http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_this_is_broken_1.html
5 Unexpected Downsides of High Intelligence You know that phrase, "Ignorance is bliss"? There's a reason it's stuck around all these years. Because having the upper hand in intelligence might give you an advantage in some areas, like crossword puzzle solving and quantum physics-ing, but it also might just screw up your life forever. Note: Stephen Hawking can talk about how dangerous AI will be in the future, but we're not worried. 100 Websites You Should Know and Use Entertainment Meet David Peterson, who developed Dothraki for Game of Thrones There are seven different words in Dothraki for striking another person with a sword. 5 Ancient Acts of War That Changed the Face of the Earth Nothing motivates people like war. That's how the Great Wall of China got built--they were protecting themselves against enemies who lived to the north. But that wall is hardly the only time we've changed the face of the planet in the name of winning a war.
The Hidden Message in Pixar’s Films I love Pixar. Who doesn’t? The stories are magnificently crafted, the characters are rich, hilarious, and unique, and the images are lovingly rendered. Without fail, John Ratzenberger’s iconic voice makes a cameo in some boisterous character. [Infographic] Combating Mass Incarceration - The Facts June 17, 2011 The war on drugs has helped make the U.S. the world's largest incarcerator. America’s criminal justice system should keep communities safe, treat people fairly, and use fiscal resources wisely.
Math Isn't Just Computation. So Why Is That All We Teach? - Education A reader named Monika Hardy recently noticed that I harp a lot on the importance of math when blogging about education. (Guilty as charged.) So, she sent me an excellent talk from the recent TEDGlobal event from this summer.
5 Seemingly Innocent Ways You Risk Your Identity Every Day We tend to think of identity theft as a crime perpetrated exclusively on stupid people. Sure, you don't fall for that Nigerian prince schtick and you don't send your login information to "official" emails that misspell "PayPal." Well, you'd best take a slice of humble pie, because there are lots of things that you do every day, that you're probably doing right now, that are putting your personal information at risk. Things like ... Playing Facebook Games 8 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Concentrating “Music helps me concentrate,” Mike said to me glancing briefly over his shoulder. Mike was in his room writing a paper for his U.S. History class.
Ten Fun Facts Of The Week ← Previous Post Next Post → Ten Fun Facts Of The Week jon July 8, 2011 1 One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 7: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 7 One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 7: Julius Caesar's Last Breath What's the chance that the breath you just inhaled contains at least one air molecule that was in Julius Caesar's last breath--the one in which he said (according to Shakespeare) " Et tu Brute ?
One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 9: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 9 One Hundred Interesting Mathematical Calculations, Number 9: False Positives Suppose that we have a test for a disease that is 98% accurate: if one has the disease, the test comes back "yes" 98% of the time (and "no" 2% of the time), and if one does not have the disease, the test comes back "no" 98% of the time (and "yes" 2% of the time). Suppose further that 0.5% of people--one out of every two hundred--actually has the disease.