Monday, February 26, 2018

Math Of Turbulence

"What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?":
Mathematicians classify partial differential equations like Navier-Stokes based on the extent to which they can go haywire at infinitesimally small scales. Navier-Stokes is on the extreme end of the spectrum. The difficulty of the mathematics of the equation is, in some sense, an exact reflection of the complexity of the turbulent flows they’re supposed to be able to describe.

Voting Machine Vulnerabilities

NYT: "The Myth of the Hacker-Proof Voting Machine"

GPS Art

"Pedaling pictures: The art and science of GPS doodling". (Via H.R.)

Friday, February 23, 2018

Hsieh Forbes Column: TV Medicine Vs. Reality

My latest Forbes column is now out: "How Badly Does Hollywood Distort Truth In Medical Dramas?"

I discuss some recent research on television representations of trauma and emergency medical care, and how differences between TV and reality can affect both patients and doctors.

I like a good medical drama as well as anyone, but sometimes the mistakes make me cringe.  Of course, anyone who has watched a medical TV drama with me and has had to "shush" me when I repeatedly complain about some Hollywood exaggeration already knows this.

(And don't even get me started about random x-rays being hung upside down or backwards on viewboxes in the background of an OR or ER scene.)


Marvel Movie Graph Updated

"The Marvel Movie Graph -- 5 Years Later"

Biohacker Regrets

"A Biohacker Regrets Publicly Injecting Himself With CRISPR"

Thursday, February 22, 2018

What Color Is a Tennis Ball?

"What Color Is a Tennis Ball? An investigation into a surprisingly divisive question."

Brain Implant Update

NYT: "The First Step Toward a Personal Memory Maker?"

Home Bees

"Genius Company Installs Beehives In Your Living Room, And Here’s How It Works". (Via P.B.)

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Conspiracy Theories

Tyler Cowen: "How to Test Your Favorite Conspiracy Theory"

Waterbed History

"The Weird True Story of the Rise and Fall of the Waterbed".

A housemate of mine in college had an awesome waterbed, and his was always the most popular room during parties.

Hollywood Vs. Reality In Medicine

Shocker: Hollywood portrayals of medicine sometimes diverge from the actual reality.

Academic article in the Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open journal compares medical outcomes in "Grey's Anatomy" to real life, "Grey’s Anatomy effect: television portrayal of patients with trauma may cultivate unrealistic patient and family expectations after injury".

Of course, anyone who watches a medical TV drama with me and has to "shush" me when I repeatedly complain about some Hollywood exaggeration already knows this.

(And don't even get me started about random x-rays being hung upside down or backwards on viewboxes in the background of an OR or ER scene.) 

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Monday, February 19, 2018

Friday, February 16, 2018

Apple Success

"Apple now accounts for more revenue than the rest of the entire global smartphone industry combined"

Fecal Transplant Update

"Fecal transplants move into the mainstream to treat difficult infection"

Google Vs. Advertisers

"The world's biggest advertising company is about to embark on a new venture: blocking advertisements."

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Air Gap Hacking

"Mind the Gap: This Researcher Steals Data With Noise, Light, and Magnets"
Guri and his fellow Ben-Gurion researchers have shown, for instance, that it's possible to trick a fully offline computer into leaking data to another nearby device via the noise its internal fan generates, by changing air temperatures in patterns that the receiving computer can detect with thermal sensors, or even by blinking out a stream of information from a computer hard drive LED to the camera on a quadcopter drone hovering outside a nearby window. In new research published today, the Ben-Gurion team has even shown that they can pull data off a computer protected by not only an air gap, but also a Faraday cage designed to block all radio signals.

Selling Snowballs In MN

"A Snowball Vending Machine In Minnesota"

New LL Bean Return Policy

"A Fond Farewell to LL Bean's No-Questions-Asked Return Policy"

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Thin Materials

"Scientists identify hundreds of atomically thin materials". (Via H.R.)

New Language

"A previously unknown language has been found in the Malay Peninsula by linguists from Lund University in Sweden."
The language is an Aslian variety within the Austroasiatic language family and is spoken by 280 people who are settled hunter-gatherers in northern Peninsular Malaysia.

Chinese Police Tech

"Chinese police are wearing sunglasses that can recognize faces".

For better or worse, I imagine US law enforcement won't be far behind. The police won't have to ask for "your papers, please".

Monday, February 12, 2018

Thursday, February 08, 2018

Genetic Testing Update

"Using just a swab of saliva from a newborn's cheek, a new DNA test will probe a baby's genes to search for 193 genetic diseases -- all of which have some kind of treatment already available."

Crayfish Clones

"A Pet Crayfish Can Clone Itself, and It's Spreading Around the World"

Antarctic Optical Effects

"How the Antarctic Sun Creates Breathtaking Optical Effects"

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

Intel Vaunt

"Intel made smart glasses that look normal"

Ignition! Book

"The funniest, most accessible book on rocket science is being reissued". (Via H.R.)

FFT Explained

Video: "But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction". (Via G.F.)

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Monday, February 05, 2018

Nuclear Reactor Update

"NuScale factory built modular 50 megawatt nuclear reactors have funding, customers and some NRC approval". (Via H.R.)

Strange Roadside Attractions

"Strangest Roadside Attraction in Every State". (Via H.R. and Gus Van Horn.)

Ebay Changes

"EBay is ditching PayPal for a younger, European partner"

Friday, February 02, 2018

Speeding Study

NYT: "We found a large increase in the average speed of drivers who received speeding tickets on the weekends after Fast and Furious releases. "

Space Archaeology

"Is space the next frontier for archaeology?" (Via H.R.)

DNA Sequencing Update

"Pocket-sized DNA reader used to scan entire human genome sequence"


Thursday, February 01, 2018