Homo sapiens: Know Thy Self and What's In A Name?

Homo sapiens: Know Thy Self and What's 

In A Name?

An Amateur Paleontologist

I suppose I am a bit of an amateur paleontologist, now that I mentioned about my small collection of trilobite fossils (in my last e-article). Paleontology is of course the study of life forms existing in prehistoric or geological times as found in the fossils of animals, plants and other organisms.

Biological Classification

A taxon is an organism.

In taxonomy, all biological organisms on Earth, both living or extinct, are defined scientifically into ranks or groups on the basis of common characteristics and are given specific names for identification and study. In the hierarchy of biological classification, there are eight major “taxonomic ranks”.

In the special case of modern humans or Homo sapiens (a subject on which we should all take an interest), the taxonomic ranks in question are listed in descending order as follows:

Domain: ... ,

Kingdom: ...    ,

Phylum/Division: ... ,

Class: ...,

Order: Primates,

Family: Hominidae

Genus: Homo,

Species: Homo sapiens.

What is A “Species”?

A group of animals, or plants, with identical features and a similar mode of life constitutes a distinct population called a “species”. A species is a population of individuals capable of interbreeding to produce similar-looking offspring. Species showing close similarities are grouped into a genus, similar genera into a family, similar families into an order, similar orders into a class, and so on.

What does “Homo sapiens” mean?

For identification purposes, each species is given a two-word Latin name. Take for example, Homo sapiens again.

The first word “Homo” – a noun – is the name of the genus. The generic term “Homo”, meaning “man” (can be male or female), can be used for naming more than one species.

The second word “sapiens” – an adjective – meaning “wise”, may be referred to loosely as the name of the species.

The combination of both the generic name and the specific name (the so-called binominal naming system) identifies a unique species. The human species called “Homo sapiens” refers specifically to the “modern humans”; in Latin the two-word term means “wise man”.

  Photo from Wikipedia.

   Basic anatomical features of female and male humans. (These models have had body hair and male facial hair removed and head hair trimmed.)

Why Homo sapiens is A “Wise Man”?

The modern human does have the largest brain among the several species grouped under the genus Homo in the order of Primates. The modern human, Homo sapiens, is the only surviving species that is up-right walking, culture-sharing and possesses effective language and learning skills, etc.

The other four species that were extinct in the genus Homo are:

     Homo habilis: evolved circa 2.8 million yrs. ago, use of stone tools. Brains about size of those of chimpanzees.

     H. erectus: cranial size had doubled, first of the hominina to leave Africa from ca. 500,000 yrs. ago, evolving into H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis.

     H. heidelbergensis

     H. neanderthalensis (Neanderthals)

It is considered that the modern humans likely first evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago. They were social animals, they learned how to communicate, make tools and fire, cook foods and clothe themselves. In search of games and a safe and better environment, they gradually spread in small groups as hunter-gatherers in several waves of migration to other parts of the world – first throughout Africa, then Eurasia,  Asia, Europe and the Americas. It is thought that Homo sapiens at some point in time interbred with neanderthals before the latter species had died off.

What Does the Future Hold for Homo sapiens?

With the almost continuous regional conflicts and wars, natural disasters, global warming and its attendant challenges, the probability of nuclear annihilation, impact by giant meteorite and so on, Stephen Hawking has pointed out that interplanetary travel and colonisation would ensure the continuation of the human species.Short orbital flights on a commercial scale will be offered shortly. Astronauts from a handful of technologically advanced countries have been working, experimenting, researching and living for some yeas on board the International Space Station, gathering vital data for prolonged space travel. China has concrete plans to build her own space station and launch lunar explorations. The U.S.A. has also announced her intention to construct a permanent base on the Moon.  Homo sapiens travelling to Mars will be a reality in the near future...

From star dust and a single cell organism, we have indeed come quite a long way. We still have a long, long way to go, if we humans – who are highly intelligent and innovative and still evolving – do not, directly or indirectly, kill off ourselves first on this tiny, fragile blue planet called Earth.

Please handle with love ad care.

