Linkfest 2021-09-17: The Great Tree

A thread on the strange connections in technological development. And my favorite comment, a joke about Civilization tech trees.

BBC: Saudi Arabia camel carvings dated to prehistoric era

The now long defunct Anthropogene blog had some great stuff on the pre-history of Arabia. There was a time when Arabia was lush and green, and interesting sites litter the peninsula. Even after the Empty Quarter became a desert, it hosted the lost city of Ubar, beloved of pulp authors.

John D. Cook: Technological Boundary Layer

John D. Cook makes an analogy between sudden changes in mathematical functions near the boundaries between different regions and the kinds of tasks you need to complete at work.

Quanta Magazine: A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface

Giant tree like structures deep in the Earth play a role in hotspot volcanism.

With Both Hands: Duel Visions by Louise Sorensen and Misha Burnett

This volume of the weird and macabre has been restocked by the POD vendor, so why not check it out?

The Long View: The Dark Imperium

This essay by John J. Reilly is so old that even the Internet Archive can’t find the links in it. However, all this information is newly relevant with the hilariously on-brand insistence of the Satanic Temple that yes, we actually do need to sacrifice children as part of our rituals.