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Is Mathematics Discovered or Invented?
2008-04-29 17:05:00 For centuries people have debated whether ? like scientific truths ? mathematics is discoverable, or if it is simply invented by the minds of our great mathematicians. But two questions are raised, one for each side of the coin. For those who believe these mathematical truths are purely discoverable, where, exactly, are you looking? And for those on the other side of the court, why cannot a mathematician simply announce to the world that he has invented 2 + 2 to equal 5. This question pops to the surface of the math world every so often, like a whale surfacing for air. Most mathematicians will simply set aside this quandary for those from the philosophical realm, and get on with proving theorems. However, the mathematical whale has surfaced this year, thanks to the European Mathematical Society Newsletter?s June edition, where the question will once again be raised. If you?re looking for a side to join, then maybe the Platonic theory is your cup of tea. The Class... More About: Mathematics
Why Things Cost $19.95
2008-04-28 14:56:00 One of Alfred Hitchcock?s most enduring bits of cinematic comedy is the auction scene in the espionage thriller North by Northwest. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, a businessman who has been mistaken for a CIA agent by the ruthless Phillip Vandamm. At a critical juncture, Thornhill is cornered by his enemies inside a Chicago auction house, and the only way he can escape is by drawing attention to himself. When the bidding on an antique reaches $2,250, Thornhill yells out, ?Fifteen hundred!? When the auctioneer gently chides him, he loudly changes his bid: ?Twelve hundred!? When the bidding on a Louis XIV chaise longue reaches $1,200, Thornhill blurts outs, ?Thirteen dollars!? The genteel crowd is outraged, but Thornhill gets precisely what he wants: the auctioneer summons the police, who ?escort? him past Vandamm?s henchmen to safety. Clever thinking and good comedy. It is funny for a lot of reasons, and one is that Thornhill violates every psychological ?rule? for how we negotiat... More About: Cost , Things
Imagining the Tenth Dimension
2008-04-26 16:22:00 This may be hard for some to follow, but then again it may not.[via tenthdimension] More About: Dimension
Professional Panhandler: Girl Pretends to be Homeless to Pocket Cash
2008-04-26 15:38:00 One word: Kamra Karma. This girl is in for a rude awaking.DayPortPlayer.newPlayer({articleI D:"37781",categoryID:"5",rootCategory:"83 ",domain:"kutv.dayport.com",playerInstanc eID:"6079F2D7-64DE-7731-AEBE-0BBA248311D6 "}); More About: Girl , Cash , Homeless , Pocket , Professional
Humans nearly wiped out 70,000 years ago, study says
2008-04-25 15:11:00 Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests.The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday. The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age. "This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," said Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence. "Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA." Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the Am... More About: Study , Years , Humans
8 Fictional Cities You Wouldn't Want to Live in
2008-04-25 14:41:00 Creators of fiction are always coming up with new and exciting places for their characters to dwell in, but not all of them can be utopias. In fact, some are cities and towns that would make you wish you were back in your boring old suburb again. Let's take a look, shall we?8. Bedrock (The Flintstones)You know how annoyed you get at your appliances when they don't work right? Now imagine that those appliances could talk and were always making witty remarks to you. Oh and also they are dinosaurs that could tear your flesh from your bones. This sounds like two things: the plot of Jurassic Park 11 (it's inevitable) and a place that I would never take a lease out on. How can you sleep when you know your record player could get a hankering for a midnight snack and fly over to your babies crib with a thirst for infant blood? If mauling by a carnivorous can opener fits into you definition of a "gay old time," then by all means, move into this modern stone age suburb. You're in store fo... More About: Funny , Curious , Cities , Live
Live Grenade Removed From Soldiers Leg
2008-04-24 16:57:00 Operations don't come any tricker than this. A surgeon in Colombia has removed a live grenade from a soldier's leg. It had been lodged there for four hours and could have exploded at any time. More About: Live , Soldiers
PETA Announces $1 Million Prize for Fake Meat
