mental_floss Blog » History of the U.S.: A Ridiculously Long and Incomplete List of Things Ben Franklin Invented We all remember Ben Franklin as a pretty bright guy who discovered some pretty important stuff. The real question is, what didn’t this polymath genius invent? 1742: Observing the wasteful use of firewood in inefficient colonial fireplaces, he designed the Franklin Stove, which used its iron body to diffuse a much larger proportion of the heat. The stove enabled poor families to save money and be warmer in the winter.1749: Noticing that lightning was attracted to metal and tall objects, Franklin hit on the idea of attaching vertical metal rods to the tops of tall buildings to attract the lightning, thus sparing the roof a direct hit.1752: To prove that lightning was static electricity, Franklin carried out his famous kite experiment with the help of his young son William (nobody ever said he was a responsible parent). He conducted an electrical charge from a key along a wire into a primitive battery. Looking for more fabulous content like this?
Virgin unveils 'world's fastest' cable broadband He might just be right: with the fastest broadband speeds, it’s hard to predict quite what this level could mean. Indeed, sources close to a major broadband provider privately express concerns about justifying such experiments because, as they put it, “We have to have faith; there is an element of build it and they will come with this sort of thing”. What it is certainly possible to say with certainty, however, is that 1.5gbps puts the problems of today well behind us. If a family with ten computers wants to stream different high-definition, 3D movies to each device, they could. Business users would have no qualms either. The real power of such speeds, however, is in more than home entertainment, despite the industry's force as a major employer. In the background, however, is Britain’s struggling rural broadband network. There are, of course, some sceptics: envisaging a different NHS is a real challenge.
Nerd Paradise Posted on: 10 Cado 7:0 - 5.27.29 So you've procrastinated again. You told yourself you wouldn't do this 2 months ago when your professor assigned you this. But you procrastinated anyway. Pick a Topic The more "legally-oriented" your topic is, the better. Make a list ...of every possible outcome that this issue could cause in...the near future...the far future...of every person that this topic affects....of any instances where this topic has come in the news....what you would do about this topic if you had the chance/power/enough-sugar...any little detail you can think ofThe important thing about this is to think of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, no matter how silly or far-fetched. Reorder everything Put your most obvious argument first. Then put weird off the wall stuff, regardless of importance. Put the strongest argument for your case next. Now list the incidents that will help argue for your point. It's best to keep all this in the form of an outline. Spaces Now print it out. Write Go Back Inside
Hidden musical code found written into Plato's texts "Plato’s books played a major role in founding Western culture, but they are mysterious and end in riddles," said Dr. Jay Kennedy of University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences. Those riddles are finally being unwound, thanks to Kennedy's thorough five-year study of Plato's best-known work, "The Republic". "It is a long and exciting story, but basically I cracked the code. I have shown rigorously that the books do contain codes and symbols and that unraveling them reveals the hidden philosophy of Plato." So what great wisdom does the secret message reveal? Plato was influenced by Pythagoras, another ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician who is perhaps best known for discovering the Pythagorean Theorem. Kennedy discovered that Plato had placed clusters of words related to music in his master work, which can be broken into 12 equal sections — a pattern he suspected was related to the twelve notes of the Greek musical scale.
Introduction to Social Influence, Persuasion, Compliance & Propaganda This portion of the Working Psychology website offers a brief introduction to a big topic: social influence, the modern, scientific study of persuasion, compliance, propaganda, "brainwashing," and the ethics that surround these issues. Although these topics aren't always simple (it is, after all, science), I've done my best to make this introduction interesting. Since Aristotle recorded his principles of persuasion in Rhetoric, humans have attempted to define and refine the principles of successful influence. Persuasion has been studied as an art for most of human history. The comparatively young science of social influence, however, can trace its roots to the second world war, when a social psychologist named Carl Hovland was contracted by the U.S. Social scientists attempt to support any assertion with facts. Want a few examples of how social influence works in the real world before you continue? Copyright © 2002 by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D.
