Tag Archives: science

Links

My delicious.com bookmarks for July 1st through July 8th

Evolution Test – I just don't get it. Is evolution really that hard? How can you misunderstand it so badly that you can come up with this list of questions and think it proves… well, anything? (Part of me hates to single out this site as there are dozens, if not hundreds, of similar ones.)
Crash Could Free Up Wall Street's Grip on Bright Young Minds – "But the big paychecks came with what economists call opportunity costs. Instead of spending their days searching for exotic trades, some of these Wall Street wizards could've been creating drugs, imagining software, or solving energy problems."
The Norway Lesson: The Benefits of Good Financial Behavior – "Norway made it a point to budget, to save, and to protect against unnecessary risk. Then, it went on to buy when everyone else was selling." Any other country would have spent all earnings from oil on tax cuts (that's what happened with North Sea Gas in the UK), but Norway did the smart thing.

Links

Battle between ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro to be BBC4 comedy drama – This looks like it could be fun. I especially like some of the comments after the article. The Spectrum vs. Commode 64 [sic] debate still rages to this day…
Materials: The HTC Hero's Teflon Coating Makes the iPhone Feel Like Junk – iPhone 3G – One thing that's holding me back from getting a 3GS is the plastic back. I much prefer the aluminium from the first gen model.
The blue and the green – "Your eyes are not cameras faithfully taking pictures of absolute truth of all that surrounds you. They have filters, and your brain has to interpret the jangled mess it gets fed." A very neat optical illusion.

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New Zealand Launches Hookup Airways – Not sure whether this is a good idea or a bit creepy. An intercontinental flight is a long time to spend cooped up with a bad date!
Scientists put psychic's paranormal claims to the test – If you can prove a paranormal claim under controlled conditions you can win $1mm. The prize has gone unclaimed since the 1960's.
A Brief, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Programming Languages – "Bjarne Stroustrup bolts everything he's ever heard of onto C to create C++. The resulting language is so complex that programs must be sent to the future to be compiled by the Skynet artificial intelligence." Despite the title I'd say it's mostly correct, and funny if you're geeky enough to understand the references!

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Birds show off their dance moves – Funny video, fascinating science, bad music…
Intelligent Design Sort – It would seem that intelligent design has "uses" outside explaining the diversity of nature. It works for Computer Science too. Who'd have thought it?
Scrap ID cards now, say Cabinet rebels – Maybe there is some benefit in the dire state of the economy…

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American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse – Who doesn't love a good mystery?
The Holy Faceble: Genesis:1-2 – The more I learn about Facebook, the less I want to join. Same with this god stuff.
Rejected. – "It’s just frustrating when the problems crop up, because compared to nearly everything else about the whole setup, the problems seem so arbitrary, avoidable, and developer-hostile. For instance, this problem wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating if approval, even for minor updates to established apps, took less than 7-14 days." Not that I'm bitter than a minor update to Yummy recently got rejected or anything…

Links

Coming to an ID Card Near You: Your DNA – "Can there be any doubt that the UK government will, at some point, try to add DNA to the other biometrics on the card?" Scary stuff.
How to spot a hidden religious agenda – Apparently this article was pulled from the New Scientist website shortly after it was published which is a bid odd as there's nothing scientifically objectionable.
Tea really does taste better from your favourite cup – "Your daily brew tastes better from your favourite mug."