My Trilobite Fossils: 1 Man`s Treasure

My Trilobite Fossils: One Man`s Treasure Is Another's Trash

g reached the watershed age of 70, you may (or just might if you are lucky) Shale from Craigleith area, Southwestern Ontario, showing Trilobite fossil (tail section only) of Pseudogygites latimarginatus. (Photo by FC Yue)  

expect wave upon wave of purges sweeping through your already down-sized home. Your "Boss" -- the spouse, usually the wife -- wants to forcibly de-clutter, time and again, the "unwanted and useless accumulated items" you spent some time and efforts in collecting. Any unfamiliar objects taking up valuable spaces in the home are, to her anyway, just garbage that must be thrown out and buried in a landfill.

One of the unfortunate victims here is the piles of "rocks" I dug up with some friends some twenty years ago from the Craigleith area, about 10 km west-northwest of Collingwood, Ontario, on the southern shore of Georgian Bay in Canada. (See the photo above and the two photos below.)(Collingwood, a popular resort town, is located just 148 km NW of Toronto.) There, the exposed bedrock consists of slightly-tilted layers (strata) of limestone and shale deposited around 450 million years ago in the then existing warm, shallow, subtropical sea.

 You can see the cut-out layers of shale in this sample inside a lump of sedimentary rock (formed by compaction, under immense water pressure over the long years, of fine practicles of silt, sand, clay or limy oozes at the bottom of a body of water).

​I was rather sad at the prospect of having to throw out my collection of trilobite fossils. Luckily, the property manager at my condo apartment was quite sympathetic; she was glad to take over the "organic rocks" and give them a home.

 Most of the material in this article is based on the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources guidebook "GEOLOGY AND FOSSILS -- Craigleith Area Ontario" by Harish M. Verma. (OMNR-OGS 1979 )

 Latex cast of young individual of trilobite Pseudogygites latimarginatus (by Dr. Rolf Ludvigsen, Dept. of Geology, University of Toronto.) (See page ii of guidebook) 

Trilobites found in the Craigleith area. Left: Triarthrus eatnoi (ROM 34505)  Right: Triarthrus eatoni, Restoration showing appendages. (Page 26, ibid)

 A rare slab of shale (shown in part) from Craigleith showing a cluster of Pseudogygites latimarginatus (specimen coutesy Royal Ontario Museum). (Page 18, ibid) 

  A rare slab of shale (shown in part) from Craigleith showing a cluster of Triarthrus eatoni (specimen courtesy Royal Ontario Museum). (Page 20, ibid)

 Geological Time Chart (left) showing the position and geological ages of the different rock formations of southwestern Ontario. (Page 15, ibid)

There were no land animals and plants during the Ordovician Period (500-440 million years ago). In the seas, however, life was dominated by invertebrates (animals without backbones) similar to the present day corals, clams, lobsters, snails, sea lilies and squids.

Cephalapods -- straight, conical molluscs (or hard shelled animals) -- are the largest fossil in the Craigleith area. One of the Craigleith cephalapods, Endocerus portiforne,  measuring about 5 m in length and 25 cm in diameter, was the largest sea creature known in Ontario's early Paleozoic world!

What are tribobites?

Trilobites were an extinct group of tiny sea-bottom dwelling animals in the warm seas. They were the dominant form of life during the Cambrian and Ordovician Periods. Of all known Cambrian fossils, 60% are trilobites.

As the name suggests, the trilobite's body consists of three part: the head shield (cephalon), the segmented body (thorax) and the tail shield (pygidium). The eyes vary in size, shape and location on the head. During growth, the animal shed its external skeleton by moulting periodically. Broken into the three segments, the moults litter the sea floor. Trilobites were both scavengers and predators. They fed on organic debris, crawling or swimming close to the sea floor.

Of the ten different species of trilobites found in the Craigleith area, the two extremely abundant are Pseudogygites latimarginatus and the smaller Triarthrus eatoni (both shown in the photos above).​

Fossils are rather hard to come by since only a small fraction of any animal population in a particular area ever gets fossilized. Then an even smaller number of the remaining fossils may become available for observation or collection. Many centuries must also elapsed before the mineral of the hard parts of the dead animal is replaced by a more stable mineral. Therefore, fossils are great survivors, before formation they survive by not being eaten by predators, they then survive being uplifted by geological forces to the surface by not breaking up in tiny fragments, they survive by not being eroded by the actions of wind and water, they finally survive by being found and collected by knowledgeable and appreciative humans. (Well, my wife is probably not one of them.)