2008-04-23 16:26:00 PETA wants vat meat researchers to pick up the pace, and they?re pledging $1 million to the first research team that can come up with competitively priced fake meat by 2012. It appears this schedule might be too ambitious for researchers to meet, but in any case it?s only going to spur greater interest in the field. Amazingly, there was heated debate at PETA about offering the prize ? I?m glad common sense prevailed. The moment vat meat comes online at affordable prices, animal agriculture?s future will be bleak.[via nytimes] More About: Meat , Fake , Million , Peta
How Shoes Are Ruining the Human Foot
2008-04-23 16:14:00 It took four million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we're recking it with every step we take.Walking is easy. It?s so easy that no one ever has to teach you how to do it. It?s so easy, in fact, that we often pair it with other easy activities?talking, chewing gum?and suggest that if you can?t do both simultaneously, you?re some sort of insensate clod. So you probably think you?ve got this walking thing pretty much nailed. As you stroll around the city, worrying about the economy, or the environment, or your next month?s rent, you might assume that the one thing you don?t need to worry about is the way in which you?re strolling around the city. Well, I?m afraid I have some bad news for you: You walk wrong. Look, it?s not your fault. It?s your shoes. Shoes are bad. I don?t just mean stiletto heels, or cowboy boots, or tottering esp... More About: Human , Foot
Surgeons give hope to blind with successful 'bionic eye' operations
2008-04-22 19:03:00 Surgeons have carried out the first operations in Britain using a pioneering ?bionic eye? that could in future help to restore blind people?s sight. Two successful operations to implant the device into the eyes of two blind patients have been conducted at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. The device ? the first of its kind ? incorporates a video camera and transmitter mounted on a pair of glasses. This is linked to an artificial retina, which transmits moving images along the optic nerve to the brain and enables the patient to discriminate rudimentary images of motion, light and dark. The operations were conducted as part of an international clinical trial of the technology, known as the Argus II retinal implant, which has already proved successful in restoring rudimentary vision to patients who have become blind because of common conditions such as age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa. American researchers are hoping to develop a camera the size of a pea tha... More About: Hope , Give , Blind , Bionic , Surgeons
Excuse Me, Do You Know Who I Am?
2008-04-22 15:56:00 Damn it! Why didn't I ever think of this! More About: Funny , Curious , Excuse
Golden Eagle Throws Goat off Cliff
2008-04-21 23:25:00 Wow, this is crazy! The commentary for this video is in Spanish, but it doesn't matter. Just watch the video... More About: Cliff , Golden , Eagle
This DVD will self-destruct in 48 hours
2008-04-21 16:24:00 A German company has introduced a disposable DVD that can be viewed for 48 hours, then thrown away. The DVDs will sell for just ?3.99 ($6.44 /£3.20). So, it's about the same price as a new video rental in Europe - and it used to be about the same price as in the US, before the Mighty Dollar shrank into the Pygmy Dollar. But there are no late fees and no need to pop the disk in the post or return to the store. This opens up DVD distribution possibilities for new premium-priced movie releases - in petrol stations, convenience stores, coffee shops and the like, as well as online retailers - as there is no longer the need to book the DVDs back in. That's the idea. Will it work?DVD-D Germany Ltd's 'Einmal' (German for 'once') - discs incorporate a self-destruct chemical coating to render them unreadable after a pre-set time. The process begins as soon as the discs are removed from vacuum-sealed packaging. After 48 hours (or longer, depending on the price) the DVD gives a 'No dis... More About: Hours
Killer Biscuits Wanted for Attempted Murder
2008-04-20 21:09:00 Wow, this takes the blonde joke stigma to a whole new level! More About: Murder , Killer , Biscuits , Wanted
Unusual ebay feedback
2008-04-20 17:26:00 POSITIVE: Item shipped quickly, have been having erotic dreams about seller. Thanks! POSITIVE: Thanks for great Rainbow Brite lunchbox. Should shrunken head be inside? NEUTRAL: Excellent communication, but should've poked holes in box before shipping the kitten. Refunded. NEGATIVE: Despite indication in listing, I could not fit item into any of my body cavities. NEGATIVE: Honda R-Type sticker did not add horsepower as advertised. NEUTRAL: Item shipped promptly and in good condition, but I should not have to bid on birthday presents from my parents. POSITIVE: I don't really remember what I ordered. But I've been sitting in the box it came in all day, and it's great! NEGATIVE: Product didn't work, possibly broken. I woke up this morning and was disappointed to find I still believe in Jesus Christ our Savior. :( POSITIVE: Excellent Buyer. A++++++. Thrilled by the quartz movement of the "Rolex". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. NEGATIVE: Should have been clearer that seller only accept... More About: Ebay , Feedback
