The clean marker here is Tritylodontidae. They were cynodont therapsids close to mammals but outside Mammaliaformes, and they survived into the Early Cretaceous. Britannica specifically notes that the last known tritylodontids died out about 125 MYA.
Update Content
Latest 4 Research Tidbits
It’s time to explore the last 4 updated tidbits.
First up.
1.
A Science Story.
From History:
Subject: Mammal Evolution.
~125 Million years ago
That Science Story,
was first published on TST 15 hours ago.
2.
A Critical Thinking FAQ.
Subject: Cherry Picking Fallacy Defined.
Cherry-picking is when someone focuses only on select pieces of information to support a specific argument or decision, while ignoring other relevant or even contradicting data. We all do this sometimes—like choosing to buy something based on one appealing feature. But there’s a problem: when we ignore the bigger picture, we become more vulnerable to biased choices and incomplete conclusions.
This fallacy can be especially misleading when it’s done intentionally. Imagine a politician highlighting only the data that fits their agenda, while ignoring facts that might challenge their claims. They’re hoping you’ll focus on one issue, one emotion, or one piece of data to sway your opinion. For instance, it’s easy to be drawn to a politician’s stance on a particular issue, like immigration or the economy, without realizing they may be distorting the facts through selective evidence.
Selective attention can help us decide quickly, but cherry-picking happens when selected evidence is treated as if it tells the whole story. I’m Michael Alan Prestwood, reminding you that the best defense is to verify facts, ask what’s missing, and keep an eye on the bigger picture.
That Critical Thinking FAQ,
was first published on TST 2 years ago.
3.
A Science Story.
From History:
Subject: Evolution.
295 Million BCE
Complex Brains; Long-Term Memory; Early Complex Sentience.
Both reptiles and our ancestor synapsids evolved from amphibians. While reptiles evolved better amniotic eggs, synapsid eggs were like amphibian eggs. Synapsid’s birthing process eventually led to mammalian live births. These are the animals that evolved Complex Sentience, the ability to feel various emotions. While it is unknown when this complex spectrum fully evolved, it is defined as the ability to suffer and feel the dichotomy of pleasure and pain. Dimetrodon is an example of a meat eater, which if any of our ancestors were meat eaters. Although not a While dimetrodons were not direct ancestor of mammals, our mammalian ancestors might have been similar to our direct-line ancestors around this time.
That Science Story,
was first published on TST 2 years ago.
4.
A Philosophy FAQ.
Subject: Copernicus.
In a literal sense, yes—Copernicus moved Earth out of the center of the cosmos. But philosophically, that’s not what shook people. The real shock wasn’t astronomical. It was existential.
For centuries, being at the center meant meaning. Purpose. Specialness. When Copernicus suggested that Earth was just another planet in motion, it felt like a demotion—not just of our location, but of our place in the story of reality.
But here’s the twist: Copernicus didn’t take meaning away. He separated meaning from position. He showed that truth doesn’t revolve around us—and that maybe it never did.
This was the beginning of a harder, humbler idea: that significance isn’t guaranteed by where we stand in the universe, but by how honestly we understand it. The universe didn’t get colder. Our illusions just got thinner.
Copernicus didn’t shrink humanity.
He challenged us to grow up.
That Philosophy FAQ,
was first published on TST 4 months ago.
5.
A Science FAQ.
Subject: Magnets.
Yes, he’s simply wrong.
Water has little effect on either permanent or temporary magnets. But let’s take a fair look and use this moment to explain how both types are created, and why water plays almost no role at all.
First off, temporary magnets. Take an iron nail. Stroke it with a strong magnet, and the magnetic domains inside, the tiny neighborhoods of aligned atoms, begin to rotate into the same direction. Once enough of these domains point the same way, the nail becomes a temporary magnet.
But this alignment is fragile. A temporary magnet can lose its magnetism through heat, physical shock, or a stronger, opposing magnetic field. Water, on the other hand, does nothing.
Even weak temporary magnets, like a magnetized iron nail, doesn’t lose magnetism just because it gets wet. If the nail rusts over time? That’s chemistry changing the metal’s structure, not water scrambling domains.
Secondly, permanent magnets are a bit of a different story. They are made from special materials, like neodymium or ceramic composites, that naturally resist having their domains scrambled. Manufacturers expose the material to a very strong magnetic field, align nearly all domains, and lock them in place by cooling or pressing the material so its atomic structure “freezes.”
And again, water has almost no effect. You can dunk a neodymium magnet in water all day. The only danger is corrosion or rust if the magnet isn’t coated. But the magnetism itself remains untouched.
If anything, these moments remind us that science is usually far simpler — and far more interesting — than the sound bites we hear. And it gives us a chance to revisit how magnets actually work, rather than letting myths pull us away from the truth.
That Science FAQ,
was first published on TST 2 months ago.
6.
A Philosophy Quote.
Subject: Worldviews.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr..
- 1858.
Here is the full quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. from 1858:
“We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible.”
