A Special Place for Blog Lovers with a Touch of Science!

Credit: French Philosopher Roland Barthes, 24th June 1975 (Photo by Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images)

In the modern-day world, we are surrounded by images, symbols, brands, and advertisements of all sorts. We face them every day and everywhere. On the street, at home, in the shop, while surfing the web, literally, there is no place without ads and the meta-information hidden behind them. So how can we decipher what our new clothes, gadgets, books, or even thoughts represent? Roland Barthes, one of the most distinguished philosophers of the 20th century, concerned himself with such questions in his notable work Mythologies (1957). He develops an understanding of the mechanism that works behind the creation of symbols and myths in contemporary capitalist society.

Below you can watch a short video with an introduction to Roland Barthes' theory

Credit: Gettyimages

Consciousness refers to the state of being aware of and able to think, feel and perceive. It is the ability to be aware of your surroundings and make decisions. It is the executive function of the brain that allows us to be aware of our thoughts and feelings and to act in accordance with our goals. Consciousness is an elusive concept. It is difficult to define it because it is such a personal experience. Each individual experiences consciousness differently. Some people are more aware of their thoughts and feelings than others. Some people are more in tune with their surroundings.

Credit: Image source; made by Islingt0ner

"OF THREE metamorphoses of the spirit do I tell you: how the spirit becomes a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion, at last, a child. Many heavy things are there for the spirit, the strong reverent spirit that would bear much: for the heavy and the heaviest longs its strength.

What is heavy? so asks the spirit that would bear much, and then kneels down like the camel, and wants to be well laden.

What is the heaviest thing, you heroes ? asks the spirit that would bear much, that I may take it upon me and exult in my strength. Is it not this: To humiliate oneself in order to mortify one's pride? To exhibit one's folly in order to mock at one's wisdom?

Credit: Abstract painting by Mark Rothko

On 25 February 1970, the TATE museum in London finally receives 8 paintings by Mark Rothko resulting in what is known today as Rothko's room. Just several hours later, Rothko was found dead in his studio in New York where he had committed suicide. One of the most tragic artists of the 20th century, Rothko developed a unique style of expressing deep and basic human emotions through simple abstract shapes and intense color. He is best known for his later dark red, and maroon tones, however, his palette has evolved from brighter to darker tones and colors and the whole process is quite important for understanding and perceiving his art.

Below you can enjoy another great video made by James Payne.

Credit: Getty images

Our civilization has rapidly entered a new stage of development. It's the 4th industrial revolution. This is the epoch of automatization, internet, and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), IoT, industrial internet of things, cloud computing, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence. Basically, we start using some form of AI algorithm since we start walking. It's already an integral part of each developed society in the world. Windows, macOS, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc., all our operating systems, search engines, and applications are using some kind of machine-learning algorithms. But what do we know about them? Is it safe to continue developing and improving AI systems? Given the fact that an AI algorithm can collect and elaborate upon tons of data in just seconds maybe we can try to learn something from them in return.