dangerousmeta!, the original new mexican miscellany, offering eclectic linkage since 1999.

New Scientist: Strange signals from 234 stars could be ET - or human error.

Makes me think of the original “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. Professor Lindenbrook (James Mason) taps on a wall, thinking he’s communicating with a fellow prisoner. Instead it’s Gertrud the duck.

ANN: Ancient ‘Kennewick Man’ remains returned to Columbia River tribes.

It’s about time.

BBC: Western contact with China began long before Marco Polo, experts say.

“Other discoveries include new evidence that the First Emperor’s tomb complex is much bigger than first thought and 200 times bigger than Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.” China is wisely taking their time before excavating Qin’s tomb. If historical texts are correct, it is under a dome that models the night sky over China, and his entire empire is rendered in miniature underneath, with rivers and streams flowing of liquid mercury. I hope I’m still around when they finally open it.

NPR: Authors Take On Native American Stereotypes.

“At the root of all of this is the idea of authenticity [snip] It’s the idea that Native people exist in an unchanging past, and that to be an authentic, real Indian, you somehow have not changed and adapted to the modern world. But Native people and Native cultures have always adapted to circumstances, they’ve always infused and integrated with other cultures. It’s always been that way.”

Aeon: Opposition to Galileo was scientific, not just religious.

“Science’s history matters. Anti-Copernicans such as Locher and Brahe show that science has always functioned as a contest of ideas, and that science was present in both sides of the vigorous debate over Earth’s motion.”

The Atlantic: The Economic Woe of Young Liberal-Arts Majors.

“In the labor market for young college grads, non-college jobs have proliferated faster than jobs that have historically required a college degree.” Yet, don’t eschew the liberal arts. As I found throughout my career, if you’re not going for a specific engineering degree, the liberal arts give you a leg up in just about any other field (philosophy majors on Wall Street ... architecture graduates creating Broadway sets ... etc. etc.).

Aeon Essays: The civic drama of Socrates trial.

You know, going back to read Socrates as an adult (after grade school glances), you realize that to be stuck conversing with Socrates must have been annoying as hell. He wanted you to reflect on your own beliefs, and live in accordance with the logic of one’s choices. There would be no going to church and holding pro-choice beliefs - you’d have to live your conviction, or change that conviction. Yet ... we need to discuss the ‘noble lie’ ... pertinent to today’s political landscape.

MeFi: Animated math.

Cool.

BBC: DNA confirms cause of 1665 London’s Great Plague.

Let me guess. Yersinia pestis. Ain’t it always?

BillMoyers.com: What Would Joseph Campbell Say About Donald Trump?

“Unlike the hero who serves humanity, Trump is simultaneously serving his own self-destructive “dark side” while calling forth America’s dark side — bullies obsessed with money, power and materialistic success, absorbed with their own hubris and empire. Instead of trying to improve the system and make it better for all, he is trying to blow it up. The alternative he offers would be chaos.”

OpenCulture: What Ancient Latin Sounded Like, And How We Know It.

I’d like to see some mention about how it has been perpetuated as a living language in the Catholic church over this long time period, rather than ignoring that vector of input.

Pop Arch: Tree-rings reveal secret clocks that could reset key dates across the ancient world.

“In the past, we have had floating estimates of when things may have happened, but these secret clocks could reset chronologies concerning important world civilizations with the potential to date events that happened many thousands of years ago to the exact year.” Two radiation spikes at 775 and 994 CE, visible in all trees across the globe, will change dates on many major events in our history books. Huzzah!

Slate: Shadi Hamid on Islamic exceptionalism.

“Islamism is by definition illiberal, and they would promote things that are contrary to classical liberalism, in the sense of non-negotiable personal rights and freedoms, gender equality, protection of minorities.” Another information point, for those curious.

Eidolon: Re-Queering Sappho.

Notable.

AtlasObscura: Rebel Virgins and Desert Mothers Written Out of Christianity’s Early History.

Yes, they’ve gotten short shrift. Mary Magdalene should have become head of the apostles, really, as first apostle of the resurrection (first person to see Christ after he had risen). The troubled Paul sealed in the male authoritarianism. This article’s a bit fluffy; see “The Closing of the Western Mind.” Highly recommended. I found it a page-turner.

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago: Catalog of Publications.

Free ebooks. Well, PDFs. Or purchase dead tree copies. Always nice to give back to scholarly institutions ...

Archaeology News Network: Human burial found in the middle of sacrificial altar at Mt. Lykaion.

Human sacrifice? More digging to come.

ArtDaily: At ancient Syria site, IS discovers then destroys treasures.

“ When the Islamic State group captured Tal Ajaja, one of Syria’s most important Assyrian-era sites, they discovered previously unknown millennia-old statues and cuneiform tablets, and then they destroyed them.”  AAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHH.

Dazed (UK): Going to university is officially not worth it, says study.

“The research – published last week – claims that your university degree could be leaving you perpetually out of pocket unless you go to Oxbridge or become a doctor.”

Christie’s: Five minutes with Einstein’s leather jacket.

Hold your nose. Thanks, Tom E.

Duluth News-Tribune: Renowned Ojibwe author Jim Northrup remembered.

“In Vietnam, Bob Hope came to help us celebrate Christmas. I couldn’t figure out the link between peace on earth and a rice paddy fire fight. Today there is no tree inside my house. We just leave them outside where they continue to grow.” RIP. Your voice and thought will be missed. Of note: Ojibwe funeral traditions.

The New Yorker: How Rousseau Predicted Trump.

“He simply assumed that his own experience of social disadvantage and poverty — though he was rarely truly poor and had a knack for finding wealthy patrons—sufficed to make his arguments superior to those of people who lived more privileged lives.” Presaged might be a better term.

Guardian.UK: UT Tower shooting survivor speaks out against new campus carry law in Texas.

“There’s a lot of debating going on within university and faculty about what they can and cannot say regarding guns in classrooms and to me it’s just a shame that we’re even having these discussions. It’s just wrong to have guns be allowed in a classroom where you can’t have your cellphone or eat a hamburger.” It is ridiculous.

New Scientist: Mysterious dark brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s and stress.

“Studies in patients show that inflammation arising outside the brain is associated with more rapid decline in Alzheimer’s patients, and it’s important to unravel what role microglia might play in this acceleration of disease.” Oh please no.

Archaeology News Network: Facial reconstruction made of Bronze Age woman ‘Ava’.

“So, creating a facial reconstruction based on archaeological remains is somewhat different in that a greater amount of artistic licence can be allowed.” Still fascinating, though.