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GOATReads: Science

Why Have Birds Never Gotten as Big as T. Rex?

Even the most massive birds have never reached the sizes of their dinosaur relatives Evolution has a fondness for big birds. During the past 66 million years, repeated on different continents and islands all over the world, avian dinosaurs have reached prodigious sizes and even become apex predators in their ancient habitats. Ten-foot-tall elephant birds strutted across Madagascar until a thousand years ago. The sharp-beaked “terror birds” of prehistoric South America were formidable carnivores for tens of millions of years. And the nearly seven-foot-tall, nut-cracking Diatryma strutted through ancient forests of western North America in search of ripe fruit and nutritious seeds 45 million years ago. Such enormous birds almost seem like a return to the Mesozoic days of giant, feathery dinosaurs, which raises the question of whether such avians could ever reach Tyrannosaurus rex sizes. The repeated evolution of huge birds is part of the dinosaurian legacy. Beaked birds were the only dinosaurs to have survived the asteroid-triggered mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. Avians like the six-foot-tall Palaeeudyptes that waddled across ancient Antarctica about 30 million years ago and Titanis, a towering carnivore that was the only terror bird to live in North America between 1.8 million and 5 million years ago, underscore that prodigious dinosaurs were not only relegated to the times of Stegosaurus and Triceratops. The conditions that allowed birds to evolve to large size over and over again have varied from case to case, however, and the process has left a lingering question. If birds possess the traits that opened the possibility of truly giant, multi-ton statures for non-avian dinosaurs, why have we not seen a bird the size of a T. rex? Often framed as laboratories of evolution, islands can provide some insight into the aviary of big birds our planet continues to host. In a 2023 study, ornithologist Raquel Ponti of Portugal’s University of Porto and colleagues looked at the influence of the “island rule” in birds. The hypothesis contends that on relatively isolated island environments, large species often become smaller and small species become larger. The phenomenon is often attributed to a lack of large, hungry predators like big cats or dogs, allowing island species to evolve in different ways than if ever-hungry predators were influencing island ecology. Birds can get big, in other words, in the absence of predators eating eggs, chicks and even flightless adult birds that can’t simply fly off to escape. The varied moa species of ancient New Zealand, the enormous elephant birds of Madagascar and even the recently extinct dodo of Mauritius are all examples of what can happen when birds settle in on islands. “When a species colonizes a new environment where there are no predators or competitors, as well as new resources and food availability, the species is free to evolve toward optimal sizes and shapes,” Ponti says. One common trend she and her colleagues noticed is that island-dwelling birds not only tend to become larger than their mainland counterparts, but also evolve longer legs and rounder wings. Both traits are connected to spending more time on the ground and a shift away from migrating by flying, only possible because of the absence of predators eager to pick off birds that spend much of their time foraging, nesting and moving around on the ground. A landmass does not have to be entirely devoid of predatory animals to foster the evolution of big birds, however. “We know that in the past, large birds evolved alongside large avian predators,” says ornithologist Hanneke Meijer of the University of Bergen in Norway. The large, flightless moas of New Zealand evolved about 17 million years ago, but between 600 to a million years ago they lived alongside the huge Haast’s eagle, the abundance of the large birds perhaps even allowing such a predator to evolve. The important thing, Meijer notes, is that big birds tend to evolve in habitats with plenty of ecological possibility. Isolation on an island without large carnivores can open plenty of possibilities for birds, but so can living on larger landmasses where resources are abundant and predators are few. Big fossil birds such as Diatryma, for example, lived among vast forests around 50 million years ago when mammal carnivores were small and didn’t have as strong an influence on the prehistoric landscape. The fearsome “terror birds” of South America certainly benefited from such opportunity. The continent was a giant island between 2.7 million and 66 million years ago, where the biggest mammalian predators ranged from weasel-size to about as big as a leopard, around a hundred pounds. “Isolated in South America without competition from large mammalian carnivores, terror birds were able to evolve into a variety of predatory niches, including apex predators,” says Indiana University Bloomington paleontologist Thomas LaBarge. The carnivorous birds, like the mammals, evolved into a broad array of sizes among coexisting species, undoubtedly with different prey preferences and niches. Whether on islands today, or larger continents during prehistory, big birds evolved wherever such flightless giants could peck out a niche for themselves. Tall birds called mihirungs —nicknamed “demon ducks” by some—lived on the island continent of Australia between 30,000 and 25 million years ago. And even on ancient North America, which was more connected to Eurasia during the past 66 million years, large birds like Diatryma lived between 45 million and 55 million years ago. The pattern, Ponti notes, suggests that in habitats vacated by large, hungry predators, the easiest thing for some birds to do was get big and not fly. In each of these cases, it appears that birds grew to large sizes relatively quickly, during times that predatory mammals and birds of prey were either rare or absent. “We often look to islands where we see all this crazy experimentation happening due to islands being smaller and isolated, like an evolutionary pressure cooker, but it can happen on the mainland, too,” Meijer notes, “just less often and probably more slowly.” Despite how often big birds have evolved, however, none have reached the heights or masses of the non-avian dinosaurs that thrived between 66 million and 232 million years ago. For flying birds, the lack of airplane-sized birds like the monster in the 1957 creature feature The Giant Claw can be explained by constraints around flight. Flying is an energy-intensive behavior that requires more and more muscle power the bigger an organism gets, to the point that a flying creature can only become so massive before it’s grounded. Flightless birds, however, are another story. At least two factors have allowed dinosaurs, including birds, to evolve to a wide range of sizes. Paleontologists have proposed that air sacs emanating from the respiratory systems of many dinosaurs surrounded and invaded their bones, which allowed their skeletons to be lighter without sacrificing strength, with the bonus of helping the animals breathe more efficiently. Egg-laying, too, has been cited as a critical factor in gigantism. Laying eggs, rather than gestating offspring inside, freed dinosaurs from having to carry bigger and bigger babies for longer terms, as elephants and other large mammals do. Birds retain both these traits from their dinosaur ancestors, yet they have never equaled their largest extinct relatives in size. Even though air sacs and eggs are important contributing factors to giant dinosaur size, these biological quirks removed barriers rather than required bodies to get bigger. In a post-Cretaceous world, birds have likely never experienced sufficient evolutionary pressure to be as tall or as massive as T. rex. Perhaps predatory birds like terror birds could have grown larger, Meijer notes, as being bigger would have allowed them to catch, kill and consume a broader array of prey, but apparently no such evolutionary interaction took place to boost their size further. In fact, a 2023 study suggests that terror birds were stamping on and kicking prey smaller than themselves rather than going after large animals like giant sloths and armadillos of prehistoric South America, perhaps limiting how large they eventually became. Nevertheless, some impressively big birds roamed our planet. Based on recent finds in South America, LaBarge notes, paleontologists know that terror birds that were at least 10 percent larger than the giant, ten-foot-tall Kelenken lived on the continent. It’s unlikely that terror birds got much larger given that available prey were mostly small, LaBarge says, “but I will say that the largest terror birds absolutely ventured into the size and weight range of some non-avian theropods.” The largest terror birds may have even been the biggest birds of all time. If there is any possibility for tyrannosaur-size birds, the avians will have to evolve during some future time. With more than 11,000 species of living birds on Earth now, feathery creatures alive today will almost certainly give rise to future giants as our planet continues to change. The only question is how large they may become, a potential outcome in what birds remind us is a persistent and still-unfolding Age of Dinosaurs. Source of the article

