William Playfair: faither o data visualisation

Ye could say that the Scots gied us the modren warld. The television, telephone, penicillin, logarithms, the first practical radar system and steam engine, free mercat economic theory — aw inventions or discoveries creditit tae Scots. It’s awmaist embarrassin. But maist fowk likely disna ken that the inventor o the time-series line graph, bar chairt and pie chairt wis a Scot an-aw. The graphs sae kenspeckle in economics, science and business the …

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Hou tae forder human skeels

Afore the simmer, I writ in ma afore gane airticle anent hou there is specific skeels that us humans haes that ither species disnae. But hou can we forder thir capacities? Mony human skeels appear tae hae developit in the situation in prehistoric East Africae whaur, acqueesh 135,000-90,000 year syne, there wis several drochts. Thir drochts wis brithert wi a chynge in material cultur. Archaeologists thinks this suggests some o the maist important intellectual skeels developit by wir species, like spikkin an abstract thocht, kythed at this time.

This mebbes appluised a richt muckle cousie for humanity. It turnt oot the early humans wis gittin a inlat for intellectual capacities tae develop.

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The skeels o Jock Tamson’s bairns

Humans is animals like ony ither in that we eat, sleep, muive aboot an dae the auld hochmagandie. But, at the same time, we arnae the same as ither animals, pairtly acause we ar the anerly species that can unnerstaund whit I’m scrievin. We ar the anerly species that haes gane fae bein an endangert species in an East African glen tae bein the anerly species tae bide on theirsels …

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Crack throu the keekin gless: the story o stories an their importance

Stories is a important pairt o the human ken. Awbody sees an hears stories aw ower the place ilka day, in ilka society: whither it’s in beuks, in lessons or juist in ilkaday crack, stories is pairt o aw wir lifes. Sae whit gars stories sae important for human society? Ae thing spells daes for us is that they forder wir uiss o imaigination by garrin us think an imaigine …

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The Body Snatchers

Nae ower lang syne there wis a scientific revolution in Europe. Doun sooth ye haed Newton gettin skelpit on the heid aff an aipple, an extrapolatin oot fae that aa the laws o motion on earth. Up here in bonnie Scotland we haed a wheen inventors in mony fields makkin muckle steps forrit, biggin up a comprehensive kennin o baith naitur an the universe. But ae field o science couldnae …

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