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gregladen | December 6, 2011You probably know by now that I named my blog, "The X Blog" after "The X Club." Want to know more about The X Club? Click here!
gregladen | December 5, 2011Just go to a google search bar and type in a function.
For instance, cos(pi*x/5)
You'll get a graph that has some interactive features.
Separate multiple functions with commas.
Details here.
gregladen | December 4, 2011This video has been going around. If you are not emotionally reasonably well shored up at the moment, don't even think about watching it.
Most societies that practice extensive warfare, have a fair amount of violence, etc. often owing to the concentration of resources and vulnerability of those resources and a fair dose of patriarchy also have strong age grading of some kind. Sometimes transitions from one grade to another involve significant and serious dangers, and not everyone survives those dangers. Americans and many others have "grades" in school that serve as age grades, but they…
gregladen | December 4, 2011The pardon process relies on the recommendations of a special office of the White House, which takes a number of factors (not skin color) into account overtly, including things like level of remorse or financial or family factors. The process was, wisely one would have thought, depoliticized by George Bush at the beginning of his first term, so that the professional pardon lawyers' recommendations are routinely followed, plus or minus only small variations....
Read the rest here.
gregladen | December 3, 2011The idea is that if you hear or see the same phrase or symbol again and again you grow habituated to it. For instance, right now, think about where you work or go to school (or some other non-residential interior where you spend considerable time) and tell me where the Exit signs and fire extinguishers are. You might well know, or you might have grown so used to them that they are in the background.
The City of New York has placed a number of signs warning pedestrians, bikers, and drivers, of the usual hazards, but using an unusual technique: New symbols linked to haiku.
Traffic warning…
hrynyshyn | December 2, 2011This sort of thing is what gives economics a bad name.
As soon as have settled down and have some time I will post a more reasoned response.
UPDATE: I can't find the time to rebut so many ignorant statement. Brad Johnson has done some of the heavy lifting. But really, if this doesn't make it clear how out of touch the authors is, I don't know what will.
gregladen | December 2, 2011It is illegal to shoot a cougar in Minnesota unless it is about to eat you. This did not stop Bruce Ihnen and Daniel Hamman from killing one of these beautiful beasts. Ihnen and Hamman need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Which, unfortunately, is not much. A hand slap, really.
The DNR is investigating the case for possible charges. Mountain lions are protected in Minnesota and killing one is a misdemeanor unless it poses an immediate threat to human life.
The incident occurred in the southwestern part of the state (down 'round these parts) where almost everything is corn…
gregladen | December 1, 2011NCSE's Josh Rosenau and Steve Newton sit down with the West Virginia University freethinking, inquiring, secular humanists, and chat about the rise of science denial, the ongoing battles with creationists, NCSE's new climate change initiative, and more. Where: Morgantown, West Virginia. When: 4/5/2011
gregladen | December 1, 2011Get out your 3D glasses and have a look at Vesta.
Coolest pictures of dinosaur nest ever.
Best science books of 2011 according to a Science Librarian
gregladen | December 1, 2011Nature's beauty can be easily missed -- but not through Louie Schwartzberg's lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day.
gregladen | November 30, 2011
Hat Tip Scott Brophy, who also wrote this great blog post: OMFG. WSJ Gets Loopy. Me, Too.
gregladen | November 30, 2011Britta Riley wanted to grow her own food (in her tiny apartment). So she and her friends developed a system for growing plants in discarded plastic bottles -- researching, testing and tweaking the system using social media, trying many variations at once and quickly arriving at the optimal system. Call it distributed DIY. And the results? Delicious.
gregladen | November 29, 2011Pop quiz: When does learning begin? Answer: Before we are born. Science writer Annie Murphy Paul talks through new research that shows how much we learn in the womb -- from the lilt of our native language to our soon-to-be-favorite foods.
gregladen | November 29, 2011Yes, and it is caused by humans. But if you have friends, colleagues, relatives or readers of your blog or facebook feed bothering you about this, telling you that Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is a hoax or a false claim or a lie, you may want this tool:
The Debunking Handbook: now freely available for download
The Debunking Handbook, a guide to debunking misinformation, is now freely available to download. Although there is a great deal of psychological research on misinformation, there's no summary of the literature that offers practical guidelines on the most effective ways of…
gregladen | November 28, 2011The trick is, slowing them down enough, and speeding yourself up enough, then you can catch the turkeys.
Yeah, I know, it's an ad, but it's a good one.
gregladen | November 28, 2011Check out this astonishing bit of film from David Attenborough:
I'm pretty sure this is from Harry Potter.
gregladen | November 28, 2011To preserve sanity in the event of changing plans or other contingencies, I'll send you HERE to get the details. Check bat at that location for updates, should there be any.