Like the trilobites, from star dust we come, back to star dust we will return... Unlike the trilobites,we human beings are still in the on-going process of evolution in the face of challenging changing global environments.

The day after tomorrow humans will be living on Mars! As Stephen Hawkins has pointed out -- interplanetary travel and colonisation would ensure the continuation of the human species Homo sapiens.

崔郊 公子王孫逐後塵 綠珠垂淚滴羅巾 After her, sons of high officials

【贈去婢】唐 • 崔郊 

公子王孫逐後塵

綠珠垂淚滴羅巾

侯門一入深似海

從此蕭郎是路人

`To The Maid Who Has Been Sold`
-- by Cui Zhao (Tang Dynasty)

-- Translated by Frank C Yue

After her, sons of high officials are all chasing;

On silk handkerchief the abducted bride`s tears a-falling.

Once inside the mansion, into the deep forever --

Only a total stranger, now her former Lover.

from the net:

崔郊 (生卒不詳，唐 • 德宗貞元十五年間(799) 居於襄州[今湖北襄樊])

[唐代秀才崔郊，與姑母家婢女相戀，婢女卻被賣給顯貴人家山南東道節度使于顓(粵音尊)，一年寒食節相遇，秀才感慨寫下此詩，被于氏看見，受感動而成全了他們，傳為佳話。]

1 公子王孫逐後塵：形容貴族哥兒爭相追求。

2 綠珠：人名，西晉時期石崇的美妾，被權勢强索，石崇因而下獄，綠珠氣憤墮樓而亡。
   羅巾：絲綢巾帕。

3 侯門：泛指富貴顯赫人家。
深似海：(有版本為深如海)

4 蕭郎：原指南朝梁武帝蕭衍，多才多藝，亦有指是其子蕭統，才貌相全，後人皆借用蕭郎二字                  形容所愛情郎。 

"APPs" Self-Defence (4): In Martial Arts there is "No Fastest, only "Faster!"

"APPs" Self-Defence (4): In Martial Arts there is "No Fastest, only "Faster!"
-- by Frank C Yue

There is no one "Fastest Fighter" in the martial arts world, strictly speaking. For "fast" is a relative and elusive term. The yardstick used to measure it varies by itself, too.

There is a popular Chinese saying: 

"For the mighty fighter there's always someone mightier;

For the high mountain there's still another higher."  

You may be the "fastest fighter" among your peers and in your region. But your Attacker could still be "faster" than you! Moreover, no one can be fast at all if he (or she) is sick, unwell, nursing an injury, emotionally disturbed, or just not at the peak of his (or her) performance level mentally, physically and spiritually.

Similarly, it may be argued that "there is no one-single martial art form (or move)" that can be said to be the "ultimate winning form" that can beat all other styles at all times.

In any case, being the "fastest fighter" per se does not necessarily mean you will be the winner in a mortal combat if, for instance, your hits are mostly off-target! There are also other important factors at play.

What are "APPs" and "MVP?
To recap, "APPs" mean --
"A" -- 1. Attitude: pure alertness and a"never say die" and "I must              fight to survive" winning mentality.
           2. Accuracy: in all your hits and kicks.

"P" -- Penetration: striking at least 4 to 6 inches THROUGH the               targets whilst tensing all body muscles.

"P" -- Power: maximizing the force of your strike, using the                       "unified whole-body all-power" strike.

"S" -- 1. Speed: how to hit in the fastest possible way (your body                weapon travelling the shortest distance) with attention to t                the exact timing and exact distancing required.
           2. Skills: in martial arts, including knowing how to :
               -- deliver the most powerful and effective hits and kicks; 
               -- use the least power required (to conserve your energy);
               -- hit only at the "MVPs" -- the "Most Vulnerable Parts"                        of the Attacker's body (to ensure instant debilitation).

Time is of the Essence in Any Fight
In a life-or-death fight, you as the Defender should concentrate on using only direct hits, kneeing or kicking in counter-attack. Use those powerful strikes that travel the shortest distance and use up the least energy, thus saving yourself precious time and power for your final escape to safety. 