GOATReads: Arts and Culture

Why the Ancient Craft of Dry Stone Walling Still Holds So Much Appeal in the 21st Century

Artisans around the world are ditching the mortar and embracing an old method of building rock walls John Shaw-Rimmington started building dry stone walls after the stones themselves complained to him. It was the 1980s, and he was living in Ontario, working for clients who wanted decorative stone veneers affixed to the sides of concrete walls. “The stones were saying, ‘We are not decoration. Do you understand?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I get it.’” Shaw-Rimmington ditched the concrete and helped revive the ancient craft of dry stone walling. A dry stone wall is made of nothing but stones, carefully fitted together in such a way that the wall won’t fall down. Gluing the stones with mortar—a paste made of lime or cement mixed with sand and water—is simpler in the short term. But when a dry stone wall breaks, it’s easy to repair. You just have to fix one section, and the wall as a whole remains secure. When a mortared wall cracks, the entire wall is in peril. “We dry stone wallers call mortar ‘the devil’s glue,’” Shaw-Rimmington said. “It smears and it stains and it owns you. Can you make stone walling no fun at all? Yes, try and put mortar in it.”  Shiprock, an art installation at the Point Arena Lighthouse in Northern California, was created by dry stone builders from Canada. Nearby, the builders also constructed a Druid’s Circle of standing stones and a unique stone fence. Christie Hemm Klok People figured out how to make dry stone walls thousands of years ago. In Scotland, dry stone structures date back as far as 5,000 years, to the actual Stone Age. The Maya ruins in Lubaantun, Belize, built around the eighth or ninth century A.D., used dry stone construction. So did the Great Enclosure, an enormous complex in Zimbabwe, built between the 13th and 14th centuries. The Japanese dry stone craft of ano-zumi thrived in the 17th century. The very fact that these walls still stand in any form speaks to the strength of their construction. Dry stone walls appeared all over Britain after 1604, when so-called “inclosure acts” divided common lands among the elite. The tradition carried on from there. When photographer Christie Hemm Klok traveled to Scotland, she found dry stone boundary walls just down the road from ancient stone settlements like Clachtoll Broch. The building style was so common throughout the country that Scottish locals couldn’t understand why she found the walls so interesting: “I would pull over to photograph a wall, and people would ask me, ‘What are you taking a picture of? That’s just a wall that holds in sheep.’” But a dry stone wall doesn’t have to look like a sheep pen. An imaginative builder can put the stones together in all sorts of combinations. You start by digging a trench about three to six inches deep and filling it with gravel. Then you assemble each layer, one stone over two, two stones over one. You can shape the stones with a hammer and chisel as you see fit. Some of them, called “tie-through stones,” need to go all the way from one side to the other. Others, called “hearting stones,” are lemon-sized wedges that help keep the interior structure intact. As you build upward, the wall should get narrower. At the end, you set heavy “coping stones” along the top. As long as you stick to these and other basic principles, you can make all kinds of choices about colors, shapes and patterns. “I always tell my clients, ‘It doesn’t have to be these big, rustic walls,’” said Kristie de Garis, a dry stone waller in Scotland. “You can create really modern lines, a really neat structure. You can space the stones out evenly and create a nice visual flow. You can do pretty much anything with dry stone, actually.” De Garis also tells her clients that a dry stone wall is an investment in the future. “It’s a proper legacy thing. Mortared walls need to be redone roughly every 15 to 30 years. But there are dry stone walls still standing after thousands of years. What price do you put on forever?” You won’t find many dry stone walls in the western United States. When the country expanded, the easiest way to divide properties and fence in animals was with wood and wire. There was no need to build structures that would last, especially given how rapidly the boundaries were changing. But you can find them in New England. Farmers clearing the forests piled up the rocks partly to get them out of the way. The walls they made weren’t always meticulously constructed, as Robert Frost hints in his 1914 poem “Mending Wall”: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, / That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, / And spills the upper boulders in the sun; / And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.” He describes the process of mending the wall with his neighbor, picking up the rocks that have fallen to each side: “And some are loaves and some so nearly balls / We have to use a spell to make them balance: / ‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’” Frost knew how to craft a poem, but it seems he didn’t quite understand how to put together a wall. “I would say some of my earlier work was kind of like that,” Daniel Peterson, a landscape designer and dry stone walling instructor in the Twin Cities, said with a chuckle. “In our workshops, we teach certain techniques for building with different shaped stones, including round stone. Ideally you don’t want to cross your fingers as you walk away and hope that it stays up.” Frost was also wrong about the frost: A well-built wall won’t fall down when the frozen ground swells underneath it. Peterson can attest to this, after years of living and working in Minnesota. “When you see a concrete wall, it’s very rigid and has no flexibility. Whereas when you’re building with dry stone, it’s like weaving a rope. It can move and shift as the ground freezes and thaws.”  