they're rather like hans jenny's 'cymatics' experiments crossed with that ultra high-speed footage of the very first nano-seconds of a neuclear test. oh, and a bit of sun-spot/solar flare action thrown in... which puts them rather at odds with the music wouldn't you say? i think i'm a bit sleep deprived.
i personally love the tangerine-dream style sound design on this. straight out of the late '70's. there's a kind of tradition of this sort of music in science explanation videos - probably because at one time, this kind of music represented 'THE FUTURE' and all things clever and sciency...the absolute classic example of this is carl sagan's 'cosmos' series - turned me on to vangelis as a kid, and i've still got a soft spot for him even now.
leibniz's stepped reckoner is a hurdy gurdy in disguise!
there's a guy called nicholas gessler who is a historian of early computing - he has a collection of 'physical memory' devices which is fascinating. you can read an interview with him here:
she's not feeding them. this video is in reverse and she's sucking out their insides with her syringe-like beak. that's why they look so deflated at the end. dunno what those egg shaped things were though...
i was trying out that psychopath test in 'damned interesting' (from the newer post above) - my mum's cat is a complete psycho! amazing! i thnk it mandatory that it is fitted with a harness and weight now.
josh - there's no record of ring a ring of roses prior to about 1860 (thereabouts, not sure of the exact date):-) some nursey rhymes refer to actual historical events, some are parables, some derived from old folk songs, especially the tunes. with reference to the psychology of rhymes and fairy tales, i think bruno bettelheim has stuff to say on this in 'the uses of enchantment'. mostly the tales, though i suspect there's a big overlap.
he's from a UK programme called top gear - he's a celebrity petrol-head who nearly killed himself in a dragster a few months back; darwin doesn't always get his man i'm afraid...
Yikes, Alex. Inter yeast species hopping by protein swap! or is that wrong? speaking from the humanities camp, i think our PhD's should be called something different. this looks mighty.
there's a guy called nicholas gessler who is a historian of early computing - he has a collection of 'physical memory' devices which is fascinating. you can read an interview with him here:
http://theiff.org/publications/cab21-gessler.html