comprehensive visual guides to the complex physical, biological structure of the brain, as well as the resulting emergent phenomena that we internally experience as sensory input and mental activity.

The functioning & processes of the brain are utterly fascinating to my brain.

I saw these infographics on r/197, but upon downloading the hi-res images & looking closely among the dense layers of information (conveyed through increasingly smaller text sizes), I was able to find the source:

http://thehighestofthemountains.com/

So, the website is very passionate about the details & facts of science, but scientific understanding is used as a means to prove the divine engineering of God, whatever that is. 

I personally feel that deeply understanding scientific ideas and discoveries should absolutely lead to a revelatory insight into the mystical nature of this endlessly intricate reality. However, I feel like biblical justifications and personifications of the deity "God the Architect/Engineer" miss the fundamental nature of existence completely. 

It's interesting that levels of genius that can create such insanely detailed displays of scientific & technical information can still look at a spiritual work such as the Bible as something that scientific endeavors exist to somehow qualify. To be fair, I have read through the site and think there's a lot of valid moral & spiritual wisdom to go along with the scientific details. I just think that the personification of God in any aspect doesn't jive with the reality of the situation- which is that Source, The-All-In-One, The Universe, Infinite Energies of Creation, Quantum Field, God, Unity just IS- there is NO motivation, purpose, nor plan behind the Universe in any sense as we humans know it... and that is the breathtaking truth that can be truly terrifying to most people. 

 There is clearly a wholly incomprehensible hierarchical pattern of fractal & holographic organization that underlies our world. My issue is with giving this Infinity attributes of our human psyche.

 "Nature is not human-hearted."
-Lao-Tzu

Speaking of incomprehensible, the first chart was just a warm-up... here is the second graphic showing the mind-bogglingly numerous pathways and processes in the brain. My brain apologizes to your brain in advance, for exposing it to this visual labyrinth of information about itself:

(click to enlarge)
 


Friday, October 06, 2023

3D Recreation of Tenochtitlan

I love the use of 3D modeling programs to re-create ancient cities & environments. It is an immersive way to virtually travel through time and experience the glory of past civilizations. Playing the Assassins Creed games always impressed me with the way you got a sense of the historical time period, such as Renaissance Rome or Ptolemaic Egypt.

It is exciting to come across projects where artists and historians accurately replicate the appearance of an ancient site. I found this website by Thomas Kole that is devoted to the rendering of Tenochtitlan, capital of the mighty (& brutal) Aztec empire, in the location that is now Mexico City:

Portrait of Tenochtitlan

The renderings shown on the website are stunning. The Aztec city built in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains left the Spanish conquistadors awestruck when they first saw it. (Of course, the awe was only temporary & didn't' prevent them from subjugating and eventually destroying the magnificent city.)

It was an absolute marvel of engineering & city planning, and 3D computer renderings like this are now the only way to experience the majestic nature of this lost metropolis. I would highly encourage visiting the website above & spending some time soaking in the beauty of Tenochtitlan.

I've long been fascinated by ancient Mesoamerican cultures. I've studied the art, astronomy, engineering, and societies of the Aztec and Maya people extensively. There is so much to learn from them, but unfortunately so much has been lost to conquest and time.

That is why it is so amazing to be able to use this technology to visualize the details of the time period, especially when it is done is such a meticulous and historically accurate way. Eventually, we will be able to use these digital reconstructions and virtual or augmented reality devices to "time travel" and visit such sites in an even more immersive context.