Last summer, Peterson traveled to Northern California to teach a dry stone walling workshop there. Christa Moné, the local landscape designer who organized the event, had been struggling to find craftspeople who knew how to carry out her dry stone wall designs. So she reached out to the horticulture program at the nearby junior college, and to retired people and homeowners who wanted to build walls on their own property. Sixteen people showed up to learn from Peterson. “I’m really trying to mobilize our region and get people interested in these stone walls,” explained Moné, who first fell in love with the structures while she was living in France. “These walls can be firebreaks between vineyards and homes. If there’s a grass fire coming through, it will stop at the wall.” Well-built walls can also be stable during earthquakes, which may seem surprising, given that there’s nothing to hold them together. But while mortar cracks, well-fitted stones can nestle in even more tightly after the ground shakes. And when portions break, they’re easy to fix. “Remember, these walls have been built around the world forever,” Moné pointed out. “When you go to Japan, you see dry stone walls that have withstood giant earthquakes just fine.” When it comes to aesthetics, Moné has a different challenge than the one de Garis faces in Scotland. Moné’s California clients have no preconceived ideas about dry stone walls. They don’t feel particularly bound to any tradition—they can build a Japanese garden, an English garden, an Italian garden or anything else they choose—but they tend to be drawn to modern materials they see on Pinterest.  “I tell them that while synthetic materials like vinyl can look really good, there’s a loss of connection when we’re surrounded by them,” Moné said. “When we find ourselves surrounded by natural materials, I think there’s a feeling of relief. But it can be hard to explain to people why they’re going to enjoy that stone wall so much more than a stucco wall. You just have to feel it.” Dry stone walls can serve all kinds of functions, but they’re also beautiful just for their own sake. David F. Wilson, a waller from Dundee, Scotland, uses the medium for public art. In his creations, you can see distinct patterns of color, shape and size. “It’s a brilliant material for public spaces because it’s very robust,” said Wilson. “There’s basically no maintenance. And because it’s very textured, it tends not to attract graffiti or vandalism.” In 2016, Wilson received a Churchill Fellowship, a grant that sends British citizens abroad for four to eight weeks to study advancements in their fields. Wilson traveled to North America to learn about new developments in dry stone walling. “People there are finding their own way of working with stone, and that allows a degree more of personality to come into the-work,” he said. He was astonished when he traveled to New Windsor, New York, and saw Storm King Wall, an art installation by the English artist Andy Goldsworthy. The wall, which was built in the late 1990s and is 2,278 feet long, undulates instead of forming a rigid line. “It’s got this interesting dynamic movement,” said Wilson. “The wall is not a barrier. It weaves in and out of the trees in a way that makes spaces for the trees to shine.” A few years after Storm King Wall made its debut, Peter Mullins, a landowner in Mendocino, California, decided he wanted to invite stone artists to his ranch. He brought in craftspeople from far and wide, supplying catered meals and kegs of beer as they worked. The site became known as the Mendocino Stone Zone (later, the Mendocino Stone Ranch). At Mullins’ request, Shaw-Rimmington came down from Canada to build a dry stone stagecoach house. The project amused Shaw-Rimmington—he’d never seen an actual stagecoach house built in that way, and certainly not in California. “But this is fanciful history,” he said approvingly. “It’s iconic, because you walk through the forest and you come across this thing, and it is as if you’ve found something ancient. North America needs more of that.” Shaw-Rimmington and his crew went on to build other projects nearby, like a large stone fence at the Point Arena Lighthouse. As someone who communes with his materials, Shaw-Rimmington had to make some adjustments in California. Most of the stones at his disposal were left over from other projects and didn’t have a uniform aesthetic. A lot of the rock along the California coast was also less durable than the fieldstone he was used to working with back in Ontario. “The stones, it seemed, were inviting us to be counterintuitive,” he said.  Frost wrote about forces in nature that don’t love a wall. But to hear Shaw-Rimmington talk, the stones themselves delight in being fitted together by expert hands. “They’re so willing!” he said. “And if they’re not, there are so many lessons you’re learning. It could be you’re using them in the wrong place. Or it could be that you need to just be quiet for a while.”  Once a wall is complete, he said, the vibrant creative energy remains. “You can sit in front of a well-built dry stone wall and it’s like watching television. You can sit there and look all day, just enjoying the fits, enjoying the way the colors come together. It kind of pours out. It doesn’t get tiresome.” As he sees it, people who use recreational drugs are only trying to get at something like this natural high. He added with a mischievous laugh, “There’s a reason they call it getting stoned.” Source of the article

