From the New York Times: “I cannot find a single convincing argument that tells me that astrologers won’t do better than economists,” Mr. [Nassim Nicholas] Taleb said last week by telephone from Lebanon, where he was mountain hiking. “The problem is the arrogance of these economists,” he said. “They’re making people rely on theories that […]
Read more...I sincerely doubt this will ever happen (imagine the backlash from groups arguing that excess avoirdupois isn’t a person’s fault and hence shouldn’t be punished) but those who have beenn compressed more than once by an overweight neighbor on a plane might applaud. From Bloomberg: Imagine two scales at the airline ticket counter, one for […]
Read more...From the New York Times: “Taxpayers shouldn’t be taking on the risk of foreclosure,” said Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman. A little late to try to prevent that….
Read more...Today a brave filly died at Churchill Downs. Eight Belles was the only one of a huge field of twenty to break from the pack in the homestretch of the Kentucky Derby and attempt to run down the hard charging winner, Big Brown. She collapsed almost immediately after crossing the finish line, both ankles broken, […]
Read more...Forgive me, I couldn’t resist this oddity. From the BBC: A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported. Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy. “It hit the victim in the leg, causing […]
Read more...This is such a good story that I decided it deserved its own slot, rather than being featured in links. Dolphins haven’t been studied as intensively as monkeys, but there is ample anecdotal evidence, and some research, suggesting that they approach humans in intelligence (one philosopher, having surveyed the literature, argued that they are “non-human […]
Read more...Irrespective of one’s political persuasion (well, almost), this is amusing:
Read more...According to a University of New Hampshire study, children who are spanked are more likely to have an appetite for kinky less-than-savory sexual practices. So is the anti-spanking movement really about sexual conformity? From PhysOrg: New research by a University of New Hampshire domestic abuse expert says spanking children affects their sex lives as adults. […]
Read more...Clever, but also surprising (at least for those of us who don’t ponder these matters deeply). Hat tip Gristmill: Left: All the water in the world (1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of it) including sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc. Right: All the air in the atmosphere (5140 trillion tonnes of it) gathered […]
Read more...The powers that be say this eclipse, which reaches totality around 10:00 PM EST on February 20, will be dramatic. As NASA tell us: A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon passes through the shadow of Earth. You might expect the Moon to grow even more ashen than usual, but in fact it transforms into […]
Read more...Clever.
Read more...Funny and too true. Hat tip The Big Picture via reader Doug.
Read more...The Darwin Awards are out! As the website reminds us: Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it. Here are some of the runners up for this year (the winner is Coitus Interruptus and there is a host […]
Read more...This holiday week, I thought it might be a useful break from our usual programming to present ideas that had an impact on me and might be thought-provoking for you as well. Today’s offering is on how pursuing objectives in a direct manner may not produce the desired outcome. Why? Because many systems are sufficiently […]
Read more...Orlando is home to an over-the-top Christmas display courtesy Tony Hansen, a lighting designer. According to the Orlando Sentinel: Using $10,000 worth of professional lighting and sound equipment that he borrowed from his job as a lighting designer, Hansen’s 25,000-light display is synchronized to five songs, which he broadcasts over an FM-radio frequency so passers-by […]
Read more...