Monday, April 30, 2012
Brain Injury Turns Man Into Math Genius
Brain Injury Turns Man Into Mathematical Genius. (Via Neatorama.)
Singularity University
"Singularity University: Meet the people who are building our future". (Via Daniel Kraft.)
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Make McDonald's-style French Fries at Home
"How to Make Perfect McDonald's-style French Fries at Home":
[Chef David Myers] says the key to making a perfect, consistent, McDonald's-style fry is in the advance preparation. The cut potatoes need to be soaked for at least two hours before cooking which pulls out excess starch and ensures the crispiest product. Also, Myers recommends that, "you have plenty of paper towels, a lined sheet pan, and have your oil ready to go."(Via Neatorama.)
How To Report Text Message Spam to AT&T
iPhone owners might find this useful: "Report Text Message Spam to AT&T".
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
6 Cool Things People Have Done Inside MRI Scanners
"6 Cool Things People Have Done Inside MRI Scanners".
"Giving birth" was definitely #1 on that list:
"Giving birth" was definitely #1 on that list:
What Really Happens When You Swallow Your Gum?
"What Really Happens When You Swallow Your Gum?". (Via Matt B.)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Can Future Actions Influence Past Events?
Quantum entanglement mindbender: "Can Future Actions Influence Past Events?" (Via Vik R.)
500 New Fairytales Discovered in Germany
"Five hundred new fairytales discovered in Germany".
(Via Trey Peden, who asks "I wonder if these 'new' ones are as gruesome as the old ones.")
(Via Trey Peden, who asks "I wonder if these 'new' ones are as gruesome as the old ones.")
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
MIT Students Turn Building Into Game of Tetris
"MIT Completes the 'Holy Grail of Hacks,' Turning the Green Building into a Game of Tetris".
Article includes some great photographs as well as a link to this video:
Article includes some great photographs as well as a link to this video:
Monday, April 23, 2012
Best Reckless Driving PSA Ever
This is the best reckless driving PSA I've ever seen. Make sure you watch to the very end:
(Via 22 Words.)
(Via 22 Words.)
Virtual Money, Real Money, and Taxes
"Making Real Money in Virtual Games: The Strange Economics of MMORPGs"
Japanese Soccer Ball Lost in 2011 Tsunami Found In Alaska
"Boy glad football lost in tsunami found in Alaska". (Via Monica H.)
Mistaken Mass E-mail Firing
Today's not-an-Onion headline: "Email accident leads an entire company to think it's being fired". (Via SDW.)
Sunday, April 22, 2012
How To Delete Yourself From The Internet
"How to delete yourself from the Internet".
Warning: As the article warns, you have to be both tenacious and polite. (Via Declan McCullagh.)
Warning: As the article warns, you have to be both tenacious and polite. (Via Declan McCullagh.)
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Real Life Game Theory
I liked this game show contestant's clever solution to the Prisoner's Dilemma variant of "Split or Steal".
Here's the video excerpt:
In contrast, this is the sort of outcome that one might more commonly expect. Not a pretty sight:
In contrast, this is the sort of outcome that one might more commonly expect. Not a pretty sight:
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Asteroid Mining Project?
"Mystery company backed by James Cameron and Google executives may be an asteroid mining project".
Whoa... (Via David Jilk.)
Whoa... (Via David Jilk.)
Expert Apple Peeling
Expert apple peeling. You probably don't want to try this at home unless you're very good with a knife:
(Via Cynical-C.)
(Via Cynical-C.)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Lost Son Finds Mother Using Google Earth
"Little boy lost finds his mother using Google Earth". (Via Alex Knapp.)
[Off topic] RCM OpEd: The Best Congress Money Can Buy?
Off topic:: The 4/16/2012 edition of Real Clear Markets has published my latest OpEd, "The Best Congress Money Can Buy?"
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Why Netflix Never Implemented The $1 Million Algorithm
"Why Netflix Never Implemented The Algorithm That Won The Netflix $1 Million Challenge".
From the post:
From the post:
It wasn't just that the improvement was marginal, but that Netflix's business had shifted and the way customers used its product, and the kinds of recommendations the company had done, had shifted too. Suddenly, the prize winning solution just wasn't that useful -- in part because many people were streaming videos rather than renting DVDs -- and it turns out that the recommendation for streaming videos is different than for rental viewing a few days later.(Via Marginal Revolution.)
The Stable Boy and the iPad
"Think about this. Steve Jobs has designed a powerful computer that an illiterate 6-year-old can use without instruction..."
Thursday, April 12, 2012
How Recruiters See Your Resume
"What Recruiters Look At During The 6 Seconds They Spend On Your Resume". (Via Tom L.)
The Insane Asylum Experiment
"What happens when a sane person checks themself into an asylum?"
Basically, the staff can't tell the difference. And they make the mistake in both direction. (Via Eric Barker.)
Basically, the staff can't tell the difference. And they make the mistake in both direction. (Via Eric Barker.)
