May Reading
skibby (zone 4 Vermont)
2 years ago
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vee_new
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoyoyobon_gw
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Earthworms Discussion
Comments (18)Great link, David. And a good read. David, you may not have take the time to read all the novels in the thread and I can't blame you, but the University of Minn relies on the exact same research I've been talking about being the core of all of this so pasting anything from them is just essentially repeating what joepyeweed linked and also supports my claim that there isn't that much study out there supporting the work I question. Only many sites repeating the same source. Note that your other info (pasted, not the link) is very reliant on such words as "presumably" and "may". In other words, reliant on assumptions made and thus can't be presented as fact because it isn't one. Of course, they are much more able to admit this than the UofM group, it seems. I read the whole article, but I read it fast. So if I got something wrong here, please correct me: 1) The author readily admitted that the experiment used adult worms while in the natural site there were primarily hatchlings. I'm guessing on this, but I have a feeling there is a reason they didn't find many adults and it might have something to do with a reduced lifespan in colder climates. This leads to longer incubation periods of the cocoon and so the adult feeders aren't around that long. Using adult worms essentially nullifies the experiment because the adults have at least a month of voracious feeding that the hatchlings won't have. Hardly replication of nature. 2) It is mentioned that the growth of plants increased. Not decreased because of the worms changing the environment. 3) It is mentioned that the most pronounced change in microbial composition was caused by "Time". Not worms. And if the correct age of worms were used in the first place I imagine the rate of change caused by worms would have been even less. It mentioned that water was next in affecting microbial change and that water also affected the rate at which worms could make any changes. Kind of stands to reason that the amount of climate change we have experienced the last 30 years could have more to do with the soil issues than the claims of UofM that its the evil invasive earthworm. The earthworm is simply showing an ability to withstand climate change better in comparison to many of the other life forms in the soil. Not to mention (actually I already did earlier) the chemical changes in rain due to pollution. pH of water greatly affects microbes and worms are much more resilient than many microbes to these changes. Just because there are now more worms in one spot and less microbes doesn't mean that the worms are the culprits. It could also mean that the worms are simply surviving changes that microbes can't and taking advantage of any changes they might have the means to take advantage of. This study actually takes other variables into consideration and admits shortcomings. It's a REAL study that presents real findings from what appears to be an objective standpoint rather than an "I need to make a name" standpoint. Joepyeweed, the heliocentric theory is also one that was refuted for quite some time even though there is a ton more evidence supporting it. Mathematical evidence. But, it is important to note that we all take this as FACT because we think it makes sense. Not because we all understand the mathematical evidence. Why is that important? Because at one time the other theory, geocentricity, made sense to everyone because those in authority told them it does. And when it was challenged with heliocentricity everyone ridiculed those that challenged geocentricity and many people died supporting the use of reason to refute the accepted "scientific" claims. Just like the global warming example I used (except for the killing the opposition part). Thanks for your support in pointing out that just because scientists make claims, it doesn't make it fact and using reason can punch holes in unreasonable claims that don't take all evidence into account. What example is next, the round earth? I'll head you off at the pass. Scientists laughed at the square earth theory based in the Bible, which mentions the corners of the earth several times. Obviously it's a flat round disc! It leaves a round shadow on the moon. But wait! It's a sphere! No it's not, the authorities say it can't be because the bible says the earth sits on four pillars and has edges! It took quite some time for people to use reason to refute what authorities on subjects wanted us to believe in order to uphold reputations and control. And don't try to tell me those people were less intelligent. Ancient peoples were able to survive in environments most of us would die in because they were much better thinkers. Yet, they were able to fall for "an authority says it, it must be true"....See MoreDarling buds of May: reading
Comments (67)Just finished Everything Under the Sky by Matilde Asensi. Set in the 1930's, a Parisian woman (who was born in Spain) heads to China to tidy up the affairs of her recently-deceased and long-estranged husband. When she arrives she finds things are not as she suspected. Her late husband collected Chinese artifacts and one of them is extremely important in Chinese history. Unfortunately, to settle her late husband's debts, she must embark on a journey to solve the riddle of this artifact and hope to find the treasure at the end. But the bad guys want the treasure, too. It reads like an Indiana Jones/American Treasure movie set in China. The author explains a lot of the Chinese philosophy in depth: the I Ching, Five Elements, Feng Shui, Taoism, martial arts and so on. It is also laced with long paragraphs of Chinese history. I personally loved the philosophy and history in the book. As a martial artist and martial arts instructor, I enjoyed seeing the main character "on the path" although she had no idea she was on it. PAM...See MoreCXXXV May We Read?
Comments (150)1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare - James Shapiro...See MoreMay Reading Continued
Comments (60)Well, the month is about over and I have been busy reading. I live near the Willa Cather Museum and I've been rereading some of her things (One of Ours, Early Stories, Obscure Destinies, Sapphira and the Slave Girl, and A Lost Lady). Other reading this month was Take the A Train by Michael Blankfort, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (she should stick to kids books), Sure Signs by Ted Kooser (poetry), Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight by Jimmy Breslin, Death of an Addict by M.C. Beaton (I love Hamish MacBeth), The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolfe (I was not as impressed as people seem to think I should be). I've also been reading the books in the library by Pearl S. Buck. I had read The Good Earth several years ago and I knew she wrote a lot about China but I was surprised at some of her other books. So far this month I've read Come My Beloved (set in India), Command the Morning (about the development of the atomic bomb), Dragon Seed, and The Hidden Flower (the story of a Japanese war bride in America). I went to the Library yesterday and got The Old Rugged Cross-Eyed Bear by Wes Sumpter (a local author), and a biography of Alexander Hamilton by Willard Sterne Randall. I am a big reader of biographies and am anxious to start on that one....See MoreCarolyn Newlen
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