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White peacock.  So beautiful, isn't it?
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Xian, China
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A girl and hummingbirds.
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Pele’s Destination by Tom Kualii
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A canoe and your loved one—that's all you need. by Berty Mandagie


+Cindy Lynne +Happyhearted one +Judit Bánfalviné Aranyosi 
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What a wonderful view!!!
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Seascape at the sunset...
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Awesome Guitar Dock

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Chasing Waterfalls (Merlin Kafka)
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♥ WONDERFUL ♥
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Amazing cottage in Oregon
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GM to update Bolt’s “200 miles range” now that Tesla Model 3 has 215 miles

Creative leaves

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Chicago - Illinois - USA (by Anh Dinh)
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♥ PERFECT ♥
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BERTRAND. ......
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Saitama, Japan
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Earth from Space: Illuminated Italy

In this image you can see the night lights of Italy from space, taken by ESA astronaut Tim Peake (https://goo.gl/4HAAIV) from aboard the International Space Station (ISS). 

The distinctive boot-like shape of Italy is easily recognizable in this nighttime image, also visible in the top-left corner are Sardinia (https://goo.gl/gPAFCk) and Corsica (https://goo.gl/52Z0D).

Other areas at night from space:

San Francisco Bay Area
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/bSNEFNwJpwq

Shanghai
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/LhxVuxZ63fb

Japan
https://plus.google.com/+PierreMarkuse/posts/1uN2gNBQrfx

Tim Peake is aboard the ISS at the moment (Expedition 47, https://goo.gl/G6v4Ns) and is posting pictures from space on his Twitter, follow him here: https://twitter.com/astro_timpeake

The area on Google maps:
https://goo.gl/OgH5qT

Read more about his Principia mission aboard the ISS here:
https://principia.org.uk/

Image credit: Italy from Space ESA/NASA/Tim Peake https://goo.gl/0Sj6Ah / Edited by +Pierre Markuse 

#science #italy #mediterranean  #iss #principia #internationalspacestation #timpeake #photography #nightphotography  
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Beautiful place in Aspen, Colorado

#aspen   #colorado  
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Keystone spills 16,000 gallons and the oil market barely notices
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Amazing photo from Japan
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Adventure Time by Chris  Burkard
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Good Morning from the International Space Station!

Credit: NASA/JSC, U.S. Astronaut & Station Commander Tim Kopra
Date: April 8, 2016

+NASA Johnson Space Center 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Sunrise #Planet #Technology #Science #Spacecraft #Astronaut #TimKopra #Photography #USA #UnitedStates #Expedition47 #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #STEM #Education
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Somerset, England
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WOW!!! ♥

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♥ COOL ♥
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bernd slemmen +1'd this post
Nature's own 3D printers

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Hidden Underground Beach of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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VARENNA LAKE COMO-LOMBARDY,ITALY.
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Valle Versazca, Switzerland
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A Brief Thought Experiment - The Folly of Absolute Certainty
(Incredible Artwork by: Igor Morski)


Axioms

Mathematics is based on axioms - which by nature are not provable. They are merely a starting premise that we can build on to reach mathematical conclusions. As Richard Feynman put it, "all we ask of an axiom is that it does not lead to contradictory consequences."

For instance, we define parallel lines as lines in a plane that do not intersect. That is essentially a definition we all agree on. But it is not actually provable. You either accept that definition and follow the logic, or you don't.

If you don't accept that definition, we're just not talking about the same thing. The value of establishing axioms is that we can build on them, and reach all sorts of mathematical conclusions.

Materialism

Axioms are not limited to mathematics. For instance, a common axiom is materialism - the view that nothing exists except matter.

From a philosophical stand point, its easy to see why this view is based on an assumption (as is idealism, spiritualism, etc). The best way to demonstrate this is to consider the famous "Brain in a Vat" thought experiment.

This philosophical thought experiment asks you to consider a scientist keeping you alive by holding your brain a jar, and hooking it up to a sophisticated computer capable of providing electrical impulses that perfectly simulate your reality.

Authenticity of Realty

If true, there would be no rational way ever prove the authenticity of this scenario since the entirety of your observational tools are in question.

