links for 2009-04-10

"A central statement in traditional Christian creeds is that Jesus was crucified "under Pontius Pilate." But the majority of Christians have only the vaguest sense what the phrase represents, and most non-Christians probably can't imagine why it's such an integral part of Christian faith. "

"According to a Yale University study, the scent of Crayola crayons is among the 20 most recognizable to American adults. Coffee and peanut butter are 1 and 2. Here we go down crayon color memory lane with all 120 color names and hex codes, fun facts and photos."

"3. Higgs bosons exist in a Higgs field. If you find that you or any of your atoms are in a Higgs field, remove yourself and them immediately to prevent further ingestion. At least cover your head. If you feel a sharp jolt, you are merely standing in an electromagnetic field, from which it may also be wise to remove yourself."

"If weâre going to get mad at anyone, meanwhile, I can see two appropriate targets. First, thereâs the media who allow this game to work, by creating environments (especially on television) where good science can easily get defeated by good rhetoric.

And second, thereâs the wealthy philanthropists and well funded think tanks and interest groups on our side who, faced with this unfavorable media environment, have failed to adapt and equip us with counter-Moranosâintellectual warriors who are not only up for the task of setting the record straight, and defending accurate science, but actually have it as their full time job description. "

"Public middle-grades schools placed under private management in 2002 as part of a state-run overhaul of the Philadelphia School District did not keep pace with the rest of the city's public schools, according to a study published in the American Journal of Education.

The study, which tracked schools through 2006, found that test scores had improved in the privatized schools, but scores in the rest of the city's public schools improved at a much faster rate, leaving the privatized schools in the dust."

"I watched [a neat video mashup of different dance scenes from different Walt Disney animated films, that shows the reuse and recycling of certain motion patterns and tropes] and got a few minutes of amusement from it. And so far thousands of other people seem to have done so as well. And with the video bouncing around on some blogs, that number ought to keep rising. So the world has, in a small way, been made a better place by the fact that modern digital technology makes it feasible for a hobbyist to create this even though thereâs no real prospect of monetary reward.

And yet in the name of halting âpiracyâ there are those who would so tighten intellectual property rules as to make it impossible for these kinds of creative works to be made. "