GOATReads: Philosophy

The Concept of Taste

The concept of the aesthetic descends from the concept of taste. Why the concept of taste commanded so much philosophical attention during the 18th century is a complicated matter, but this much is clear: the eighteenth-century theory of taste emerged, in part, as a corrective to the rise of rationalism, particularly as applied to beauty, and to the rise of egoism, particularly as applied to virtue. Against rationalism about beauty, the eighteenth-century theory of taste held the judgment of beauty to be immediate; against egoism about virtue, it held the pleasure of beauty to be disinterested. 1.1 Immediacy Rationalism about beauty is the view that judgments of beauty are judgments of reason, i.e., that we judge things to be beautiful by reasoning it out, where reasoning it out typically involves inferring from principles or applying concepts. At the beginning of the 18th century, rationalism about beauty had achieved dominance on the continent, and was being pushed to new extremes by “les géomètres,” a group of literary theorists who aimed to bring to literary criticism the mathematical rigor that Descartes had brought to physics. As one such theorist put it: The way to think about a literary problem is that pointed out by Descartes for problems of physical science. A critic who tries any other way is not worthy to be living in the present century. There is nothing better than mathematics as propaedeutic for literary criticism. (Terrasson 1715, Preface, 65; quoted in Wimsatt and Brooks 1957, 258) It was against this, and against more moderate forms of rationalism about beauty, that mainly British philosophers working mainly within an empiricist framework began to develop theories of taste. The fundamental idea behind any such theory—which we may call the immediacy thesis—is that judgments of beauty are not (or at least not canonically) mediated by inferences from principles or applications of concepts, but rather have all the immediacy of straightforwardly sensory judgments. It is the idea, in other words, that we do not reason to the conclusion that things are beautiful, but rather “sense” that they are. Here is an early expression of the thesis, from Jean-Baptiste Dubos’s Critical Reflections on Poetry, Painting, and Music, which first appeared in 1719: Do we ever reason, in order to know whether a ragoo be good or bad; and has it ever entered into any body’s head, after having settled the geometrical principles of taste, and defined the qualities of each ingredient that enters into the composition of those messes, to examine into the proportion observed in their mixture, in order to decide whether it be good or bad? No, this is never practiced. We have a sense given us by nature to distinguish whether the cook acted according to the rules of his art. People taste the ragoo, and tho’ unacquainted with those rules, they are able to tell whether it be good or no. The same may be said in some respect of the productions of the mind, and of pictures made to please and move us. (Dubos 1748, vol. II, 238–239) And here is a late expression, from Kant’s 1790 Critique of the Power of Judgment: If someone reads me his poem or takes me to a play that in the end fails to please my taste, then he can adduce Batteux or Lessing, or even older and more famous critics of taste, and adduce all the rules they established as proofs that his poem is beautiful… . I will stop my ears, listen to no reasons and arguments, and would rather believe that those rules of the critics are false … than allow that my judgment should be determined by means of a priori grounds of proof, since it is supposed to be a judgment of taste and not of the understanding of reason. (Kant 1790, 165) But the theory of taste would not have enjoyed its eighteenth-century run, nor would it continue now to exert its influence, had it been without resources to counter an obvious rationalist objection. There is a wide difference—so goes the objection—between judging the excellence of a ragout and judging the excellence of a poem or a play. More often than not, poems and plays are objects of great complication. But taking in all that complication requires a lot of cognitive work, including the application of concepts and the drawing of inferences. Judging the beauty of poems and plays, then, is evidently not immediate and so evidently not a matter of taste. The chief way of meeting this objection was first to distinguish between the act of grasping the object preparatory to judging it and the act of judging the object once grasped, and then to allow the former, but not the latter, to be as concept- and inference-mediated as any rationalist might wish. Here is Hume, with characteristic clarity: [I]n order to pave the way for [a judgment of taste], and give a proper discernment of its object, it is often necessary, we find, that much reasoning should precede, that nice distinctions be made, just conclusions drawn, distant comparisons formed, complicated relations examined, and general facts fixed and ascertained. Some species of beauty, especially the natural kinds, on their first appearance command our affection and approbation; and where they fail of this effect, it is impossible for any reasoning to redress their influence, or adapt them better to our taste and sentiment. But in many orders of beauty, particularly those of the fine arts, it is requisite to employ much reasoning, in order to feel the proper sentiment. (Hume, 1751, Section I) Hume—like Shaftesbury and Hutcheson before him, and Reid after him (Cooper 1711, 17, 231; Hutcheson 1725, 16–24; Reid 1785, 760–761)—regarded the faculty of taste as a kind of “internal sense.” Unlike the five “external” or “direct” senses, an “internal” (or “reflex” or “secondary”) sense is one that depends for its objects on the antecedent operation of some other mental faculty or faculties. Reid characterizes internal sense as follows: Beauty or deformity in an object, results from its nature or structure. To perceive the beauty therefore, we must perceive the nature or structure from which it results. In this the internal sense differs from the external. Our external senses may discover qualities which do not depend upon any antecedent perception… . But it is impossible to perceive the beauty of an object, without perceiving the object, or at least conceiving it. (Reid 1785, 760–761) Because of the highly complex natures or structures of many beautiful objects, there will have to be a role for reason in their perception. But perceiving the nature or structure of an object is one thing. Perceiving its beauty is another. 