Camellia Sinensis—the Tea Plant

Quote: "Unlike Oolong tea, which is partially oxidized [...], and black tea which is completely oxidized, green tea is not allowed to oxidize at all."

The tea plant (Camellia Sinensis or Camellia Thea) is not to be confused with the tea tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia) whose antiseptic properties make it ideal for all sorts of things.

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Colour Theory and Perception

Colour theoreticians have worked on models of the range of colours for many centuries. They have evolved from a linear configuration to a spherical one, but always they have been constructed as an equal-interval configuration. But do we all see the colours the same way? Better yet, did the people of old see less colours than we do, or did they just not see the relationships as we do? Just one more 'science' that is more heuristic than objectivist!

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Epicure and Culture

Most cultures agree that food restores the body, and impacts the soul. But what is this impact?

Each different culture views this their own way. In the Zen kitchen, for example, the food is described by six flavors: bitter, sour, sweet, salty, mild and hot; and three qualities: light and flexible, clean and neat, and conscientious and thorough

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Philosophical Impulses

"Man, like God, can know with absolute certainty that he is, but cannot circumscribe his nature so as to be able to say what he is. (Quoted by Ernest von Glasersfeld from John Scottus Eriugena in Kearney, The Irish Mind, 1985, p.97)"

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Understanding: the Philosophy of Mathematics Education

"Just as Karl Marx demanded that social thinkers start their inquiries by looking at the real everyday activities of real people, so [...] the study of mathematics must be grounded in mathematical practice-in particular, a theory or model of mathematical practice." (From Math Worlds: Philosophical and Social Studies of Mathematics and Mathematics Education, p. 10)

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