In a material sense, we are all in fact a brain in a vat. Our brains are fully enclosed within our skulls in total darkness. They do not "see", "hear' or "feel", they merely receive electrical signals and use these to represent our reality. Our entire observational capabilities are tied to the signals are brains receive.

But like any good axiom, there is no contradiction with materialism. From a material perspective, this is not only sensible, understanding this is incredibly useful. Every conclusion based from the natural sciences begins with this axiom.

Varying Degrees of Certainty

Yet there is an underlying implication in recognizing this as an axiom, rather than a universal truth. Though we may willingly cast aside the possibility that we're in a jar in some lab, what we cannot cast aside is that there is no verifiable way to have absolute knowledge about whether this is true or not. More importantly, there is no method accessible to us to be absolutely certain that anything is true.

That isn't to say we don't have varying degrees of certainty with respect to the material world. Of course we do. We can reasonably be more certain that day will follow night than pigs will fly.

All natural sciences are based on these varying levels of certainty. But we can never be absolutely certain, because no matter how improbable, our reality could conceivably be one grand illusion, and there is no way to disprove this.

The Unknowable Truth

"Truth" is a complicated subject. In many senses, we know the "truth" about many things because any required axioms are implied, such as with materialism.

"Absolute truth", best defined as whatever might be valid no matter what the context, is different. Absolute truth doesn't require any assumptions.

So when we ask questions like how we got here, what's the meaning of life, and is the entirety of reality purely physical - the answers are unknowable. We have no way to verify what is absolute truth.

Uncertainty

Many people have difficulty coming to terms with the notion that absolute truth is technically unknowable. Many will claim to be in possession of such truth, conveniently overlooking the irony of their own cognitive biases steering them toward such views.

We don't need to have absolute certainty about anything. The world works on varying degrees of certainty. Even our best laid scientific theories are open to revision.

Uncertainty is far from problematic. You can be fairly certain you'll live through the night, but you don't ultimately ever know. That doesn't consume you with fear, and you go on with your life.

The Wisdom of Humility

Understanding the difference between varying degrees of certainty and absolute certainty is a matter of wisdom. This view is not new. Over 2000 years ago Socrates said, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

Remember, all claims to genuine knowledge are based on the axiom that we are capable of knowing or determining our reality. This is an incredibly practical axiom, but it is unprovable. Thus, we really have no way or knowing anything at all.




If You Enjoy Thought Experiments - Here's a Whole Book of Them: http://the-thought-spot.com/mind-games/
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Mini pizzas

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Neptune Full Disk View

Click "read more" to see full post and see also these planets:

Uranus as seen by NASA's Voyager 2
http://earthspacecircle.blogspot.com/2016/04/uranus-as-seen-by-nasas-voyager-2.html

Jupiter
http://earthspacecircle.blogspot.com/2016/02/jupiter.html

Saturn in Color
http://earthspacecircle.blogspot.com/2016/03/saturn-in-color.html


This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken at a range of 4.4 million miles from the planet, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge; on the west limb the fast moving bright feature called Scooter and the little dark spot are visible. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager's cameras could resolve them. North of these, a bright cloud band similar to the south polar streak may be seen.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL
Explanation from: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01492
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The River of Flowers, Keukenhof, Holland

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♥ FOR YOU ♥
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♥ COOL ♥
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Brother from another mother

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I LOVE IT🍫
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SpaceX Mission Launches to Resupply the Space Station
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on April 8, 2016, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Dragon will deliver approximately 3.5 tons of supplies and experiments to the Expedition 47 crew, the third spacecraft in as many weeks to provide supplies for the station. Among the items Dragon is bringing to the complex is the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, which will be attached to the rear port of the Tranquility module. It is scheduled to spend two years at the complex, testing the validity of expandable habitats for future deep space exploration. 

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/J2KRKccfojs

Credit: NASA
Duration: 9 minutes
Release Date: April 8, 2016

+SpaceX 
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+Elon Musk 
+The Elon Musk Fan Club 
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#NASA #Space #ISS #SpaceX #Dragon #Cargo #CRS8 #Falcon9 #Falcon #Rocket #Commercial #Bigelow #BEAM #Habitat #Technology #Experiments #Research #Human #Spaceflight #Aerospace #JourneyToMars #Florida #CapeCanaveral #USA #UnitedStates