What did he mean? Holmes raises an important point about the origins of our personalities, reminding us that initially it is formed by those raising us in a particular setting at a particular time. This quote is used in chapter 7 of “30 Philosophers” to explore worldviews and identity. Current thoughts indicated that our worldviews and identities are imprinted upon us starting at birth.
The quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. captures a profound truth about the human experience: from the moment we are born, we are imprinted with the cultural norms, beliefs, and values of the society around us. These “tattoos” shape our identity, influencing how we see the world and our place within it. While these beliefs may appear superficial—mere traditions or assumptions—they often lie deeply rooted in our subconscious, quietly steering our actions and decisions. This foundation, formed in childhood, becomes the lens through which we interpret life, and it requires deliberate effort to critically evaluate and potentially reshape.
Holmes raises an important point about the origins of our personalities, reminding us that they are initially shaped by those raising us in a specific environment and time. In chapter 7 of 30 Philosophers, this quote serves as a gateway to exploring worldviews and identity, tying Holmes’ insight to modern understandings of how our core perspectives are imprinted from birth. Through this chapter, readers are invited to reflect on their inherited beliefs and consider how understanding their roots can lead to a more authentic and examined life. After all, growth begins when we move beyond the “indelible” tattoos of our tribe to embrace a broader understanding of ourselves and the world.
That Philosophy Quote,
was first published on TST 2 years ago.
7.
A Philosophy Quote.
From History:
Subject: TST Ethics.
- Michael Alan Prestwood.
- 2018.
Life is not a checklist. It is a process.
We do not move through existence by completing tasks and arriving at perfection. We move through it by adapting, refining, correcting, and recalibrating. The goal is not flawlessness. The goal is flourishing.
To enjoy the journey is to pursue flourishing, not perfection. Flourishing is growth in coherence, resilience, contribution, and meaningful engagement with the world as it actually is. It does not deny difficulty. It absorbs it. It accepts impermanence without surrendering effort.
To live with truth is to recognize the split between the material world and our ideas about it. Reality exists independent of our interpretations. Our models, language, and beliefs operate within a human layer built on top of that world. Living with truth means continually refining that layer — testing beliefs against evidence, updating when necessary, and resisting the comfort of ego-protecting illusions. Truth disciplines ego because reality does not negotiate.
To live with honor is to cultivate integrity within that human layer. Character is not performance. It is alignment between stated principles and actual behavior, especially when no one is watching. Virtue shapes outcomes long before consequences appear. Honor stabilizes the self within an unstable world.
“Causing no harm” is shorthand. Harm is unavoidable in embodied existence. Every action reconfigures something. Resources are consumed. Systems shift. Tradeoffs are real. The ethical task is not purity — it is responsibility. Cause less harm when possible. Weigh consequences honestly. Justify destruction carefully. Preservation is preferred, but when reconfiguration is necessary, it should be guided by awareness and proportion.
Awareness increases responsibility. As understanding deepens — scientifically, socially, psychologically — so does moral obligation. Knowledge is not neutral. It expands the range of consequences we can foresee.
In that sense, the journey is not passive. It is reflective progress. It is the ongoing effort to align our human layer — our beliefs, institutions, and actions — more closely with the material world beneath it, and more consistently with the goal of flourishing.
Not perfection.
Not control.
Alignment.
Enjoy the journey — with truth and honor — causing less harm as understanding grows.
That Philosophy Quote,
was first published on TST 3 months ago.
8.
A Philosophy FAQ.
Subject: Eastern Spirituality.
You’ve likely heard people talk about your “chee” from time to time, usually around meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, or martial arts. The word is spelled qi and pronounced “chee.” It has deep roots in Eastern philosophy, and the idea is similar to a general life-force concept. It is not identical to Aristotle’s entelechy or Spinoza’s conatus, but all three circle the same mystery: what makes life move, strive, and unfold?
In Chinese philosophy, qi means something like vapor or vital energy. It is the subtle energy believed to animate the body and permeate the universe. In early Daoist thought, qi was connected to breath, bodily fluids, vitality, longevity, and the flow of nature. In that sense, qi is not merely “energy” in the modern physics sense. It is more like the felt life of the world: breath becoming motion, matter becoming vitality.
Today, qi is used in many ways tied to health, balance, and the body’s internal flow. In tai chi and qigong, it is cultivated through breath, movement, and attention. In everyday spiritual language, it often means your inner energy, your vitality, or your centeredness.
A similar idea appears in Aristotle’s entelechy from ancient Greece around the same era. Entelechy is the idea that a thing realizes its built-in potential: the acorn becoming the oak, the eye fulfilling itself by seeing. Both try to explain why life is not just dead matter.
Spinoza’s conatus is another Western cousin idea. It has a similar intuition: every existing thing strives to continue in its being. Qi is life as flowing vitality. Entelechy is life as unfolding purpose. Conatus is life as persistent striving. Put together, they show something beautiful: across cultures, life is not passive. Life pushes, unfolds, and persists.
That Philosophy FAQ,
was first published on TST 2 days ago.