Artificial Intelligence and Diagnostic Radiology
"Artificial intelligence and diagnostic radiology: Not quite ready to welcome our computer overlords"
Interesting article from one of my trade journals. One excerpt:
Interesting article from one of my trade journals. One excerpt:
For those of you who are wondering whether radiologists will soon be replaced by artificial intelligence systems, such as Watson or Siri, there is encouraging news. It turns out that while these systems can do a fairly good job with extraction and analysis of structured and even unstructured text-based data, they still are at a surprisingly primitive level in their evaluation of images.I suspect computers will eventually take over much of what current radiologists do. It may happen sooner in some domains (e.g., mammography) than others (complex body and brain MRI scans). But it's likely only a matter of time before computers can function more reliably and more accurately than human radiologists in all domains.
Koch and Tononi published an article in Scientific American, suggesting that the ultimate test of "conscious awareness" was not the famous Turing test, which assesses whether a computer can fool a human into thinking it is another human, but rather the ability to determine what is wrong with an “ordinary” photograph.
They use an example of an elephant sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower, which might be used in a Highlight's magazine quiz for 5-year-olds as an example of the difficulty computers have with analyzing what is wrong with a given image. The current state-of-the-art in computer science is still many years away from being able to solve these types of challenges, which suggests that radiology may be one of the last specialties to be vulnerable to being replaced...
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Man Almost Walks Into Wild Bear While Texting
"Man Gets Surprise of a Lifetime As He Almost Walks Into Wild Bear While Texting"
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Lake and Ocean Depths
Awesome xkcd graphic showing the relative depths of various noteworthy lakes and ocean formations. (Click here for large version.)
Engagement Ring Economics
"The Strange (and Formerly Sexist) Economics of Engagement Rings".
Basically, they were a form of "virginity insurance".
Basically, they were a form of "virginity insurance".
How Much Do College Professors Make?
Interesting table of university professor salaries. (Via Marginal Revolution.)
Kids With Cell Phones
According to The Atlantic, "Almost 20% of 3rd Graders Have Cell Phones".
By fifth grade, 39% of the kids have cell phones. By middle school, more than 83% of the students have a cell phones.
By fifth grade, 39% of the kids have cell phones. By middle school, more than 83% of the students have a cell phones.
Monday, April 09, 2012
When Police Subpoena Your Facebook Account
"What Police Learn About You When They Subpoena Your Facebook Account"
Working Conditions at Apple, Revisited
"Apple Employees Suffer Aprocryphal Abuse in Cushy Cupertino"
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Snowflakes Under an Electron Microscope
An oldie-but-goodie: "Snowflakes Under an Electron Microscope"
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Could Web-search Algorithms Make Spelling A Lost Art?
"Over the past five years, Web browsers have become better at spelling than most humans"
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Harry Potter For Kindle!
The complete Harry Potter series is now available on Kindle. (Via Instapundit.)
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Lost Cellphone Experiment
What do people do when they find a "lost" cellphone?
From the article:
From the article:
Symantec researchers intentionally lost 50 smartphones in cities around the U.S. and in Canada. They were left on newspaper boxes, park benches, elevators and other places that passers-by would quickly spot them. But these weren't just any phones -- they were loaded with tracking and logging software so Symantec employees could physically track them and keep track of everything the finders did with the gadgets.(Via Bruce Schneier.)
To spice up the test, the phones had an obvious file named "contacts," making it easy for any finder to connect with the phone's rightful owner. But the phones also offered tempting files, with names like "banking information," and "HR files."
Some 43 percent of finders clicked on an app labeled "online banking." And 53 percent clicked on a filed named "HR salaries." A file named "saved passwords" was opened by 57 percent of finders. Social networking tools and personal e-mail were checked by 60 percent. And a folder labeled "private photos" tempted 72 percent...
Can A Machine Tell When You're Lying?
"Can a machine tell when you're lying?"
From the article:
From the article:
In a study of 40 videotaped conversations, an automated system that analyzed eye movements correctly identified whether interview subjects were lying or telling the truth 82.5 percent of the time.
That's a better accuracy rate than expert human interrogators typically achieve in lie-detection judgment experiments...
Stop-Motion Film About Light and Shadow
"A Beautifully Choreographed Stop-Motion Film About Light and Shadow"
Luminaris from Juan Pablo Zaramella on Vimeo.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Destroying Mercury?
Should we destroy the planet Mercury? Alex Knapp takes the "con" side vs. the "pro" side.
Monday, April 02, 2012
New Casino Design Strategies
The new psychological approach to designing casinos. (Via Tyler Cowen.)
Self-Sculpting Sand
"Self-sculpting sand could allow spontaneous formation of new tools, duplication of broken mechanical parts". (Via Instapundit.)
Private Property In Outer Space
Rand Simberg discusses benefits and possible approaches to securing private property rights in outer space: "Homesteading the Final Frontier".
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Which Languages Work Best For Microblogs?
"Chinese is so succinct that most messages never reach the 140-character limit imposed by most micro-blogs".