1.2 Disinterest Egoism about virtue is the view that to judge an action or trait virtuous is to take pleasure in it because you believe it to serve some interest of yours. Its central instance is the Hobbesian view—still very much on early eighteenth-century minds—that to judge an action or trait virtuous is to take pleasure in it because you believe it to promote your safety. Against Hobbesian egoism a number of British moralists—preeminently Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, and Hume—argued that, while a judgment of virtue is a matter of taking pleasure in response to an action or trait, the pleasure is disinterested, by which they meant that it is not self-interested (Cooper 1711, 220–223; Hutcheson 1725, 9, 25–26; Hume 1751, 218–232, 295–302). One argument went roughly as follows. That we judge virtue by means of an immediate sensation of pleasure means that judgments of virtue are judgments of taste, no less than judgments of beauty. But pleasure in the beautiful is not self-interested: we judge objects to be beautiful whether or not we believe them to serve our interests. But if pleasure in the beautiful is disinterested, there is no reason to think that pleasure in the virtuous cannot also be (Hutcheson 1725, 9–10). The eighteenth-century view that judgments of virtue are judgments of taste highlights a difference between the eighteenth-century concept of taste and our concept of the aesthetic, since for us the concepts aesthetic and moral tend oppose one another such that a judgment’s falling under one typically precludes its falling under the other. Kant is chiefly responsible for introducing this difference. He brought the moral and the aesthetic into opposition by re-interpreting what we might call the disinterest thesis—the thesis that pleasure in the beautiful is disinterested (though see Cooper 1711, 222 and Home 2005, 36–38 for anticipations of Kant’s re-interpretation). According to Kant, to say that a pleasure is interested is not to say that it is self-interested in the Hobbesian sense, but rather that it stands in a certain relation to the faculty of desire. The pleasure involved in judging an action to be morally good is interested because such a judgment issues in a desire to bring the action into existence, i.e., to perform it. To judge an action to be morally good is to become aware that one has a duty to perform the action, and to become so aware is to gain a desire to perform it. By contrast, the pleasure involved in judging an object to be beautiful is disinterested because such a judgment issues in no desire to do anything in particular. If we can be said to have a duty with regard to beautiful things, it appears to be exhausted in our judging them aesthetically to be beautiful. That is what Kant means when he says that the judgment of taste is not practical but rather “merely contemplative” (Kant 1790, 95). By thus re-orienting the notion of disinterest, Kant brought the concept of taste into opposition with the concept of morality, and so into line, more or less, with the present concept of the aesthetic. But if the Kantian concept of taste is continuous, more or less, with the present-day concept of the aesthetic, why the terminological discontinuity? Why have we come to prefer the term ‘aesthetic’ to the term ‘taste’? The not very interesting answer appears to be that we have preferred an adjective to a noun. The term ‘aesthetic’ derives from the Greek term for sensory perception, and so preserves the implication of immediacy carried by the term ‘taste.’ Kant employed both terms, though not equivalently: according to his usage, ‘aesthetic’ is broader, picking out a class of judgments that includes both the normative judgment of taste and the non-normative, though equally immediate, judgment of the agreeable. Though Kant was not the first modern to use ‘aesthetic’ (Baumgarten had used it as early as 1735), the term became widespread only, though quickly, after his employment of it in the third Critique. Yet the employment that became widespread was not exactly Kant’s, but a narrower one according to which ‘aesthetic’ simply functions as an adjective corresponding to the noun “taste.” So for example we find Coleridge, in 1821, expressing the wish that he “could find a more familiar word than aesthetic for works of taste and criticism,” before going on to argue: As our language … contains no other useable adjective, to express coincidence of form, feeling, and intellect, that something, which, confirming the inner and the outward senses, becomes a new sense in itself … there is reason to hope, that the term aesthetic, will be brought into common use. (Coleridge 1821, 254) The availability of an adjective corresponding to “taste” has allowed for the retiring of a series of awkward expressions: the expressions “judgment of taste,” “emotion of taste” and “quality of taste” have given way to the arguably less offensive ‘aesthetic judgment,’ ‘aesthetic emotion,’ and ‘aesthetic quality.’ However, as the noun ‘taste’ phased out, we became saddled with other perhaps equally awkward expressions, including the one that names this entry. Source of the article