Florida woman survives gunshot between the eyes
2008-04-19 16:25:00 Emergency room doctors apologized to the 42-year-old woman who had come in for treatment for staring at her in disbelief. It wasn?t every day ? in fact, it was never ? that they saw somebody with a large-caliber gunshot wound between the eyes who not only was alive, but wasn?t even unconscious or seriously injured. Call it Marie?s Miracle. As reported for TODAY by NBC?s Martin Savidge, it happened late last Saturday night, when Marie, who does not want to reveal her last name for fear of retaliation, her boyfriend and her 22-year-old daughter were driving through Tampa on their way home to Riverview, Fla., after a night out. ?We had a nice night out to the movies, got something to eat, were just rolling down the road,? she said.As they were driving on 50th Street in Tampa, a white Nissan Sentra with two people inside and a gray Nissan Altima carrying four people pulled up alongside the truck in which the trio were driving. When they stopped at a traffic light, the occupants of the t... More About: Eyes , Florida , Woman
Water Balloon Exploding at 2,000 Frames per Second
2008-04-19 16:04:00 This is pretty sweet. The water from the balloon actually holds it shape for x amount of time after the plastic skin from the balloon is gone. More About: Balloon , Water
Cure for acne found, say scientists
2008-04-18 16:53:00 Scientists believe they have found a breakthrough treatment for acne.They claim that the drug, SMT D002, can reduce the flow of sebum - an oily substance produced by the skin and believed to be a significant cause - by 90 per cent.At present, the drug is in pill form and is used to treat a condition other than acne but a pharmaceutical company plans to turn it into a cream for easier use.Researchers believe it could become as effective a treatment as retinoic acid - a form of vitamin A - which is currently used to treat moderate to severe cases. However, Roaccutane, the most widely used formulation of retinoic acid, has been linked to suicides among acne sufferers.SMT D002 produced no significant side-effects when volunteers took it in pill form. Around three in every 10 patients taking retinoic acid do not respond to the drug, leaving many sufferers without an effective treatment.Richard Pye, of Summit Corporation, based in Oxford, said the company was turning the drug into a cream... More About: Acne , Scientists , Cure
World Population to Hit 6,666,666,666 in May
2008-04-17 15:42:00 To many people, this means nothing. But of course 666 refers to the Beast in the Bible. Heaven knows what ten sixes means. I don?t know who first noticed this looming numerical curiosity, but it was mentioned today on the Drudge report. To see the projection, go to the U.S. Census Bureau?s World POPClock Projection page. There you?ll find these projections among others: 05/01/08 6,664,737,08506/01/08 6,671,275,141 So sometime in between May 1 and June 1, the gaggle-of-sixes milestone will be passed. (I say gaggle rather than googol, which is a 1 followed by 100 zeros. I could also have used a gazillion or a jillion or a bazillion, all of which are just figures of speech meaning ?a lot.? Clearly, the number of people on Earth is a lot more than umpteen.) The Census Bureau of course never knows exactly how many people are on the planet, or even in the United States for that matter. It?s all estimates. Just fun. The last big ?six scare? was 06/06/06 (June 6, 2006). We survived ... More About: World population
Yet another reason Comcast is Evil
2008-04-16 17:07:00 Ask Comcast Tech guy to move his van, mysteriously loose signal...Consumerist Reader Daniel lives in San Francisco, where parking is notoriously impossible. He came home one morning to find a Comcast van blocking his drive way, and politely asked the driver to move. Ten minutes later he lost his internet and TV signal. Mysterious coincidence, or malevolent tech? Check out the details below, via his email to consumerist...So up until this moment, I had no issues with Comcast (other than occasionally having to switch out my cablecards). This morning around 8am, I was returning home from the gym and there was a Comcast truck blocking my garage. I was very polite (no horn or anything) and asked him to please move his truck so I can get into my garage. He said something about it being a 1 lane-1 way street and he couldn't park anywhere else. I told him that he can't park in front of my garage, so he moved. About 10 minutes later I mysteriously lose both my internet and TV signals. I ca... More About: Evil , Reason
Look, no scars: organs removed via the mouth