Time is of the essence in any fight. Your aim here is simply to disable the Attacker as soon as possible, to make good your escape. Accordingly, all slower techniques, like round-house kicks or punches should not be used. In fact, if your Attacker ever turns his back to you and starts raising one of his feet up, in preparation for the round-house, his groin is wide open -- quickly, kick him in his groin from behind! It doesn't matter if you are using the in-step of your foot or even your shin (depending on the distance between you and your Assailant). His balls will be crushed in either case.     

Use Only Direct Hits and Kicks
So, any holding, grappling, choking or controlling techniques are irrelevant; these would likely make your situation more dangerous. The relatively-slower throwing techniques in judo, jujitsu and aikido etc. should not be used either in defence since, as a hard-core fighter, your enraged Attacker would certainly know how to break fall and just roll up onto his/her feet again to continue the assault, probably with added vengeance.  

How fast is "Fast ?
   Bolt celebrating at the 2013 London Anniversary Games. (Photo from Wikipedia)
Usain Bolt, the current "flying man" of the world and nine-time Olympic gold medalist , has shown that time and again that he can run 100 metres (328.20 feet) in under 10.00 seconds. His fastest record is 9.58 seconds. On average, he would have covered well over 30 feet in just 1.00 second!

Covering 10-15 Feet in 1.00 Second
One may wonder how far can an average person cover in a second.
On September 19 this year, a terrorist stabbed several shoppers at a St. Clouds mall in Minnesota, U.S.A. Fortunately, an off-duty police officer was at the scene. According to CNN reports, the officer drew his side-arm and warned the Attacker to stop and raise his hands. The officer said the Attacker just lunged forward and covered over 21 feet in less than 2 seconds. He shot the Attacker who fell onto the floor, but he got up again and the policeman shot him again, until he was dead. Another eyewitness said he saw "a blank in the eyes of the Attacker."   

Did Bruce Lee Knock down his Challenger in 22 Seconds?
I remember reading some decades ago in a Black Belt Magazine article that an unnamed karate black-belt once sought out Bruce in his backyard and challenged him to a fight. The cocky guy insisted on changing into his karate uniform first and that there should be no eye-gouging or groin-attacks. The impatient Bruce Lee simply said "no rules or no fights"! 

The incident was retold by one of the eye-witnesses who did the time-keeping. Less than half a minute into the fight, the Challenger was soundly knocked onto the ground. (I forgot what exactly Bruce did to him, whether he found an opening, or he made an opening for himself...) When the bewildered and defeated guy got up and asked how much time had elapsed, the Time-keeper said, "22 seconds." But, it was revealed in the magazine interview that Bruce actually took only "11 seconds" to floor the Challenger! The eyewitness confessed that he simply "did not have the heart" then to tell the utterly dejected guy the truth and so he just doubled the time involved.

Time -- a Strange Element
The modern concept of time-keeping in terms of hours and minutes are man-made. I believe time and space are relative and they are quite "plastic" to some extent. 

When one meditates one would lose track of time. After a routine meditation session, one may think that 10 minutes have elapsed whilst the clock will tell you that in fact an hour or so has passed. As a meditation and martial art practitioner, I find that time tends to slow down if you are completely calm, relaxed and focused at the task in hand. 

One morning some years ago, I was practising my elementary "Comet Hammer" moves in the park. It was just a 36" chain --intended for use as a dog leash -- that I bought from the local "dollar store". I attached a medium-size, somewhat weighty, brass number-lock to its end and hooked my right-hand index finger through the ring and wielded the "improvised home-made weapon" in circles, first clockwise, then anticlockwise, and made figure 8's vertically, horizontally and obliquely, in front of me and at my right and left hand side, etc. while advancing, retreating or side-stepping, extending or retracting my arm this way and that. I was thoroughly enjoying myself at the time. When I came to a stop I just threw the brass lock, without much thought, all the way up above my head, I raised my head slightly and stared at it. Quite strangely, time seemed to creep very slowly then and I waited and waited for the lock to drop back so I could catch it in my hand... then I made a mistake! I somehow allowed my focus to wander for a fraction of a second: I wondered why the weight was not dropping as fast as I anticipated. Suddenly, I heard a "pak!" sound and felt some thing was slowly dripping down my forehead. I touched that something with my left hand and realized it was my own blood. Because I wasn't concentrating I was hurt. Unfortunately, time did not appear to elapse uniformly for me during that exceedingly brief period! I was very grateful, however, I was not blinded in one eye in that incident.  

