Trivia

First, following reference 1, I have been wondering about the signs which have appeared in Epsom town centre telling us that building works will be carrying on for a further 44 weeks. What on earth are they doing? Then today we came across an article in the local freebie which told us nothing much at all about what these works were, beyond that they were taking place. All very suspicious.

So, luncheon completed, moved to visit the borough web site to learn that they are indeed taking getting on for a year to repave the market area, replant the trees that have been chopped down, plant some benches and a couple of statues. One of them, the Davison mentioned at reference 1, the other probably the particularly hideous bit of modern art, something to do with a horse, presently hiding around the back of the library. Plus a wash and brush up for the horse trough.

Not impressed. I had not been aware that the market area particularly needed repaving - compared, for example, with some of the pot holed stretches of road dotted about the borough - and all this lot would not have come anywhere near the top of my list. Who has been driving this forward and why?

Second, earlier in the day, I had been wondering about something else. Having forgotten to collect my prescription, yesterday evening I thought, without thinking about it that is, that a good way to remind me to collect it today would be to leave my shopping bag on the dining room table as an aide-memoire. Which worked, without my needing to think about it at all. So what was the mechanism?

I thought the first clue was that something was not where it ought to be, the sort of thing the brain is good at noticing. So why was it where it was? Hopefully that triggers a memory that I put it there in the hope of triggering another memory. Maybe, most of the time that is enough, and the brain's search engine comes up with the right answer.

Maybe, if that fails, the next step would be for the brain to wonder whether there was a connection between the memory item in question and the shopping bag. A shopping bag which would normally only be used for shopping in Epsom town centre. So what would I be shopping for? In desperation, the brain might even switch to conscious mode. Maybe, most of the rest of the time that is enough and the brain's search engine comes up with the right answer.

Third and last, I have been reading the Davies book at reference 3, first mentioned at reference 2. In among all kinds of interesting stuff about the workings of eukaryotic cells and the complicated chemicals inside them, I came across reference 4, an account of how an experimental biologist might go about mending a transistor radio. More seriously, a scientist's view of the world of fads introduced at reference 5. Very entertaining. First published in Russian in 2002.

PS: I think the apoptosis of the title of this paper is the important business of cells turning themselves off, committing suicide, rather than necrosis which is cells being killed off.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/trough.html.

Reference 2: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/paul-davies.html.

Reference 3: The demon in the machine – Paul Davies – 2019.

Reference 4: Can a Biologist Fix a Radio? – or, What I Learned while Studying Apoptosis – Y. Lazebnik – 2004.

Reference 5: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/an-archaeological-fad.html.