Elsewhere on the Web (8/21/07)

Dusk in Autumn on the perils of blogs and Wikipedia:

In reality, the greatest threat to the intellectual lives of college graduates -- at least those whose minds have not irreparably rotted from studying literary theory or women's studies -- is internet pseudo-learning, exemplified by an addiction to Wikipedia and to blogs. I'll admit that a few years ago, I too was trapped in an ever-increasing spiral of Wikipedia tabs open simultaneously. For unlike TV, Wikipedia is seductive since there is a veneer of respectability to it, and clicking through its entries does, at least occasionally, require more cogitation than channel-surfing.

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Briefly, I'll note that I do not have in mind articles on Creationism, Intelligent Design, astrology, and similarly retarded ideas. They're out there, but they do not persuade much of the elite in any developed country -- their ridiculousness needs no comment -- and the elite are the ones who run things, and thus whose worldviews you should worry about. Scrawling jeremiads against these boogeymen is like barging into a hospital for invalids and running laps around everyone in the physical therapy wing. Way to go: you win the highest award in setting the lowest goals. (Emphasis mine.)

An Economist infographic shows the safest countries to have sex and where they have the highest numbers of sex partners. (Thankfully, disparities in sex partners between men and women are not depicted. Thankfully, because I am so not touching that again.)

SciVee claims to be a "YouTube for Scientists." They have lectures where scientists explain their work. All I know is that there site is really, really slow. Bora has more. Hat-tip: Slashdot

An excellent review in Nature Review Genetics on the causes of mutation rate variation in multicellular eukaryotes. The emphasis has shifted dramatically towards the effects of DNA replication and the limitations of DNA repair. I remember reading (and cringing to) the description in Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers of a planet called Sanctuary where evolution was slower because of low levels of background radiation: "its evolutionary progress [is] held down almost to zero by lack of radiation and a consequent most unhealthily low mutations rate." It doesn't really work that way... (A good book though, even if it was turned into a bad movie.)

How long can you survive in space. Briefly:

Yes, for a very short time. The principal functions of a spacesuit are to create a pressurized, oxygenated atmosphere for astronauts, and to protect them from ultraviolet rays and extreme temperatures. Without it, a spacewalker would asphyxiate from the lack of breathable air and suffer from ebullism, in which a reduction in pressure causes the boiling point of bodily fluids to decrease below the body's normal temperature. Since it takes a bit of time for these things to kill you, it's possible to make it through a very quick stint in outer space.

I hadn't realized that it took some time for your blood to boil because heat escapes slowly in a vacuum. Hat-tip: Orac

If you ever had faith in the virtues of government management, you must read this:

A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an Army base in Texas, U.S. officials said.

The company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines in Habbaniyah, Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89-cent split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Pentagon records show.

The owners of C&D Distributors in Lexington, South Carolina -- twin sisters -- exploited a flaw in an automated Defense Department purchasing system: bills for shipping to combat areas or U.S. bases that were labeled "priority" were usually paid automatically, said Cynthia Stroot, a Pentagon investigator. (Emphasis mine.)

Nice. Hat-tip: Cato@Liberty

Read the whole thing.