2008-04-15 17:21:00 THE minister charged with overhauling the NHS is testing a new form of scar-free surgery in which diseased organs are pulled out through the patient?s throat. Professor Lord Darzi, chair of surgery at Imperial College London, has conducted preliminary experiments with the technique in which robotically controlled instruments are lowered into the patient?s stomach. A hole is made in the lining of the stomach, then the organ - usually an appendix or gall bladder - is cut out and pulled up through the throat before the hole is stitched, leaving the patient with no external scars and a reduced risk of infection because the wounds are not exposed to the air. The technique, called natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery, has been successfully used on patients in America, France and India. Darzi, who became a health minister last year, is one of the first surgeons in Britain to use the technique in experiments on pigs, before the first human tests. While admitting it was still ... More About: Scars , Mouth , Organs
Brain Scanners Can See Your Decisions Before You Make Them
2008-04-14 14:34:00 You may think you decided to read this story -- but in fact, your brain made the decision long before you knew about it. In a study published Sunday in Nature Neuroscience, researchers using brain scanners could predict people's decisions seven seconds before the test subjects were even aware of making them. The decision studied -- whether to hit a button with one's left or right hand -- may not be representative of complicated choices that are more integrally tied to our sense of self-direction. Regardless, the findings raise profound questions about the nature of self and autonomy: How free is our will? Is conscious choice just an illusion? "Your decisions are strongly prepared by brain activity. By the time consciousness kicks in, most of the work has already been done," said study co-author John-Dylan Haynes, a Max Planck Institute neuroscientist. Haynes updated a classic experiment by the late Benjamin Libet, who showed that a brain region involved in coordinating m... More About: Scanners , Make , Brain , Decisions
Women as explained by engineers
2008-04-02 16:55:00 This was sent to me in one of those forwards you get from family and friends, the pictures aren't the best quality, but they are pretty funny.... More About: Women , Engineers
The 16 worst places to stash your stuff
2008-03-28 20:44:00 Location, location, location: Store owners aren't the only ones concerned with finding the perfect spot in which to situate their stuff. Researchers in a wide variety of fields know that how you organize your environment — from where you stand in fitness class to the place you choose to store your meds — has a surprising effect on everything from your weight to your chances of staying well. In More About: Places , Stuff
Futuristic Floor Glows With Each Footstep
2008-03-26 15:17:00 A new rug that lights up when you step on it could be the future of floor fashion, not to mention of nocturnal home safety. As if a glowing runway, the electroluminescent flooring could keep you from stubbing your toe during a groggy trek to the bathroom, guide you to the bedroom after a late-night out and even replace a child's conventional nightlight. "The glow that the rug emits is very More About: Futuristic , Floor
Screw the new car, just get a new engine!
2008-03-25 22:10:00 Engine Repower is a new (as far as I can tell) service that gives car owners the option of replacing their old, worn out engine with a rebuilt engine of the same vintage instead of simply buying a new car or repairing specific problems. When a first saw this page, I was very interested, as I am a proponent of keeping your car as long as possible to reduce wasteful manufacturing processes, even More About: Engine , Screw
Voiceless Phone Calls Now Possible
2008-03-19 13:03:00 A company called Audeo has just demonstrated their subvocal speech input device in a new context; a neckband that translates thought into speech by interpreting signals sent from the brain to the vocal chords. Audeo used it in their Thinking Man's Wheelchair for quadraplegics demonstrated last September. The device does not provide unlimited translation; it is able to respond with about More About: Phone , Calls , Phone Calls
Woman Pried From Boyfriend's Toilet After Sitting on It for 2 Years
2008-03-13 15:42:00 WICHITA, Kan. — Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend's toilet after sitting on it for two years. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be More About: Woman , Toilet , Years
World Tallest Snow Fence!
More articles from this author:2008-03-12 13:23:00 OTTAWA — 'I'm crazy," he keeps saying."He's nuts," says his next-door neighbor."All my friends think it's crazy," says his youngest son.Just maybe Luc Guertin of Orleans has figured out how to love this winter when the rest of us are cursing it - particularly after this weekend of the endless snowfall for most of the country. Guertin's driveway snowbank stood higher than two very tall men Friday More About: World , Snow , Fence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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