Philosophy Wire: Falling trees…

Treefalls happen all the time, but this one just happened to occur in the exact spot where a decades-long ecological study was in progress, giving University of Illinois researchers a rare look into tropical forest dynamics. "After the treefall, we saw a very large spike in the total number of hummingbird species," says Henry Pollock, a postdoctoral scholar. "The year after the treefall happened, we got 16 unique individuals of this one species, and total diversity of hummingbirds more than doubled." And then, almost as quickly, the birds disappeared. "What that suggests is these birds are incredibly mobile and opportunistic," Pollock says. [1]

Falling trees.
Noise.
For a second there, the world speaks.
And there is no one there to listen.
Except birds.
Now the birds are leaving again.

Listen.

Falling seed.
Only Silence.

Listen.

The world is ready to speak once more…

(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective…

Philosophy Wire: Trees. Dead. Alive. Who cares…

A tree. Mysterious. Scientists believed it was the lone relic of an old forest in an ancient city. Now they know it was just an old dead tree transported from afar. [1] But why was it transported? Why was it alive in the first place? Why do we care? Stare at the simple questions. They alone provide all the complex answers you need…

(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective…

Philosophy Wire: Trees changing. Humans dying.

Photo by Spiros Kakos

The annals of human history have been recorded through text, art, and oral tradition. However, for hundreds of years tropical forests have also kept detailed records of the human activities that unfolded around them. Researchers now describe how the rings, physical chemistry, and DNA of living tropical trees reveal the impacts of native culture as well as the scars of colonial occupation. [1] Changing the trees. At the end, we will even kill the forest. And we will laugh. And we will celebrate.

And then, for no apparent reason, we will cry…

And realize that the forest had changed us as well…

We want to plant seeds now.

But where to do that?

There are trees everywhere…

(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective…

Philosophy Wire: Trees under a microscope. Life lost.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-10-12]: Analyzing trees with a microscope. [1] Seeing the cells, losing the meaning of life. Seeing the molecules, losing the pleasure of its shadow and the sound of its leafs during a hot summer day. After the research will we be more wise? Or more stupid?

(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective…