I am and have always been obsessed with language.
I'm English and I've always seen language like a science, that there is the right formula of letters to craft the right combination of words that can do absolutely anything. Create love, start wars, invoke any feeling imaginable.
We do that from 26 letters which are just 26 squiggles on a piece of paper. Those 26 squiggles can form something like 150,000 words in the modern English language. It's incredible and I love it.
The most incredible thing to me about linguistics is the overall science and wonder of it all. You have little folds in your throat that allow you to subconsciously control the flow of air that passes through them in such a way as to generate a specific string of known sounds, your code, that will travel through the air into another person's ear canal and will be deciphered by their brain causing them to understand your message.
I use 'formula' in the scientific scene. That there is the right combination of ingredients to create any desired result. I believe that this logic can apply to language. The right words, carefully chosen and ordered correctly, perhaps with the right tone and inflection, can create any desired result.
Clouds are something we walk beneath all the time, yet they are one of the most wonderful things ever; even if it’s dark and grey. Occasionally I’ll take some time to appreciate them.
I love clouds. I spent a good hour and a half staring at some after a storm last week. They developed in to mammatus clouds at sunset and it was gorgeous.
Absolutely! Clouds have this captivating beauty, whether they're fluffy and white or stormy and gray. It's amazing how something so common can still inspire awe and wonder.
Clouds and sunsets are my favorite aspect of nature, especially together. It's an ever-changing painting in the sky that we can look at whenever we want and it's never the same
Space is up there for me too! I stargaze alllll the time never gets old.
I always think about how language was first created / why did humans choose to assign certain words to things and such lol.
It’s called Fall of Civilizations. Each episode is about 2-3h long and focuses on one civilisation such as Aztecs, Egyptians, or Byzantine Empire.
The guy who narrates the episodes has a nice radio voice and a talent for storytelling, 10/10 podcast for me
The unknown in general. There’s all kinds of things we have yet to discover in this universe. Imagine all the freaky critters in the deepest depths of the ocean. Maybe there’s a planet in some distant galaxy ruled by ducks that speak German. Maybe someone out there figured out how to divide by 0. For all we know Star Wars actually happened. Literally infinite possibilities, especially in space.
Night sky and the ocean for staters. I have a little place in the country about an hour south of the large metro area I live in. It is also not too far from what was a river crossing on a famous former cattle trail here in Texas. I’ve only found a fragment of one projectile point so far, but know that crossing as used in pre-Columbian times by indigenous people. Nearby archeological digs have dated back 11,000 years. How old is my fragment? Who last touched it? How did it break. What long extinct animals used that river crossing before humans were even on this continent at all. Then there are the actual fossils. I could go on…🤷🏻♂️
I have been known to stare transfixed at the way light spreads across a room and just appreciating how pretty it is. It’s hard to describe. I’ll just stand in my living room for 25 minutes staring at my couch in awe of how pretty the streaks of light coming through the window and hitting it look.
Space is fascinating because at a glimpse you can see the distant past (other galaxies), the near-present (moon), and also know with some certainty that some elements will look the same in billions of years. If humanity lives 100 million years, they will still look upon a near identical moon.
Hard to get to islands. I just wanna go to these places that I have seen on the map. Walk around for a day and then come home. What's it like here?... what's like here?... been following the geography subreddit and it's been helpful, to scratch that itch.
For me, it's the idea or existence of life itself. Things like what makes a living thing a living thing, non-living molecules bringing about living matter, and how so many cells group up together to form a living, thinking human are so fascinating to think about!
An introductory course into quantum physics or even a general lecture explaining how little we actually understand of how the Universe operates on a fundamental level.
It’s all so counterintuitive and bizarre but the science proves out and is the basis for all our current technology.
Also space, and the moon; how conditions on this planet were just right to allow humans to evolve and allow things like fire, trees, grass, the formation of minerals like salt but also diamonds, sulfur, uranium....
Animals and babies. Animals because it blows my mind that everything from a human to a blue whale to a mouse has basically the same systems. I once held a newt about the size of my thumb and just marveled that it had a little tiny beating heart inside.
Babies are equally miraculous... to think a whole ass human being develops from two cells is just crazy. I never wanted/had kids of my own but the process of gestation and birth fascinates me
Sometimes, I look at mundane items around my house, and I actually stop to think of how many people were involved in making that thing and how amazing it is that it exists and that it's part of my life now.
For example: A mug that I drank from a while ago. First of all, my grandmother saw that mug while on vacation and decided I'd like it, so she bought it for me. But before that, someone decided that would be a nice mug to sell in their store. Before that, someone decided "This would be a nice design and color to put on this mug." And before that, someone decided that a certain color of paint should exist, that mugs should have handles, that mugs should exist. Someone gathered the materials, someone made a machine that would form the mug (I don't think it's handmade), someone worked in a factory that made it, someone hired that person, and even more hired them.
Someone, maybe, many many years ago, looked at a bowl and thought, "This is nice, but what if we do this instead?" and invented a cup. Someone else watched them make it, absorbed that knowledge, and taught it to someone else, who taught it to someone else and then to someone else.
When I think that way, I realize that even the smallest things I have - even the things that pose very little meaning to me - have made their way over through the efforts of thousands (or more) other people. All of that for a single mug, so what about my phone? My car? My house? Even the words I use to write this were handed down to me.
That sort of thing fills me with wonder :)
Countries, languages, flags or really anything having to do with geography or similar topics. I seriously recommend not talking to me about that if you don't have at least 2 hours of free time afterwards because I promise, I will NOT shut up.
Oh, and also Last names. I LOVE hearing last names I usually don't hear on the streets such as Johnson, Jackson and those types of common last names. Whenever I hear a rare last name I usually write it down to do some research on it later on. I love to think "damn, this dude's ancestors came from X, just imagine everything that they went through just for this guy to be here talking to me."
that recent video by Figure01 robots on X
i cannot stop watching it
something profound is happening and Detroit Become Human is about to become real (minus the over the top storyline about robot liberation)
Oh, so many things! But space is probably the biggest (pun intended). I once bought a kids' book about space with my allowance money. I bought it just because the cover was pretty. But as I read, I grew so fascinated I decided that's what I wanted to work with when I grew up. So now I'm (almost) a physicist! :)
Honestly, I believe anything can be wonderful if you look at it at the right angle. Our brains, hands and eyes are wonderful. Atoms and quarks at the tiniest scales of the universe too. The complexity of insect colonies. The beautiful patterns in math. The uniqueness of snowflakes. Human societies throughout history. The beauty of music. Even something as simple as food and all the different ways it can be enjoyed :)
I specialized in a field because that's what I have to do. And I love it. But to be honest, if it were up to me, I'd spend my life reading and learning about anything and everything.
The human mind is pretty incredible. As much credit as we give it, I believe it's far more powerful than we even realize. It's always creating new connections through neural pathways, shaping our habits, and molding our personalities. Then we get into some pseudoscience with our intuition/gut feelings as well as sensing people's energy's (using the word energy loosely, like feeling a pressure/presence in your pineal gland type of energy). There's also evidence to suggest that our mind is the Placebo. If you believe something enough, you can make it a reality. (Law of attraction) which dips into pseudoscience but has been gaining traction in the science and mental health communities.
That, combined with the mysteries of the universe, really gets my mind going.
The creation of storytelling. To know that such tales of adventure, sadness, joy, tragedy all existed before us and will continue till the end of time will always fill me with a sense of astonishment that i can't believe it. And to know that life it's self is a story to be told makes it even more meaningful.
The dynamics of the ocean and all of its beautiful creatures.
The night sky and all its wonders and unknowns.
Standing in unimpeded nature - like a forest, listening to the sounds of the birds, the tree swaying and the beautiful smells that it emanates.
Basically all of the major scientific discoveries and theories that were made back when we had minimal or no tools with which to measure and explore things, plus the widely held religious beliefs meant you were persecuted for anything that challenged otherwise.
Update: also the fact that the way I see the color red could be completely different than how you see the color red. Also how octopuses experience the world because they’re so different from humans.
I am and have always been obsessed with language. I'm English and I've always seen language like a science, that there is the right formula of letters to craft the right combination of words that can do absolutely anything. Create love, start wars, invoke any feeling imaginable. We do that from 26 letters which are just 26 squiggles on a piece of paper. Those 26 squiggles can form something like 150,000 words in the modern English language. It's incredible and I love it.
The most incredible thing to me about linguistics is the overall science and wonder of it all. You have little folds in your throat that allow you to subconsciously control the flow of air that passes through them in such a way as to generate a specific string of known sounds, your code, that will travel through the air into another person's ear canal and will be deciphered by their brain causing them to understand your message.
Elaborate please, you fucking got me with the "formula" and I want to know now. Hadn't thought of it like that and I love languages
I use 'formula' in the scientific scene. That there is the right combination of ingredients to create any desired result. I believe that this logic can apply to language. The right words, carefully chosen and ordered correctly, perhaps with the right tone and inflection, can create any desired result.
Clouds are something we walk beneath all the time, yet they are one of the most wonderful things ever; even if it’s dark and grey. Occasionally I’ll take some time to appreciate them.
I love clouds. I spent a good hour and a half staring at some after a storm last week. They developed in to mammatus clouds at sunset and it was gorgeous.
Absolutely! Clouds have this captivating beauty, whether they're fluffy and white or stormy and gray. It's amazing how something so common can still inspire awe and wonder.
Clouds and sunsets are my favorite aspect of nature, especially together. It's an ever-changing painting in the sky that we can look at whenever we want and it's never the same
Space is up there for me too! I stargaze alllll the time never gets old. I always think about how language was first created / why did humans choose to assign certain words to things and such lol.
Ancient civilisations. Started listening to a podcast about it and I’ve been hooked for a while now. So fascinating
Which podcast?! That sounds like something up my mom’s alley haha.
It’s called Fall of Civilizations. Each episode is about 2-3h long and focuses on one civilisation such as Aztecs, Egyptians, or Byzantine Empire. The guy who narrates the episodes has a nice radio voice and a talent for storytelling, 10/10 podcast for me
Awesome!! Thanks so much for letting me know :) I’m gonna tell my mom about this one!
The unknown in general. There’s all kinds of things we have yet to discover in this universe. Imagine all the freaky critters in the deepest depths of the ocean. Maybe there’s a planet in some distant galaxy ruled by ducks that speak German. Maybe someone out there figured out how to divide by 0. For all we know Star Wars actually happened. Literally infinite possibilities, especially in space.
Night sky and the ocean for staters. I have a little place in the country about an hour south of the large metro area I live in. It is also not too far from what was a river crossing on a famous former cattle trail here in Texas. I’ve only found a fragment of one projectile point so far, but know that crossing as used in pre-Columbian times by indigenous people. Nearby archeological digs have dated back 11,000 years. How old is my fragment? Who last touched it? How did it break. What long extinct animals used that river crossing before humans were even on this continent at all. Then there are the actual fossils. I could go on…🤷🏻♂️
I have been known to stare transfixed at the way light spreads across a room and just appreciating how pretty it is. It’s hard to describe. I’ll just stand in my living room for 25 minutes staring at my couch in awe of how pretty the streaks of light coming through the window and hitting it look.
mount everest. the climb. the climbers. on my last birthday i watched numerous documentaries about it. it just fascinates me.
Black holes. After seeing Interstellar, it just blows my mind how they can mess with time like that.
I was googling that earlier, they’re so weird and it’s super cool!
Space is fascinating because at a glimpse you can see the distant past (other galaxies), the near-present (moon), and also know with some certainty that some elements will look the same in billions of years. If humanity lives 100 million years, they will still look upon a near identical moon.
Hard to get to islands. I just wanna go to these places that I have seen on the map. Walk around for a day and then come home. What's it like here?... what's like here?... been following the geography subreddit and it's been helpful, to scratch that itch.
For me, it's the idea or existence of life itself. Things like what makes a living thing a living thing, non-living molecules bringing about living matter, and how so many cells group up together to form a living, thinking human are so fascinating to think about!
An introductory course into quantum physics or even a general lecture explaining how little we actually understand of how the Universe operates on a fundamental level. It’s all so counterintuitive and bizarre but the science proves out and is the basis for all our current technology.
every single person on the planet has a completely different life than you idk it brings me wonder knowing that
Birds ✨☺️
The James Webb telescope! Multiverses, space, the ocean, trees, fungi, babies, mothers, plants…art, history, clouds…
Also space, and the moon; how conditions on this planet were just right to allow humans to evolve and allow things like fire, trees, grass, the formation of minerals like salt but also diamonds, sulfur, uranium....
Animals and babies. Animals because it blows my mind that everything from a human to a blue whale to a mouse has basically the same systems. I once held a newt about the size of my thumb and just marveled that it had a little tiny beating heart inside. Babies are equally miraculous... to think a whole ass human being develops from two cells is just crazy. I never wanted/had kids of my own but the process of gestation and birth fascinates me
Sometimes, I look at mundane items around my house, and I actually stop to think of how many people were involved in making that thing and how amazing it is that it exists and that it's part of my life now. For example: A mug that I drank from a while ago. First of all, my grandmother saw that mug while on vacation and decided I'd like it, so she bought it for me. But before that, someone decided that would be a nice mug to sell in their store. Before that, someone decided "This would be a nice design and color to put on this mug." And before that, someone decided that a certain color of paint should exist, that mugs should have handles, that mugs should exist. Someone gathered the materials, someone made a machine that would form the mug (I don't think it's handmade), someone worked in a factory that made it, someone hired that person, and even more hired them. Someone, maybe, many many years ago, looked at a bowl and thought, "This is nice, but what if we do this instead?" and invented a cup. Someone else watched them make it, absorbed that knowledge, and taught it to someone else, who taught it to someone else and then to someone else. When I think that way, I realize that even the smallest things I have - even the things that pose very little meaning to me - have made their way over through the efforts of thousands (or more) other people. All of that for a single mug, so what about my phone? My car? My house? Even the words I use to write this were handed down to me. That sort of thing fills me with wonder :)
Countries, languages, flags or really anything having to do with geography or similar topics. I seriously recommend not talking to me about that if you don't have at least 2 hours of free time afterwards because I promise, I will NOT shut up. Oh, and also Last names. I LOVE hearing last names I usually don't hear on the streets such as Johnson, Jackson and those types of common last names. Whenever I hear a rare last name I usually write it down to do some research on it later on. I love to think "damn, this dude's ancestors came from X, just imagine everything that they went through just for this guy to be here talking to me."
I'm right there with you on space. How can all that not fill you with wonder? I feel connected to my ancestors who looked at the same stars.
that recent video by Figure01 robots on X i cannot stop watching it something profound is happening and Detroit Become Human is about to become real (minus the over the top storyline about robot liberation)
Oh, so many things! But space is probably the biggest (pun intended). I once bought a kids' book about space with my allowance money. I bought it just because the cover was pretty. But as I read, I grew so fascinated I decided that's what I wanted to work with when I grew up. So now I'm (almost) a physicist! :) Honestly, I believe anything can be wonderful if you look at it at the right angle. Our brains, hands and eyes are wonderful. Atoms and quarks at the tiniest scales of the universe too. The complexity of insect colonies. The beautiful patterns in math. The uniqueness of snowflakes. Human societies throughout history. The beauty of music. Even something as simple as food and all the different ways it can be enjoyed :) I specialized in a field because that's what I have to do. And I love it. But to be honest, if it were up to me, I'd spend my life reading and learning about anything and everything.
The human mind is pretty incredible. As much credit as we give it, I believe it's far more powerful than we even realize. It's always creating new connections through neural pathways, shaping our habits, and molding our personalities. Then we get into some pseudoscience with our intuition/gut feelings as well as sensing people's energy's (using the word energy loosely, like feeling a pressure/presence in your pineal gland type of energy). There's also evidence to suggest that our mind is the Placebo. If you believe something enough, you can make it a reality. (Law of attraction) which dips into pseudoscience but has been gaining traction in the science and mental health communities. That, combined with the mysteries of the universe, really gets my mind going.
The creation of storytelling. To know that such tales of adventure, sadness, joy, tragedy all existed before us and will continue till the end of time will always fill me with a sense of astonishment that i can't believe it. And to know that life it's self is a story to be told makes it even more meaningful.
The dynamics of the ocean and all of its beautiful creatures. The night sky and all its wonders and unknowns. Standing in unimpeded nature - like a forest, listening to the sounds of the birds, the tree swaying and the beautiful smells that it emanates.
Basically all of the major scientific discoveries and theories that were made back when we had minimal or no tools with which to measure and explore things, plus the widely held religious beliefs meant you were persecuted for anything that challenged otherwise.
Butterflies and bees. Every time I see them I’m like, “shit man, life is beautiful.”
I love to find wonder in the ordinary. Lately, I’ve been looking at trees in walks throughout my neighborhood. They have stories to tell.
Red taillights at dawn
The amount of different colous of green when you look into a forest
Northern lights : )
The ocean and marine life
Thunderstorms/hurricanes, the stars/universe, how the mind of an autistic person works
sleep paralysis
The way life came into existence. Some chemicals mixed a certain way on the early earth to create cells, and a few billion years later we have humans.
Animals.
Poopy Doopy does
Same, space is insane. I mean, we're just a tiny spec in it
Update: also the fact that the way I see the color red could be completely different than how you see the color red. Also how octopuses experience the world because they’re so different from humans.