HOW TO WRITE GOOD Caveat emptor. Carpe diem. O si villi, si ergo, fortibus es in ero. Et tu, brute. by Frank L. My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules: Avoid alliteration. Advanced Imaging Reveals a Computer 1,500 Years Ahead of Its Time @Im_your_Huckleberry: In a different sense, I blame the people who started those wars, the church, and anti-intellectuals in general, for holding the advance of the human race hostage for two thousand years. The depth of reason and creativity at the inception of the scienctific method in Ancient Greece is astounding; such great promise, I shutter to think what time has been lost, and where we'd be now if, say, the Library of Alexandria hadn't been burned to the ground. @hilikusopus: Ironically, armed conflict has also provided the impetus for many technological advancements that later found peaceful uses. The library was finally destroyed for good because "They will either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, in which case they are superfluous". Not to single out Islam, Christians had destroyed much of it several hundred years earlier. Say what you will about warfare, it is only a mechanism.
Judge in Google/Oracle Lawsuit: ‘You’re Both Asking for the Moon’ Wanted: More judges like U.S. District Judge William Alsup. Alsup is presiding over the currently ongoing lawsuit between Google and Oracle over the former’s Android OS—which the latter says infringes on their Java patents—and is demonstrating a refreshing attitude towards both companies’ attempts to argue their case. Alsup told attorneys representing the corporations, “You’re both asking for the moon and you should be more reasonable” during a hearing yesterday, according to Reuters. Lawyers acting on behalf of Google argued that Oracle estimated damages of between $1.4 billion and $6.1 billion as a result of patent infringement within the Android OS and asked Alsup to disallow those estimates, saying instead that Oracle deserves no damages. (MORE: Will App Developers Be Scared Away by Lawsuit Threats?) Alsup openly disagreed with that idea, telling the court, “Zero is ridiculous… They’re totally wrong on that.” A decision in the case is expected soon.
Brief Answers to Cosmic Questions Structure of the Universe Does the Universe have an edge, beyond which there is nothing? Are the galaxies arranged on the surface of a sphere? Why can't we see the whole universe? Evolution of the Universe Did the Universe expand from a point? More about the Big Bang When they say "the universe is expanding," what exactly is expanding? Structure of the Universe Does the Universe have an edge, beyond which there is nothing? Are the galaxies arranged on the surface of a sphere? Why can't we see the whole universe? If you could suddenly freeze time everywhere in the universe, and magically survey all of creation, you would find galaxies extending out far beyond what we can see today. Does the term "universe" refer to space, or to the matter in it, or to both? Today, the situation is reversed. Discovering the properties of space remains one of the deepest and most important problems in modern science. Evolution of the Universe Did the Universe expand from a point? More about the Big Bang
Browse By Category: Audio Book, human-read How To Not Get Sued for File Sharing (And Other Ideas To Avoid Being Treated Like a Criminal) As of July 2006, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued over 20,000 music fans for file sharingin just under three years. In 2004, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) joined this misguided, anti-consumer crusade. Filing lawsuits against anonymous "Doe" defendants, the RIAA and MPAA seek to uncover the identities of P2P users and force them to pay thousands of dollars in settlements. Many innocent individuals are being caught in the crossfire. While there is no way to know exactly what the RIAA and MPAA are going to do or who they are going to sue, users of publicly-accessible P2P networks can take the following steps to reduce their chances of being sued: Either: Make sure there are no potentially infringing files in your shared folder. Or: Note: Not all clients allow you to turn off "sharing." Additional Considerations: What if I've Already Been Sued? These links may provide helpful information:
Pack a Backpack for Camping From Wired How-To Wiki A well-packed sack will save your back. Photo by The Glasshalffull via Flickr. It's happened to everyone before. Then, six miles out, you realize: Despite stuffing your pack to the brim, you've forgotten your rain shell and soaked your food in fuel. This article is part of a wiki anyone can edit. Outside In Especially with a lightweight backpack, you should put your sleeping pad in first. Sleeping bag next Pack in the reverse order of stuff you'll need. Distribute your supplies Tent: Heaviest items go in the middle and closest to your back. Cooking Gear: If you're planning on hot meals along the side of the trail, your portable stove is up next. Food: Separate your foods— easy access:trail mix, string cheese, sandwiches -- and put them in a separate and more easily accessible part of your backpack, usually the detachable fanny pack or outside pockets. Water for cooking food: Dried food is good if you're near water, and canned is good if you're not. Balance it out