Contriving

Statistical analysis of 10,000 porn stars.

An analysis of 10,000 porn stars’ careers and demographic profiles that uncovers what they really look like, what they do, and how their role has changed

Originally posted on Google+ · February 17, 2013

Smallest rotary motor in biology, the ATP synthase

More info on your warehouse of information: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_synthase

#science #Biology #Microbiology  

Originally posted on Google+ · February 17, 2013

Rick Brattin's bill here in Missouri trying to get intelligent design into schools includes his own definition of scientific theory.

Although even the Wikipedia entry for scientific theory includes definitions provided by the world's most prestigious organizations of scientists, the bill's sponsor Rick Brattin has seen fit to invent his own definition. And it's a head-scratcher: "'Scientific theory,' an inferred explanation of incompletely understood phenomena about the physical universe based on limited knowledge, whose components are data, logic, and faith-based philosophy." The faith or philosophy involved remain unspecified.

Bill has a long list of brain-melting stipulations.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 13, 2013

Such anomalies demonstrate the slipperiness of empiricism. Although many scientific ideas generate conflicting results and suffer from falling effect sizes, they continue to get cited in the textbooks and drive standard medical practice. Why? Because these ideas seem true.

This is a drum I find myself beating quite often nowadays.  If I was a professional scientist this would be weighing on me constantly.  Actually, I guess it already does that.

Science (particularly the messy social sciences) has a problem.  It turns out that we're not really able to figure things out, and that when we think we have, we soon find out we're wrong…and then continue to act like we're right anyway!

Now, don't get me wrong…the scientific method is the most powerful thing humanity has ever created.  I believe in science.  However, we've got a lot of work to do with regards to how we practice it.  Yes, it's the most powerful truth-discovering tool.  No, it's not as good as it could be.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 9, 2013

One of the things that I've noticed about this is that most people do not expect to understand things. For most people, the universe is a mysterious place filled with random events beyond their ability to comprehend or control.

-pjeby (from here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/1mh/that_magical_click/1hd7)

I feel this is an accurate statement.  I even vividly remember when I first made this observation when I was around 12 years old.  It drastically shaped my view of why humanity is the way it is.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 9, 2013

Dude records practically every waking moment of his first child's life. Then he maps the data so you can see where and when his son first heard a word and how it was used and when his son first said it and when his son gained mastery. Amazing stuff.

http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word.html

#ted

MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language — so he wired up his house with videocameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son’s life, then parsed 90,…

Originally posted on Google+ · February 8, 2013

So, in Japan they have wood planing competitions.  Yeah.  They're planing sheets of wood that are around the size of a red blood cell.  However, what's more amazing to me is that that device is sensitive enough to measure down to 9 microns.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 8, 2013

There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments, there are consequences.

Robert G. Ingersoll

#quote

Originally posted on Google+ · February 5, 2013