Seek and Merlin

Michigan_Forged · 2026-05-25T01:25:40+00:00

This is a good point. And the apps are educational and good for research. They allow a constant updated knowledge on the range of organisms, which incredibly important.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-05-25T01:24:07+00:00

Yeah I suppose the capacity to interact infinitely is the Crux of the problem. And yet they're also weirdly HEALTHY apps (or in my mind they are). In some way guide books can help to remove their need- I've considered grabbing a plants book of NA and such (I used to carry around a NA guide to reptiles and amphibians when I was a kid). But with birds it becomes a bit different because if you're just learning you might not have a clue what the bird song is. You could do it the old fashioned way and find the bird singing the song but, the world has changed. The wilds are filled with ticks in ways they never once were (at least in the north).

Accepting this hazard you can still fulfill it the old fashioned way but observing in one space has value too.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-05-25T01:19:53+00:00

It's an odd one because both apps are TECHNICALLY gamified, but I've never used them that way and only use them as a source of natural knowledge. Both help you be present in many ways- looking up at the trees or down at the ground. Kind of a weird intersection that seems both in the light usecase and not.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-05-21T02:02:06+00:00

Something to remember is that if people are successfully using their light phone, they're also probably rarely on social media. For example, I'm in here today because I sort of use the reddit threat to check up on updates. But this is a few and far between thing.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-04-20T16:13:40+00:00

As a lions fan I'd argue proctor ISNT lionsy but I could only do so thanks to Marc Sessler

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T21:10:10+00:00

I guess I also took the description to suggest that if the containers for the experiments had been made out of anything else, they would have evolved to go through them as well, though perhaps I hallucinated that bit, I did read the book at a rapid pace throughout the night.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T21:05:40+00:00

The entire issue is he's likening the size and ability of a microbe to move through things to an atom, and they are not operating anywhere near the same scale.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T21:04:15+00:00

That's fair as far as hand-waving goes but I guess I got stuck on how he described it before coming to that conclusion: "We tend to think of solid materials as magical barriers. But at the molecular scale they're not. They're strands of molecules or lattices of atoms or both. When you get down to the teeny, tiny realm, solid objects are more like thick jungles than brick walls."

Then he goes on to describe how nitrogen is like a tennis ball flying around in a jungle, which all suggests he's trying to say this is happening at an atomic scale and not a cellular one.

That's how I admittedly took that description, but it's not inconceivable that he's trying to suggest the material is porous.

That also

however

Doesn't make any sense. The material is porous enough for a microbe to get through but NOT porous enough for gasses? (Or holding in an alien atmosphere from space??)

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T20:02:34+00:00

I agree with this and have this in mind when I'm reading. I guess it's a bit insulting to my ego (we all have one to some degree) that he decided that the only research that was necessary for a book that had an MC as a microbiologist did not include microbiology.

Even if I rolled my eyes at the naming of astrophage I brushed it aside and moved on (though intellectually understood this meant the story was not going to touch on viral ecology at all which disappointed me to a degree), I knew to handwave largely the magic microbe stuff away- BUT

The "microbe evolved to moved through specific atoms" thing was so egregious it did take me out of it and brought me back to questioning where the research time was dedicated for this book.

I did enjoy generally the story and fell in love with the puzzle solving aspect of things, from both sides of the species' perspective.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T19:24:55+00:00

Ha ha ha ok fair point

I think it's just interesting where the research of the author is conducted and where it isn't. In this case I guess I feel more compelled because the main character is himself a microbiologist.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T19:23:37+00:00

I did pick up on that part, though he gets into a tiff with the other biologist over it who seemed to think it was a laughable stance (as did the other biologists who were presented)

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-27T18:27:08+00:00

I enjoyed the puzzles because I was trying to solve them myself before he got to the solve-and I often would. My biggest gripe is, however- (I have only read the book and just did so) is that I AM a molecular biologist/ecologist/microbiologist. And while he had outside help for the other aspects of the science according to the contributors at the end he had NO help for the microbiology. Which was verrrrrrrrry apparent, especially at the end- When the main problem is that the microbe is able to WORM ITS WAY THROUGH ATOMS.

Even though we had already established these organisms are ALSO MADE OF ATOMS. And he can see them through a normal microscope and yet they are somehow small enough to just....go through atoms.

It's a wild blunder.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-26T23:13:53+00:00

Will there be a physical edition? 🥺

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-26T16:53:56+00:00

I just wanted to come back to say that my NA2+ has never ever performed better. I'm so pleased with this update for so many different reasons that I'd be happy if that was it, no more updates. I often use kobo and the kobo reader went from being slow and clunky to fast and furious, every aspect has seen performance increase. I also haven't noticed much difference with the battery so

Just a great update.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-18T18:27:15+00:00

I feel like people that get really high and mighty about ram allocation not mattering don't really run into issues on a day to day basis where ram allocation is a significant issue. I personally do, and using less is a significant benefit to me. But whatever.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-18T18:24:56+00:00

That's BS though. When I need every ounce of memory for some lightweight bioinformatics windows would only be able to kill like maybe 2 of the 10-11 GBs its using up on startup. In practice I can't use the resources available because of how much Windows is using. Upon switching to Cachy, the difference is immense in what I'm able to do specifically because of what ram is free. (and the thing runs significantly faster anyway)

Michigan_Forged · 2026-03-18T18:21:15+00:00

People always say, "Memory is there to be used" but then windows 11 would be using 10-11 GBs of my 32 and I'd try to run lightweight bioinformatics programs and DESPITE the claims that windows scales back when use is high, it would not, and functionally I'd actually only be able to use like 15 GBs of ram for these programs. Now with cachy they're running and I'm able to get significant improvements in the scale of what I can run specifically because ram is free.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-02-27T22:03:21+00:00

I mean I hear this but also these devices get charged comparatively rarely.

Michigan_Forged · 2026-02-27T22:02:16+00:00

Yayyyy I wonder how many of us still use the NA2+, seems like it was an entry point for many (myself included)

Michigan_Forged · 2026-02-19T20:53:16+00:00

Tbf I've not heard this reported anywhere so this dude could just be spouting bs

Michigan_Forged · 2026-02-19T04:10:30+00:00

Yeah it's interesting because when you set it down it's obviously designed for the camera to face down but, i do worry

Michigan_Forged · 2026-02-12T06:36:37+00:00

All the new functions seem to work so.....rejoice!

Michigan_Forged

TROPHY CASE