lost
dr. dolittle | July 23, 2013
Image of bottlenose dolphin pod from www.deography.com, Dylan O'Donnell 2010
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) use "signature whistles" to identify and call each other by "name".
Dr. Vincent Janik at the Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews and colleagues recorded the individual whistles of wild bottlenose dolphins traveling in groups (pods). Using the recordings, they developed computerized versions of the whistles that were missing the vocal characteristics of…
illconsidered | November 23, 2010Shorter Lost final scene: "yeah, okay, we never knew WTF was going on either, but thanks for watching!"
edyong | August 20, 2009
In 2007, Jan Souman dropped three volunteers into the Sahara desert and watched as they walked for several miles, in an attempt to walk in a straight line. Souman was interested in the widespread belief that lost travelers end up walking in circles, a belief that has never been properly tested but has nonetheless become firmly entrenched in the popular consciousness. Just think about Frodo and Sam's hike through Mordor or the three hapless teens in the Blair Witch Project.
To see how non-fictional humans would fare, Souman tracked a group of volunteers using GPS as they walked through a…
sheril | February 23, 2009In lieu of blasting the Washington Post again over their recent faux pas, I'm interested in finding out whether you're as intrigued as I am lately over LOST...
During my recovery, I've been catching up on past episodes and this season includes a lot of 'science' in the script as the island jumps through time and space. And what is the DHARMA Initiative? Presently, we've got a physicist wandering through the jungle, years that span days, and the occasional troublesome nosebleed. All of which has inspired wide speculation about what's really going on.
Regular Intersection readers know this…