“The Information Age was dealt a stunning blow Monday, when a factual error was discovered on the Internet. The error was found on TedsUltimateBradyBunch.com, a Brady Bunch fan site that incorrectly listed the show’s debut year as 1968, not 1969.” —Factual Error Found on Internet (The Onion) Similar:Humans are being hired to make AI slop…
More evidence of the collapse of civilization as we know it: a website offering instructions for making a pink-fur-trimmed “Hello Kitty” laptop. Similar:"I don't view Shakespeare's work as intimidating anymore." — midterm reflection from coll… “It has made me more confident in my…Academia'Anti-dopamine parenting' can curb a kid's craving for screens or sweetsA good article…
“Last week’s column about the death of my son Chase from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome set off something of a chain reaction across the Net… by the time I awoke on Thursday, words of support were already in from readers in Japan, Australia, India, and Kuwait.” Robert X. Cringely —Is That a Supercomputer in Your…
“Whereas poetry uses highly-charged combinations of words, equations are the most succinct descriptions of the aspect of reality they describe. Dirac’s most famous poem enabled him successfully to predict the existence of antimatter…” Graham Farmelo —Physics + Dirac = poetry (Guardian) Similar:The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and waveThere’s so much…
Have you ever been watching a movie, with sumptuous re-creations of period costumes, hair, and furniture — only to be annoyed by the anachronistic appearance of a modern typeface? No? Me neither, but Mark Simonson has. —Typecasting Similar:Babel (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 5) Virus Garbles Everyone's SpeechRewatching ST:DS9 Overworked O’Brien …DesignStart writing your…
“I can’t change the laws of physics!” [44k wav] says a distraught Scotty in a classic Star Trek episode. But researchers have found evidence that suggests that the value of a fundamental “constant” has changed since the universe was young. —Laws of Physics “May Change” (BBC) Similar:Open Access Journals in the Field of EducationUpdate, June…
(Guardian): Treating earache: 2000BC: Here, eat this root. 1000AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer. 1850AD: Prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion. 1940AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill. 1985AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic. 2000AD: That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root. —Alternative Medicine…
With a popcorn plot engineered to appeal to sci-fi fans, Portal is an “interactive novel” published in 1986, and now available online as freeware. Rob Swiggart —Portal: A Dataspace Retrieval Similar:Quotations: Integrating them in MLA-Style PapersI created a new handout that focuses on …AcademiaThe bots are coming. And they have poems. Yet in a circle…
A confusing name for an amusing medieval personality test. What kind of vocation would have suited you back in ye olde days? —KingdomalityCareer Management International) Similar:Candlemas, by John Henry Newman (read by Dennis Jerz for WAOB Audio Theater)I enjoyed reading this short John Henry …CultureFreelance Writing Online: What Are You Worth?Freelance writers have to be…
Why choose Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” as a subject for poetry? Stewart Conn says “The painting chose me.” —Luncheon of the Boating Party Similar:Surprise sidewalk encounter with my man Hopkins outside the Admin shuttle stop this mornin… Spring and Fall Gerard Manley Hop…AestheticsShakespeare’s Choose-Your-Own AdventureIf meeting three strange ladies in the s…AmusingThe Complete…
“Some weblogs wither once the first flush of enthusiasm passes, while others go from strength to strength, attracting contributions and feedback from experts and interested Internet surfers.” Laurel A. Clyde —Weblogs and Blogging (FreePint) One of her examples looks very familiar… Similar:Karate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop suey' fonts Close your eyes and…
Do you remember learning that black moths gained an evolutionary advantage in soot-covered woods? “Once it had been cited enough times, it became an irrefutable article of faith. Hooper’s meticulous research provides a fascinating insight into the fallibility of scientists – after all, as she points out, they are only human.” —Darwinism in a FlutterGuardian)…
(NY Times): “At its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any media tool we’ve ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any media tool we’ve ever had.” Thomas L. Friedman —Global Village Idiocy Similar:Fake Graph: The Actual "Dunning-Kruger Effect" Is NOTHING Like I Thought It WasFor years,…
“Instead of a link… put a search box on your home page.” (UseIT.com) I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen on 13 March 2000, telling him that 6 out of 6 college freshman couldn’t find the “search” feature on his website. I wrote: “I think it might help if, instead of a link, you actually put…
(UseIT.com) : “A company’s homepage is its face to the world and the starting point for most user visits. Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.” Jakob Nielsen —Home Page Usability Guidelines Similar:The Ensigns of Command (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode…
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” — Abraham Lincoln —Tribute to Mothers Similar:The Rage of Virginia Woolf”The passion, if not the logic, of her a…CultureWhy Are Babies So Dumb If Humans Are So Smart?Fascinating theory. The hard work of rai…CultureMy View: What will you do with…
“FACT: A 1987 survey found that Canadians have the worst handwriting in the whole world. They also frequently misspell the word ‘sauce.’” —The Truth about Canada Similar:The Case for Breaking Up With Your ParentsI already felt fairly independent from m…AcademiaSome fairy tales may be 6000 years oldFairy tales are transmitted through lang…CultureVictorian Literature for…
“What if a dispassionate computer had been making the decisions about [Andrea] Yates’ care, rather than a human doctor sitting across a desk from her? Would a computer have left her on medication? Would her children still be alive?” Ivan Oransky —Robo-docs (Salon) Similar:What You Read Matters More Than You Might ThinkSeton Hill is revamping…
Geek website Slashdot was reporting, as of about 20 minutes ago (6:20 EST), that the actor best known for his role as Chief Engineer Mongomery “Scotty” Scott from the original Star Trek series, was in a coma and not expected to recover. In the time it took for me to post this message, Slashdot posted…
“I have too many books. I have begun to hate their mess and reprimand (“You haven’t read me in a long time,” or even, in the case of Silas Marner, “You have never read me”). Many of them are crap….. And yet…” Ian Jack —Throw Out All My Old Books? I Don’t Have the Spine…