“British composer Mike Batt found himself the subject of a plagiarism action for including the song, ‘A One Minute Silence,’ on an album for his classical rock band The Planets. He was accused of copying it from a work by the late American composer John Cage, whose 1952 composition ‘4’33″‘ was totally silent.” —Composer Pays…
Pacemakers: “Batteries must be replaced, at further risk and expense, every 5-10 years, and patients must avoid strong magnetic fields, such as metal detectors and some medical scanners. The new approach instead adds a gene that changes the flow of chemicals in and out of heart cells.” —Gene Therapy Could Replace PacemakersNature) Similar:My son teaching…
“Are any biotech companies or researchers putting animal DNA into human embryos? Nobody knows. But, unbelievable as it may sound, some bioethicists and philosophers explicitly endorse engineering animal DNA into human embryos as one method of producing the ‘post-human’ race.” Wesley J. Smith —The Transhumanists: The Next Great Threat to Human DignityNational Review) Similar:Why You…
“The chromosome unique to men is a microscopic metaphor for those who bear it. For it is the most decayed, redundant and parasitic of the lot… From sperm count to social status, and from fertilisation to death, as civilisation advances those who bear Y chromosomes are in relative decline.” Steve Jones —End of Sperm ReportGuardian)…
“This paper proceeds first by reviewing literature on bullshitting. I then provide the definition of bullshitting that guides the subsequent analysis, and include a description of its key features. A brief discussion of the ubiquity of bullshitting also is provided. Drawing on related research, illustrations from everyday life, and social theory, I next explore the…
“Japanese never touch. It’s not even customary among themselves when they meet to shake hands. So how to explain why this woman would so casually reach over and adjust my collar? In public! And yet, not exactly…. My moment of contact, I concluded, could have only happened in an elevator, and then perhaps only in…
“Florida found itself in another voting debacle during last week’s primary election: Tens of millions of dollars spent to abolish hanging chads and they still can’t get it right.” Lauren Weinstein —A Vote for Touch and Go Away [Florida Ballots]Wired) Similar:Media Bias Chart (Ad Fontes, v. 9)Objective news reporting is an ideal. Wh…CultureIn January 2000,…
No charges will be filed against Buzz Aldrin for allegedly punching a man who called him a liar for claiming that he’d been on the moon. —Update: Moon Hoax Conspiracy Theorist Punched by Buzz Aldrin (Space.com) Similar:Capitalists Tell Facebook They've Had EnoughIt started as a murmur of dissent, but o…BusinessWTAE-TV's Wendy Bell fired over racially…
“Mel Gibson is set to direct a movie about Christ’s last 12 hours played out entirely in two ancient tongues – Latin and Aramaic – with no subtitles. The formula hardly sounds like the recipe for a hit movie but Gibson thinks language should be no barrier for the film, titled Passion.” —Mel Gibson to…
“[S]tudents with low GPAs who were quizzed weekly outperformed their counterparts by 18 percent… ‘Students hated me. They raged in front of the whole class. They hated being quizzed, and yet, it worked,’ Tuckman said.” —Students Get Better Grades When Tested Frequently In ClassOhio State) Similar:Never trust a corporation to do a library’s jobThe Internet Archive is…
“The results show that procrastinators don’t work better under pressure, but it may be the only way they work… They don’t have any idea how well they might do if they didn’t procrastinate.”Bruce Tuckman —Procrastinators Get Poorer Grades in Class, Study FindsOhio State) Similar:How to Think Like ShakespeareSaving this for the next time I teach…
“If you ask people why they procrastinate, you possibly may hear the real reasons. More than likely, though, you will hear their excuses. When an excuse sounds believable, it has a name – rationalization.” —Reasons and Excuses for Procrastination (Ohio State) Similar:Programming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksDon’t worry:…
A former freshman comp student: “I figure you’re about neck deep with groans and complaints from your ‘newbies’ right now, so I thought this might be a good time to say ‘Thank you. I was very fortunate to be in your class. No other class ever has, nor I suspect ever will, prepare me as…
“Described by those who’ve tried it as ‘souffle-like,’ the deep-fried Twinkie has become so popular that it has been mentioned by Jay Leno and will be featured on the Food Network.” —Deep Fried TwinkieCox) Can you tell that I’m hungry right now? Similar:Point Park cancels 'The Adding Machine: The Musical' after student objections to offensive…Citing…
My sister sent me links to (what else?) chocolate hexagons.Chocolate is great. So are hexagons. Similar:11 Tips H.P. Lovecraft Had for Novice Writers”Avoid reading so as not to taint your c…CultureUnderstanding Poetry INCIDENTAL COMICS: Understanding Poetr…CultureThe daughter was invited back to perform at this year’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Co… The daughter was invited back…
Whiteboards vs. Blackboard: “So, on the one hand, we’ve got a classroom board that can be written on only with special pens. You can never tell when the pens will run out before they actually do so, and there’s no good way to extend the life of a pen once it finally expires. On the…
“It is true, of course, that the ‘Far Side’s’ famous cows are not always so secretive; sometimes they even make fun of us, as if getting revenge for all those times that passing car passengers–usually children, like the calf in this cowmobile–‘mooed’ derisively at them when they were behind the fence. But for the most…
“I have, at times, been too quick to bark, and I have whimpered needlessly. I have gnawed upon things I never should have gnawed. Yes, I have even bitten others in anger. Not often, and only when I felt I had to, but now I see that turning to the tooth never solves anything. I…
David Brin knows how George Lucas can save the muddle that the Star Wars franchise has become. His suggestion is brilliant, and at the same time obvious. “Why else would Obi-Wan ‘hide’ Vader’s son in Vader’s home town? Their final ‘deathfight’ distracts the guards to let Luke/Han/Leia get away. How else do you explain that…
“In Heathers, Heather Chandler has the best lines, including a great insult: ‘What, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?’ She’s killed by Christian Slater in the movie. Kim Walker, the actress who played her, died of a brain tumor in 2001. Creepy.” Lindsey CorcoranHeathers Triviareenhead) Similar:The Coronavirus Is Rewriting Our ImaginationsPossibly, in a…