Time Slows Down When You're Completely Relaxed
Vince Morris (-- if my memory serves me right), a karate black-belt and the co-author of "Karate Kata and Applications", wrote that once in an important tournament he was rather anxious in his fight. After he had made a major mistake and lost some points he was sure that he had lost the fight. Once this realization came into his mind, he suddenly became very relaxed and started to enjoy the remainder of the fight, more or less as a spectator than as one of the contestants.

To his amazement, the opponent then appeared to "move in slow motion" and so telegraphed his every move. Morris was thus able to intercept the opponent's strikes and kicks and made effective counter-attacks. He finally won the championship (or something like that). But this seemed to be a one-off incident. He did not say whether he could duplicate such a feat at will afterwards. (Well, most probably not, otherwise he will be one of the best fighters the modern world has known.)

Motion through Space Affects the Passage of Time

Albert Einstein told us that everyone experiences the passage of time individually. Time and space are actually fused together as one entity, the 4-dimensional structure called "space-time." It is a dynamic fabric with a flexible geometry that can be stretched, twisted, wrapped, rippled under the influence of gravity. Reality is far, far stranger than we all normally experience in our daily life. Now, only if someone in self-defence could slow down time at the moment of the Assailant starts attacking... 

Homeworks

Do not give your Attacker the advantage of maximizing his in-coming momentum in a powerful direct-line frontal assault. 

Practise side-stepping in a small semi-circle, to the left as well as the right hand side of the Attacker. Do this by crossing quickly one leg over, either in front or behind, the other stationary leg and turn with hands raised in front of you at chest level. 

Similarly, also practise side-stepping continuously in a straight line, like a crab walking. When your back is against the wall and the Attacker is rushing in head on, you can evade his assaults by shifting swiftly sideways and pivot to his non-dominant-hand side (usually his left flank) and counter-attack!

Now, turn your upper body to one side with one leg (and toes) facing forward and bring the other leg in a straight line behind the forward leg at slightly wider-than- shoulder width. Slowly bring the rear leg up to the heel of the forward leg; at the same time, kick your forward leg forward and start "galloping" sideways. In this posture, your broad chest is turned 180 degrees to one side and you can swiftly squeeze through narrow passageways. 
(I do this occasionally on the long narrow aisle of a plane for a brief stealthy exercise during long flights when most of the passengers are asleep. The lights are dimmed and the silent cantor should not unduly alarm the odd passengers half-awake.)   

To be continued ...

Translation for '快刀斬亂麻'?

Just ask Alexander the Great... "cutting the Gordian knot."

following quoted from wikipedia:

The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (disentangling an "impossible" knot) solved easily by loophole or "thinking outside the box" ("cutting the Gordian knot"):

Turn him to any cause of policy,
The Gordian Knot of it he will unloose,
Familiar as his garter. 

— Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 1 Scene 1. 45–47

chancameron6796155 獨自江邊立 清風耳畔行 The river, alone I stand by

《獨自江邊立》  chancameron6796155 

    獨自江邊立

    清風耳畔行

    羡魚波瀲灩

    戲水樂無名

"The river, alone I stand by"

-- by chancameron6796155 

-- Translated by Frank C Yue

The river, alone I stand by;

Refreshening breeze by my ears glides.

How I envy the wavy fish flashing --

The time of their life they're having.

chancameron6796155 獨自山林走 砂坭與我行 Alone in forest hill walk I

五言四句 : chancameron6796155

   獨自山林走

   砂坭與我行

   風聲花草友

   野鳥唤吾名

"5 Characters 4 Lines" ('Wujue')

-- by chancameron6796155

-- Translated by Frank C Yue

Alone in forest hill walk I;

A long stretch of sand and soil I stroll by.

The wind, the flow'rs and grass are 

    friends of mine;

Calling my name are the birds wild.