Summary: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo, various nonsense about logos, tribalism, extraterrestrial aliens, etc.
Keywords: logos, tribal, extraterrestrial aliens, Tolkien
Our logo has attracted some hostile comments. These were largely anti-semitic in tone, seemingly based on its apparent likeness to the 'Star of David' and coincidence with the 'cabbalistic' number seven. One, better-informed, bigot saw it as an Islamic symbol – indeed, it does resemble a beautiful pattern widely used in Islamic art and architecture. However, Pleiade Associates is a secular company with no adherence, relationship or affiliation to any religious faith or group. As such, we regard religious belief as a matter for individual conscience and disavow all bigotry and prejudice, including anti-semitism and Islamophobia. [note 1]
We cannot aid those seeking an esoteric basis for the logo. To us, its form resembles the molecular bonding pattern of carbon – an apt emblem for members of a carbon based life-form assembled from the debris or 'stardust' of a succession of supernovæ [note 2].
In reality, the logo is merely a symbolic depiction of the 'seven' stars of the Pleiades – the Seven Sisters of Greek mythology – our adopted namesake. In terms of a 20th century psychological theory of perception it is also a Gestalt. That is, a perceived figure which is more than the sum of its parts: the apparent 'stars' being formed by a configuration of hexagons.
Far too much significance is given to logos, they are intrinsically trivial. Even so, in combining a simple element (a regular hexagon) into a pictorially apt and graphically distinct emblem, the logo may be seen as a small example of our wider aim to produce greater effects with lesser means.
In response to some credulous visitors to this site: we are not a cover or front for an advanced unit of an invading force of Pleiadian/Pleiadean [note 3] extraterrestrial aliens. Nor, for the second wave of the deluded, are we a rallying point for a remnant of the lost civilization of the Pleiades! Let's try to keep a grip on reality…
Finally, in return for the benevolent comments of a J. R. R. Tolkien fan [note 4] who found a "fresh and august elegance" in the design of the web site, to our friends: Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo – A star shines on the hour of our meeting:
Karl Popper exposed the basis of prejudice in his defence of liberal democracy against its enemies, both within and without, 'The Open Society and its Enemies'†. Written during the Second World War, its analysis of the historicist basis of totalitarianism provides a curriculum vitae of tribalism's enduring reaction to the emergence of the Open Society. It remains relevant – perhaps, now as never before.
† Karl Popper: The Open Society and its Enemies –
[ISBN 0 7100 1967 X & ISBN 0 7100 4625 1. London, 1945].
[ISBN 0 7100 1968 8 & ISBN 0 7100 4626 X. London, 1945].
Evidence from recent research indicates that the material forming the Solar System is of multiple supernovae origin. The discovery of anomalies in the molybdenum isotope composition of the stony meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites has important implications for the mixing of interstellar dust grains in the early Solar System. These meteorites are enhanced in p- and r-process molybdenum isotopes, pointing to diverse supernova sources for this pre-solar material.
Source:
Diverse supernova sources of pre-solar material inferred from molybdenum isotopes in meteorites. Qingzhu Yin, Stein B. Jacobsen & Katsuyuki Yamashita : Nature 415, 881-883 (2001).
Return to [note 2]
It is clear that for life "as we know it" the Pleiades is an inhospitable neighbourhood in the inner suburbs of the galaxy. The evolution of even primitive forms of life in the cluster is highly improbable, given that the cluster is only 100 million years old. After some 30 million years, several of its member stars may have been orbited by primative planets [5,6]. Even so, any 70 million year old planetary system is a mere infant compared with the 4.6 billion year old Solar System and probably remains subject to massive and relentless bombardment from the dust and debris comprising the enveloping nebulæ. Add to this the hazards posed by the energetic detritus from the exploded shells of several 'white dwarf' stars and the X-ray emissions of some 170 stars in the cluster (X-ray sources up to a thousand times more powerful than the sun), and you can see that given, say, another 4 or 5 billion years of evolution the place may be suitable to move into and raise a family!
For us, this could be fortunate timing – since it's likely that the Solar System will be fairly inhospitable by then and the prospect of 'global warming' would be beyond contention.
Return to [note 3]
Apparently, in Tolkien's mythology "… Aulë flung down his hammer… …the sparks flashed from the forge and rose into the ancient heavens as the Pleiades. Seeing this, Varda the beautiful, also one of the Valar [a goddess?], was inspired to set the stars about the firmament in very great profusion."
Return to [note 4]
A short timescale for terrestrial planet formation from Hf-W chronometry of meteorites. Qingzhu Yin, S. B. Jacobsen, K. Yamashita, J. Blichert-Toft, P. Télouk & F. Albaréde : Nature 418, 949 - 952 (2002).
Note 6Rapid accretion and early core formation on asteroids and the terrestrial planets from Hf-W chronometry. T. Kleine, C. Münker, K. Mezger & H. Palme : Nature 418, 952 - 955, (2002).
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King: Strength in Love.