Archives for the 'science' Category
The $cience of Harry Potter
Published on 25 Oct 2009 at 11:13 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Hollywood, kids, science.
Boston’s Museum of $cience explain$ what it$ exhibit on the wildly popular teen wizard of Hogwart$$$ can teach kid$. Bo$ton Herald:
Read ‘The $cience of Harry Potter’
Anthropocene
Published on 24 Sep 2009 at 12:36 pm.
7 Comments.
Filed under science, warmalism, western civilization.
It’s the latest geological era and we’re it.
A group of pointy-headed European, Australian and American scientists hold that we’ve evolved ito a force of nature, and that the collective activities of all 6 billion of us render us a world-changing geo-physical phenomenon worthy of our own era. The Anthropocene. UPI:
Now For Something Completely Different
Published on 24 Sep 2009 at 10:22 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Neanderthals, anthronerdism, science.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Neanderthals were horndogs. Theoretically. If you’re down with the 2D:4D digit ratio anthropometic. via John Hawks, who notes it could just as well mean Neanderthals were gay. Which, now that I think of it, could explain the sudden disappearance, given the dearth of paleolithic reproductive options. OK, we return to our original programming:
Let’s [...]
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Social Distancing
Published on 23 Sep 2009 at 11:18 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under medicine, science, shameless opportunism.
Turns out there’s a major upside to the swine flu. It’s called “social distancing.” It’s being advocated by the Centers for Disease Control.* It even has its own website, socialdistancing.org.**
Faster, Cheaper
Published on 16 Sep 2009 at 12:27 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under academia, science.
Sounds better already.* MIT students beat NASA on a beer-fund budget, launch and recover unmanned low-orbit beer cooler mission. Wired’s Gadget Lab:
Meanwhile, In Space
Published on 16 May 2009 at 9:31 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under ancient mysteries, science.
Going off Earth for a moment, van der Leun at American Digest puts all these terrestial squabbles into perspective. It’s about some of the fundamental ways in which humans rock. When they are not being petty, corrupt, etc. With Hamlet.
Marie Osmond’s Lesbian Daughter
Published on 7 May 2009 at 11:40 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under McCain, blogs, science.
This post actually has nothing to do with Marie Osmond or her lesbian daughter. This is actually part of a serious blogological experiment proposed by my colleague, the Other McCain, to see measure our ability to influence the algorithm on one small part of the Googlesphere.
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At Last
Published on 11 Mar 2009 at 10:21 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under science.
Science is on the verge of creating invisibility cloaks. Maybe more like the verge of the verge. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics’ SIAM Journals:
Big Number Found By Science
Published on 10 Feb 2009 at 10:15 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols, science.
Iowahawk reports physicists have found the largest integer yet:
Project director Yujin Xiao of Stanford University said the theoretical number, dubbed a “stimulus,” could lead to breakthroughs in fields as diverse as astrophysics, quantum mechanics, and Chicago asphalt contracting.
“Unlike the previous large numbers like the Googleplex or the Bazillionty, the Stimulus has no static numerical definition,” [...]
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Yankee Ingenuity
Published on 3 Feb 2009 at 11:16 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under America, ancient mysteries, dummkopf!, science.
At Maggie’s Farm, where they have cracked the secret of Reynolds Wrap. There’s a pushy-in thingy at the each end of the box, to keep the foil roll from popping out. Helpful demonstration photo at the link. And if you shelled out a little extra tin for the metallic pink and blue, chances are you won’t have [...]
Sex Talk
Published on 22 Jan 2009 at 9:26 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under science, sex.
For some reason, people are engaging in it. The talk, that is. The Other McCain examines the Chinese “rich guys give women more orgasms” thing.
Islamic Neurology
Published on 17 Dec 2008 at 8:52 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Islam, husbands and wives, science, sexism.
Yemeni cleric Abd al-Majid al-Zindani explains all. Women cannot talk and think at the same time. This is a fact based in science, as illustrated by the American scientific journal TIME, which is haram, but never mind that, and because they talk so much, therefore … MEMRI:
Putting On The Sitz
Published on 24 Nov 2008 at 9:07 am.