UG B-School Updates

All About JIPMAT 2025: Your Gateway to IIM Jammu & IIM Bodh Gaya’s 5-Year IPM Programs

The Joint Integrated Programme in Management Admission Test (JIPMAT) is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission into the prestigious 5-Year Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) offered by IIM Jammu and IIM Bodh Gaya. This program enables meritorious Class 12 students to directly begin their journey towards a management career with an integrated BBA+MBA degree. Let’s explore all the key details about JIPMAT 2025 — from eligibility to application, exam structure to selection process. JIPMAT 2025 Key Dates Application Period: February 11 – March 10, 2025 Fee Payment Deadline: March 11, 2025 Correction Window: March 13 – 15, 2025 Exam Date: April 26, 2025 Result Declaration: To be announced Eligibility Criteria for JIPMAT Educational Qualification: - Candidates must have passed Class 12 or equivalent in 2023, 2024, or be appearing in 2025. - Candidates must have passed Class 10 in 2021 or later. Minimum Marks: - General/OBC/EWS: Minimum 60% marks in both Class 10 and 12. - SC/ST/PwD: Minimum 55% marks in both Class 10 and 12. Age Limit: No age limit. Application Process 1. Register on the official portal: exams.nta.ac.in/JIPMAT 2. Fill the application form with academic and personal details. 3. Upload documents: - Photo (10–200 KB) - Signature (4–30 KB) - PwD certificate if applicable 4. Pay the application fee: - General/OBC/EWS: ₹2000 - SC/ST/PwD/Transgender: ₹1000 - Foreign candidates: ₹10,000 5. Download confirmation page for future reference. JIPMAT Exam Pattern 2025 Section No. of Questions Marks Quantitative Aptitude 33 132 Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning 33 132 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 34 136 Total 100 400 Duration: 150 minutes Medium: English Marking: +4 for correct, -1 for wrong JIPMAT Syllabus Overview Quantitative Aptitude: Numbers, Ratio & Proportion, Algebra, Averages, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Geometry, Mensuration, Time & Work Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Venn Diagrams, Series, Coding-Decoding, Syllogisms, Blood Relations, Direction Sense Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension: Grammar, Para Jumbles, Sentence Completion, Reading Passages, Vocabulary, Synonyms & Antonyms Participating Institutes IIM Jammu – IPM Program Degree: BBA + MBA (Dual degree) Intake: 140 students Highlights: Modern campus infrastructure Industry partnerships & international exchange High ROI placements IIM Bodh Gaya – IPM Program Degree: BBM + MBA (Dual degree) Intake: 120 students Highlights: Global collaborations Emphasis on value-based education Academic rigour with personal mentorship Expected Cut-Offs (Indicative) Category IIM Jammu IIM Bodh Gaya General 310+ 300+ OBC/EWS 280+ 270+ SC/ST/PwD 220–250 210–230 Actual cutoffs may vary based on difficulty level and applicant pool. Reservation Policy Category Reservation GEN-EWS 10% OBC-NCL 27% SC 15% ST 7.5% PwD 5% Reservation is implemented as per Government of India norms. Documents Required During Admission Class 10 and 12 mark sheets JIPMAT scorecard Caste/Category certificate (if applicable) PwD certificate (if applicable) Identity proof (Aadhaar/PAN/Passport) Why Choose JIPMAT? Early entry into IIM ecosystem No separate UG and PG entrance — seamless transition Cost-effective alternative to multiple management exams Prestige and career value of an IIM tag from age 17 Focus on academics, leadership, and soft skills from Day 1 Conclusion JIPMAT 2025 is a golden opportunity for Class 12 students aspiring to join the elite IIM ecosystem. With two rapidly growing institutions — IIM Jammu and IIM Bodh Gaya — offering world-class infrastructure, faculty, and placement support, the IPM journey via JIPMAT is a strategic leap into the world of management education. If you are serious about building a career in business, management, consulting, or entrepreneurship — start early, start smart with JIPMAT.

UG B-School Updates

IIM Sirmaur BMS Admissions Process 2025–29: A Comprehensive Guide to Admission Through IPMAT

The Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur (IIM Sirmaur) has introduced its four-year Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) program, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This program is designed to equip students with a robust foundation in management education, preparing them for leadership roles in various sectors. Admissions for the 2025–29 batch will be conducted through the Integrated Program in Management Aptitude Test (IPM AT) administered by IIM Indore. Important Dates for BMS Admissions 2025 IPM AT Registration Period: February 14 – April 1, 2025 IIM Sirmaur BMS Application Opens: April 2, 2025 IIM Sirmaur BMS Application Closes: April 25, 2025 IPMAT Exam Date: May 12, 2025 Personal Interviews: June/July 2025 Commencement of Classes: August 2025 Eligibility Criteria - Educational Qualification: Completion of Class 12 or equivalent from a recognized board. - Age Limit: Born on or after August 1, 2005 (5 years relaxation for SC/ST/PwD). - Minimum Marks:   • General and NC-OBC: At least 60% in Class 10 and Class 12   • SC/ST/PwD: At least 55% in Class 10 and Class 12 Admission Process Phase 1: Shortlisting Based on IPM AT Scores Candidates are shortlisted for the personal interview based on their Aptitude Test Scores (ATS) in the IPM AT exam conducted by IIM Indore. Phase 2: Personal Interview (PI) Shortlisted candidates undergo a personal interview to assess their suitability for the program. Phase 3: Final Selection The final selection is based on a composite score calculated as follows: - IPM AT Score: 55% - Personal Interview: 30% - Academic Performance: 10% - Gender Diversity: 5% Academic Performance and Gender Diversity Points Class 10:   • 80–90%: 3 points   • 90–95%: 4 points   • Above 95%: 5 points Class 12:   • 80–90%: 3 points   • 90–95%: 4 points   • Above 95%: 5 points Gender Diversity:   • Female/Transgender: 5 points   • Male: 0 points Program Structure and Exit Options The BMS program spans four years, divided into eight semesters. It offers multiple exit options: - After 1st Year: Certificate in Management Studies - After 2nd Year: Advanced Certificate in Management Studies - After 3rd Year: Bachelor's Degree in Management Studies - After 4th Year: Bachelor's (Honours) in Management Studies Students achieving a minimum CGPA of 8.0 upon completion of the BMS program are eligible for direct admission into IIM Sirmaur's MBA program. Why Choose IIM Sirmaur's BMS Program? - NEP 2020 Compliance: The program aligns with the National Education Policy, emphasizing flexibility and multidisciplinary learning. - International Exposure: Opportunities for international exchange programs and industry internships.