No Comments.
Filed under ancient mysteries, assorted shit, butts, culture, deep thot, do-goodism, dummkopf!, elsewhere, engineering, explosives, ground views, law & order, moronocy, pot, science, shameless opportunism, song, taxes, western civilization.
Better late than never. It was World Toilet Day Nov. 19. I let it go at the time.* But now squatters are back in the news. The la-di-da loos of Times Square. AP via Boston Herald. I’m inspired:
What?
Published on 31 Oct 2008 at 9:18 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Bush, science.
The military is apparently researching amnesia beams as a treatment for PTSD … and probably other useful applications … and scientists have already succeeded in making mice forget things. Danger Room rounds up military and civilian efforts:
Sky, Falling
Published on 8 Oct 2008 at 10:24 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under impending doom!, science.
No, it isn’t the economy this time. It’s the sky … falling. ABC:
Re: End of the World
Published on 15 Sep 2008 at 10:14 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Europe, dummkopf!, impending doom!, science.
Chas Martin’s Explorations, on that Euro-collider:
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
I thought it might be [...]
Birth of an Idiom
Published on 4 May 2008 at 7:38 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under linguistics, pols, science.
How deep is Obama in trouble? Kerry deep. Surber reaches back to the previous known example to describe the process by which dwarf stars implode. I’m beginning to think, even calculating in the hope-change axiom, and correcting for inexperience, we’re looking at grand and terrible example of Blair’s law, a sort of transcendent beclownment that alters the very fabric of the [...]
Geek Pride
Published on 25 Apr 2008 at 11:21 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under science.
All of us are in the gutter but Toldjah’s looking at the stars.
Fifth Grader’s Smarter
Published on 4 Apr 2008 at 6:19 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under kids, moronocy, prehistory, science.
Than the Smithsonian Institution. Because the Precambrian isn’t an era. It isn’t actually anything. It just is. You dolt. You didn’t know that? Sheesh. via Herald:
2008: Odyssey Over
Published on 19 Mar 2008 at 7:42 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under literary, science.
I’m sorry, Dave. Mr. Clarke won’t be down for his tube of breakfast. Instapundit with a brief appreciation and reminiscence.
Giant, Armored, Voracious, Sawtooth Frog
Published on 20 Feb 2008 at 9:16 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under science.
Beelzebufo, the Devil Toad, once roamed the Earth. Shown here in artist’s rendering with puny modern ancestor, and pencil. All I have to say is, thank God for evolution.
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Florida Evolves
Published on 20 Feb 2008 at 9:04 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under moronocy, prehistory, science.
Beyond code speech. School science texts may now use the word “evolution” sted “change over time.” But the epic battle of Adam vs ape goes on. US News:
Hiccups? Hernia? Hemorrhoids?
Published on 20 Feb 2008 at 8:53 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under human organs, prehistory, science.
Blame your inner fish. Your IF may be giving you cancer, too. ChiTrib:
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Scientific Enstupidment
Published on 15 Feb 2008 at 10:55 pm.
11 Comments.
Filed under media, moronocy, science.
Is tonight’s dorm room bull session topic. This starts to sound a lot like the way some people report the news and other people react to it. Among other things. Via the superlative John Hawks:
In behavioral studies, an anomalous individual may be identified as an outlier and excluded from statistical analyses so as not to [...]
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Brain Surgery Re Rocket Science
Published on 15 Feb 2008 at 4:57 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under rockets, science.
Shachtman at Danger Room noodles out the plan, cites dearth of danger from incoming toxic space junk, quotes experts who think that’s a silly excuse for the gullible press and public consumption. Sounds about right. The toxic mess they want to limit the danger of is space-happy China. Demonstrate their prowess, how mighty are their rockets. Or it’s aimed at [...]
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Killer Dolphins
Published on 26 Jan 2008 at 10:22 am.
10 Comments.
Filed under science.
Baffle marine experts. I don’t know why. They’ve been telling us for decades they’re intelligent, just like humans. Maybe even superior to humans. What did they think? That meant they were going to be like happy, kite-flying, Kumbayah-singing hippy humans? UK Telegraph:
Variation on the Theme
Published on 25 Jan 2008 at 1:40 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under guns, science, sex.
Taser-hairspray potato gun fired without proper safety gear. That’s pretty heavy gauge PVC, but I wouldn’t recommend trying this at home,* unless home is a trailer park with high-tension wires out back built on top of a Superfund site. In which case, what the heck.
Theme this varies on is this one, by the way.
* Particularly [...]
Lancet Botches Another One
Published on 18 Jan 2008 at 10:19 am.
9 Comments.
Filed under medicine, science.
According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, which judges a malnutrition study in Lancet to be deeply, dangerously flawed in its methodology and conclusions. MSF:
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Unclear on the Concept
Published on 8 Dec 2007 at 10:06 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under religion, science.
Christian biologist canned for refusing to believe in evolution:
Carbon Footprint?
Published on 23 Nov 2007 at 10:43 pm.
8 Comments.
Filed under science.
Don’t make me laugh. You aren’t even in the game if you aren’t shortening the life of the Universe:
How Fast to Australia?
Published on 20 Oct 2007 at 10:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Neanderthals, academia, anthronerdism, apes, science.
And other sci-tems. The superlative anthroblogger John Hawks taps us into the issue of whether the earliest colonization of Oz was a matter of accidental vegetation* or if they strapped bits of wood together and paddled, 60,000-plus years ago. Meanwhile, in Watson news:
Global Warming Will Eat Your Brain
Published on 29 Sep 2007 at 8:16 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under science.
Warmth-loving, waterborne bacteria enters through your nose, feeds on your brain.
Read ‘Global Warming Will Eat Your Brain’
Lonely? Gene Conspiracy.
Published on 15 Sep 2007 at 11:25 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under science.
A study of 22,000 genes has singled out 209 of the loneliest genes in the world. So to speak. Suspiciously, genes seem to have conspired against the lonely.
Read ‘Lonely? Gene Conspiracy.’
Nailing Coffin Nail’s Coffin
Published on 6 Sep 2007 at 10:11 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under science.
Hyscience with your smoking/Alzheimer links. All right, already. We know. It kills. Now it has to drive us crazy, too?
Read ‘Nailing Coffin Nail’s Coffin’
Important UFO Update
Published on 1 Jul 2007 at 9:23 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under UFOs, military, science, shameless opportunism.
Deathbed affidavit proves all. Report includes actual photo of what a real alien might look like. Authenticity of report enhanced by lack of byline, lack of quotes, lack of details about when and where Haut died, or who released the affidavit.
Gut Check on Stem Cells
Published on 21 Jun 2007 at 9:27 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under pols, science.
ABC: Is President Bush bucking the Stem Cell Trend?
Maybe. Either that or he’s on the leading edge of ethical developments in science.
Read ‘Gut Check on Stem Cells’
Chimp Rights
Published on 1 Jun 2007 at 1:40 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under different, science.
As recently argued, examined over at John Hawks’ anthroblog.
Bones of Ancient Heroes
Published on 11 May 2007 at 1:10 am.
No Comments.
Filed under science.
And heroic defense of ancient bones here. Ancient Greeks. Jefferson. Mastodons. All that.
Oh yeah, and Jefferson as public health commissioner.
Read ‘Bones of Ancient Heroes’
Rays Away!
Published on 28 Apr 2007 at 12:20 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under science.
You can laugh if you want.* You wouldn’t be laughing so hard if you knew about the Stupid Ray. It mainly works on stupid people. Like this.** Though sometimes, they started out smart. So what you gotta ask yourself is, are you feeling stupid today, punk? Well, are ya?
Latest in cranial ray-deflection technology here.
*Thanks, reader [...]
Tinfoil Helmet?
Published on 27 Apr 2007 at 2:15 pm.