UG B-School Updates

IIM Shillong IPM 2025: Admission, Eligibility, Curriculum & Career Opportunities

The Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIM Shillong) has officially announced the launch of its 5-year Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) for the academic session 2025-30. This program is designed for students who have completed their Class 12 and aspire to pursue a career in management. With this initiative, IIM Shillong becomes the seventh IIM in India to offer the IPM program, joining the ranks of IIM Indore, IIM Rohtak, and others. Program Overview - Degree Awarded: Dual degree comprising a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). - Duration: 5 years (3 years of undergraduate studies followed by 2 years of postgraduate studies). - Objective: To develop young professionals with a holistic understanding of management, integrating academic knowledge with practical skills. Curriculum Highlights The IPM curriculum at IIM Shillong is structured to provide a multidisciplinary education, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP). Key features include: - Liberal Arts Foundation: Courses in humanities, social sciences, and languages. - Management Core: Subjects such as marketing, finance, operations, and strategy. - Data Analytics and Decision Making: Modules on statistics, analytics, and data visualization. - Entrepreneurial Development: Access to IIM Shillong’s incubation center. - Global Exposure: Opportunities for learning foreign languages and global business practices. Eligibility Criteria - Educational Qualification: Class 12 or equivalent from a recognized board. - Entrance Examination: IPM AT conducted by IIM Indore. Admission Process 1. Application Submission through IIM Indore’s official website. 2. Appear for the IPMAT exam. 3. Shortlisting based on IPM AT scores. 4. Personal Interview. 5. Final Selection based on a composite score. Program Fees As of now, the detailed fee structure for the IPM program at IIM Shillong has not been officially released. Prospective candidates should check the official IIM Shillong website for updates. Career Opportunities Graduates of the IPM program can explore careers in consulting, finance, marketing, operations, and entrepreneurship. The curriculum, combined with practical exposure, prepares students for success across industries. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about IIM Shillong IPM 1. When will the IPM program at IIM Shillong commence? The inaugural batch of the IPM program will begin in the academic year 2025–30. 2. Which entrance exam is required for admission to the IPM program? Admission will be based on the IPM AT conducted by IIM Indore. 3. What degrees will be awarded upon completion of the program? Students will receive a dual degree — BBA and MBA. 4. Can a student exit the program after completing 3 years of BBA? IIM Shillong allows early exit after 3 years, subject to program norms. Students who exit at this stage will receive a BBA degree but will not proceed to the MBA phase unless they reapply separately. 5. Is there any information available about the program fees? The detailed fee structure has not been announced yet. Please check the official IIM Shillong website for updates.

PG B-School Updates

ISB's 2-Year MBA Program for Early Career Professionals: A Comprehensive Guide

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has introduced the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Young Leaders (PGPYL), a 20-month full-time residential MBA designed for fresh graduates and professionals with up to 24 months of work experience. Notably, ISB now accepts CAT scores for this program, expanding opportunities for a broader range of applicants. Program Overview • Duration: 20 months • Location: ISB Hyderabad Campus • Eligibility: Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any discipline Work Experience: 0–24 months of full-time experience as of June 15 of the admission year Test Scores: Valid CAT, GMAT, or GRE scores English Proficiency: TOEFL/IELTS required if undergraduate instruction was not in English Curriculum Highlights • Core Learning Areas: Analytical Foundations: Economics, Accounting, Statistics, Data Science Functional Expertise: Marketing, Finance, Operations, Strategy Leadership Development: Team management, Communication, Influencing skills • Experiential Learning: iDEAS Lab: Innovation through Design Exploration and Actionable Solutions Summer Internship: Mandatory internship at the end of Year 1 • Electives: Customization in areas like Finance, Marketing, Strategy, and Technology Career Support & Opportunities • Recruitment Partners: Access to 300+ top recruiters, including McKinsey & Company, BCG, Amazon, Google, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Deloitte • Career Advancement Services: Structured support for internships and final placements Fees & Scholarships • Total Program Cost: Approximately INR 29,99,200 (includes tuition, accommodation, and additional fees) • Scholarships: Merit-Based: For top-performing candidates Need-Cum-Merit: For candidates demonstrating financial need and academic excellence ISB Develop India Scholarship: For students committed to contributing to India’s growth Admissions Process 1. Application Submission: Includes academic records, test scores, essays, and recommendation letters 2. Shortlisting: Based on academic performance, achievements, test scores, and essays     Interviews: Conducted by ISB faculty, industry leaders, and alumni • Application Deadline: December 21, 2024 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about ISB's 2-Year MBA 1. Can fresh graduates apply for ISB's PGPYL program? Yes, the program is specifically designed for fresh graduates and early career professionals with up to 24 months of work experience. 2. Does ISB accept CAT scores for this program? Yes, ISB accepts valid CAT, GMAT, or GRE scores for admission to the PGPYL program. 3. What is the duration of the PGPYL program? The program spans 20 months, including a mandatory summer internship. 4. Are scholarships available for the PGPYL program? Yes, ISB offers various scholarships, including merit-based, need-cum-merit, and the ISB Develop India Scholarship. 5. What is the total cost of the program? The total cost is approximately INR 29,99,200, covering tuition, accommodation, and additional fees. 🔗 Useful Links ISB PGPYL Program Details ISB Admissions Page