10 Comments.
Filed under science.
What kind of idiot do you think I am? Those things don’t work. I’m getting one of these things.
Let’s Go
Published on 25 Apr 2007 at 8:49 am.
14 Comments.
Filed under science.
Planet X found:
Xavier Delfosse, Grenoble University: “On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X.”
Geoffrey Marcy, UC Berkeley: “a marvelous discovery … the best case for a habitable planet.”
Eugene Chiang, UC Berkeley: “This is a step beyond what’s been done. But to say this planet is habitable is a real [...]
Beyond Normal
Published on 16 Mar 2007 at 10:16 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under science, warmalism.
U of East Anglia Enviro Sciences Prof Michael Hulme, in the Guardian, points us to the dire need for post-normal science, when science as we know it is not enough to …
… save the human race from destroying itself!
Damn your eyes, man! Can you not see!
God, I love a good Charleton Heston moment. Here’s Mike on [...]
Getting Warmer
Published on 12 Mar 2007 at 11:53 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under media, pols, science, warmalism.
OOPSDATE: Scientific mission to North Pole to prove Global Warming aborted due to frostbite.
First Channel Four’s “Great Global Warming Swindle,” now the New York Times, “hype” and “exaggeration.” The flood waters rising around Gore, warmglob enthusiasts. Oh, the treachery!
Nerd Fight!
Published on 21 Feb 2007 at 10:17 pm.
25 Comments.
Filed under anthronerdism, geekism, science.
Inbred Jesus Cultists vs. Monkey-Loving Darwinists is so 1925. Astrophysicists vs. Ptolemists is the happening pop edu-clash!
Highly evolved anthroblogger John Hawks takes umbrage at a proposal to “de-emphasize Darwin” in order to lessen the ideological overtones in the debate over evolutionary science. Chron of Higher Ed:
You Live To Row This Ship …
Published on 18 Feb 2007 at 10:57 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under anthronerdism, science.
… Row well, and live!
— Roman Tribune Quintus Arrius, to the galley slave Judah Ben-Hur.
A Brit researcher claims ancient Greek athletes were superior to modern athletes, based on his study of modern rowers’ metabolic output and what the ancient texts say about the feats of Greek trireme oarsmen. via John Hawks.
Read ‘You Live To Row This Ship …’
Splat Alert!
Published on 18 Feb 2007 at 12:40 pm.
10 Comments.
Filed under impending doom!, science, warmalism.
Betcha asteroids killed off more species quicker than any passing temp shift or human activity did.
New Scientist link re impending doom:
Lion, Dung Beetle Gaming
Published on 7 Feb 2007 at 10:24 am.
No Comments.
Filed under GWOT, anthronerdism, science.
In response to my request for some asymmetrical Game Theory more applicable to today’s conflicts than the Cold War variants, John Hawks says he’ll be posting more on the subject in coming weeks. He offers this in the meantime:
“Asymmetrical contests have been one of the big interests in game theory. Asymmetries not only with respect to strength or [...]
Read ‘Lion, Dung Beetle Gaming’
A Brief Overview of the History and Science of Rollercoasters
Published on 7 Feb 2007 at 9:27 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under science.
From the Science Creative Quarterly, which informs us the Russians and the French deserve proto-credit but the rollercoaster as we know it is, of course, an American adaption. And be sure to check in at Just Science, which is hosting a carnival of science. Dare to be geek.
Read ‘A Brief Overview of the History and Science of Rollercoasters’
Math Made Simple
Published on 7 Feb 2007 at 12:15 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under anthronerdism, science, sex.
OK, I’m a math moron. But even I can get this. Bikini calculus.*
Game Theory
Published on 5 Feb 2007 at 12:09 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under GWOT, anthronerdism, science.
John Hawks’ introductory lecture on the subject is relevant. Only problem, the games it describes are all symmetrical. The games we are engaged in are not. Except in strange ways. Our strength of force, their ruthlessness; their weakness of force, our wavering political will. We need asymmetrical game theory. Anyone know any?