PG B-School Updates

IIM Ahmedabad Dubai Campus: Programs, Admissions, and Global Opportunities

IIM Ahmedabad, one of India’s premier management institutions, has taken a bold step in globalizing its academic reach by launching an offshore campus in Dubai, becoming the first IIM to do so. This move aligns with India's National Education Policy 2020, which encourages reputed Indian institutions to establish campuses abroad to enhance international academic influence and access. The IIM Ahmedabad Dubai Campus caters to aspiring global leaders in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, delivering the institute’s trademark quality in management education through thoughtfully designed programs, top-tier faculty, and industry-aligned pedagogy. Location and Infrastructure The IIMA Dubai campus is situated in the prestigious Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), a well-established hub for higher education housing many leading global universities. The location offers strategic advantages: • Proximity to key business hubs in the UA • A multicultural student environment • Access to regional corporate partnerships for internships and consulting projects • Facilities at DIAC include smart classrooms, tech-enabled learning zones, collaborative lounges, and resource-rich libraries — all tailored to support a rigorous academic journey. Academic Programs Offered 1. One-Year Full-Time MBA Program The flagship program is a one-year full-time residential MBA, designed for mid-career professionals with strong academic records and work experience. Key Highlights: • Core and elective modules • Capstone project with real-world business challenges • Industry immersion through guest lectures, internships, and live case studies • Curriculum adapted from IIMA's top-ranked PGPX model in India 2. Executive Education Courses The campus will also offer short-duration executive programs for working professionals in sectors like: • Digital transformation • Strategic finance • Global supply chain • Leadership and change management Faculty and Pedagogy Faculty at IIMA’s Dubai campus are handpicked from the main Ahmedabad faculty pool, many of whom are internationally recognized scholars and practitioners. The hallmark of IIMA’s teaching approach — case-based learning — is central to the pedagogy. Other methodologies include: • Role plays and simulations • Group discussions and debates • Applied projects and peer learning Global Recognition and Alumni Network One of the key benefits of studying at the IIMA Dubai campus is access to the powerful IIMA alumni network: • Over 44,000 alumni in leadership roles across 100+ countries • Regular networking events, mentorship programs, and job referrals • Access to alumni-only conferences, forums, and learning resources Graduates from the Dubai campus receive the same diploma as those from the Indian campus, ensuring international credibility and prestige. Admissions Process Admissions to the MBA program follow a transparent and rigorous process: • Eligibility: A bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 4-5 years of work experience • Test Scores: GMAT or GRE scores (valid within the last five years) • Essay Submission & Interview: Candidates will be evaluated on their leadership potential, clarity of goals, and communication skills The first intake begins in September 2025, with applications now open via iima.ac.in/dubai. Timeline and Future Development The Dubai expansion will occur in two phases: • Phase 1 (2025–2028): The institute will operate from shared spaces at DIAC. • Phase 2 (2029 Onward): A fully owned and built campus will be operational. Strategic Significance Establishing a presence in Dubai is not just an academic initiative — it’s a strategic move aligned with larger geopolitical and educational goals: • Strengthens India-UAE educational ties • Positions IIMA as a global brand in business education • Supports Indian professionals in the Gulf region with world-class education options Conclusion IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus marks a historic chapter in Indian education. With its world-class pedagogy, expert faculty, and global recognition, this campus will cater to a new generation of managers, entrepreneurs, and leaders ready to make their mark internationally. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about IIM Ahmedabad's Dubai Campus 1. What programs are offered at IIM Ahmedabad's Dubai Campus? The Dubai campus offers a One-Year Full-Time MBA program tailored for experienced professionals, as well as Executive Education Programs. 2. When will the IIMA Dubai campus start functioning? The campus is set to welcome its first batch in September 2025. 3. Is the degree from the Dubai campus the same as the one awarded in India? Yes, graduates receive the same diploma as those from the IIMA India campus. 4. Where is the IIM Ahmedabad campus located in Dubai? The campus is located in Dubai International Academic City (DIAC). 5. What are the admission requirements for the One-Year MBA? Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, 4–5 years of work experience, a valid GMAT or GRE score, and complete essays and interviews. 6. How does the IIMA Dubai program differ from the regular PGPX in India? The Dubai program is tailored for global professionals and includes regional case studies and UAE-based internships. 7. Will there be hostel or residential facilities on the Dubai campus? Initially, students will stay in partnered accommodation. Permanent facilities will be available by 2029. 8. How much will the program cost? Fees are yet to be announced but will be in line with global MBA programs. 9. Can international students apply? Yes, the Dubai campus is designed to attract global talent. 10. How can I apply for the IIM Ahmedabad Dubai campus? Apply via the official IIMA portal: www.iima.ac.in/dubai

IPM AT Prep

IPM AT Prep: Balancing Risk and Reward Like a Cricket Pro

Now, as exam season peaks and IPMAT knocks at the door, students often ask: "How do I make the most of those 40 minutes in the IPMAT MCQ section?" "Should I go for that 5-question DI set or hit the 25 one-liners in IPMAT MCQ?" Honestly, it’s not very different from a captain’s dilemma in an IPL match. (Obviously it's IPL time — sounds relatable) Think of it like this: You’re chasing 180 in 20 overs. Do you go big early with risky shots hoping for quick runs? Or rotate strike, pick the gaps, and keep the scoreboard ticking? That bulky DI set? It’s like going for a big over. High reward but high risk. If it clicks, great. If not, you’ve lost time and momentum. Those 25 scattered questions? They’re your singles and doubles — safer, quicker, more manageable if you know your basics. Smart players scan the field. Smart students scan the paper. Pick the battles you can win. Time it right. Play to your strengths. Exams, like cricket, aren’t won by doing everything. They’re won by doing the right things at the right time.