Links for 31-10-2006
Bumper issue! Glossolalia research, your brain on drugs, map-making software, exoskeletons go mass-production, sleeping good for the brain, climate change sf, UK to ban flag-burning…
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“Now, in a first of its kind study, scientists are shining the light on this mysterious practice — attempting to explain what actually happens physiologically to the brain of someone while speaking in tongues.” Neal Stephenson was right!
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“…scientists hope to use new brain-imaging technology to train substance abusers to control cravings. The addicts would literally watch real-time images of brain blood flow and use mental exercises to try to control their brain activity.”
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“The report states that the forthcoming review of intellectual property [...] should update the law to take account of the changes in the way people want to listen to music, watch films and read books.”
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“Initially, a human mapmaker proceeds manually, using mouse clicks to trace a road on a photograph. The computer program tracks the operator’s steps and compares them to its own analysis of the aerial image.”
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Does what it says on the tin. Can anyone lend me a few hundred thousand? I’ll do you a good deal on your own private barn…
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6 – Is Google Evil?“Internet privacy? Google already knows more about you than the National Security Agency ever will. And don’t assume for a minute it can keep a secret.”
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“I define a meganiche as a thin slice of the Web that nonetheless represents roughly a million users. The meganiche is something new, and it will have a lasting impact on online business and culture.”
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“The really amazing thing about this story is that it’s even taken this long for the discussion to get this far.” Amen, Techdirt.
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“I’ve now been freelance for more than three years but the title still has a double meaning — this is both for beginners and by a beginner, because I know I still have a lot to learn.”
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“Having already assisted a paralyzed individual (almost) summit a mountain, the … suit will reportedly find itself in hospital wards [...] soon, and the company plans to produce “20 units” by 2007, while ramping up to “400-500″ in 2008.” Want one!
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“Not on some half-hearted tourist trip to watch the Earth for a few days from the International Space Station, but a research-based programme with a specific mandate to inspire budding scientists. The dividend is clear.”
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“Psychologists … pulled together more than 100 studies of the effects of sleep on cognitive tasks and found that staying out of bed for too long can have serious effects on ability to remember and learn new information.” No sh*t.
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“Once the dominant animal in the American west, bison were slaughtered in huge numbers as European settlers pushed across the continent – 31 million between 1868 and 1881 alone. Now moves are afoot to bring them back.”
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“This month, a crew of 13 heads out to sea each day, hoping for clear-enough weather to dive the 20 to 25 feet to the ocean bottom to excavate what they believe is Blackbeard’s ship.” Awesome!
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“In the four years since we launched CC, the Internet, and the world’s understanding of the Internet, have changed dramatically. In 2002, the media was obsessed by something called ‘piracy.’ Today, they call it ‘user-generated content.’”
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“If I am making a plea it is only for science fiction writers (and editors, publishers, critics, readers, the whole damned lot of us) to think more about what we are doing with science fiction, and to think in terms that are not restricted to other scienc
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“And then science fiction grew to be a little bit darker. The future became dirtier, dystopic. One of the real world themes that fits this adopted motif is climate change. More than ever before, global warming is leaving its mark on works of science ficti
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“They have two main designs–the BioWAVE, which imitates kelp fronds, and the BioSTREAM, which imitates shark or tuna tails. Both designs are meant to oscillate back and forth in ocean currents rather than rotating like a turbine…”
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“…a virtual ecosystem which, while not yet as complex as Svarga’s, comes complete with an open API that other residents may use to add their own species to the mix.”
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“The real-time weather visualization system that Aimee Weber has been building for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association can now be viewed in the virtual world of Second Life…”
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“…scientists and engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are putting the finishing touches on systems for capturing exhaled carbon dioxide and urine and turning them into breathable oxygen and drinking water.”
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“So Myspace is the gender gap wedge du jour. I don’t think this will last long. Cultivating a “digital identity” is becoming a crucial part of maintaining a happy, successful life in the real world…”
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“The drug, called Adjudin, works by disrupting the interaction that takes place in the testicles between immature sperm cells and the nurse cells responsible for nurturing sperm to maturity.” This so needs to happen, like, yesterday.
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“Someone to stand up and say that creating replicas of bland middle-class homes for people to stand awkwardly in and not actually do anything inside is just retarded and a stark and utter waste…” Warren Ellis speaks the truth.
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“[UK] Police chiefs are urging the government to make flag-burning a new criminal offence, as part of a drive to crack down on Islamic extremists and others preaching violence and religious hate…” Just you try it, b*stards.
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“A think-tank has called for outdated copyright laws to be rewritten to take account of new ways people listen to music, watch films and read books.” Thank f*ck for that. Let’s hope for some public support…
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“Well, we don’t really have a whole lot to tell you, but our pals at the Federal Communications Commission have all but confirmed the existence of what appears to be the new Nokia internet tablet (870? 880?).” ZOMFG!
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“Efthimiou takes out the calculator to prove that if a vampire sucked one person’s blood each month — turning each victim into an equally hungry vampire — after a couple of years there would be no people left, just vampires.”
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“Here’s how the system is supposed to work: you write a book. If people think it’s good they buy it. If enough people think it’s good it becomes a bestseller and widely read, spreading new ideas into the public debate.”
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“I am sending this Note live from within the Seattle Central Library, just to prove that I can do such things. By the way, this is a Rem Koolhaas building designed to Silver LEED standards.”
Tags: links
[...] Language center of the brain is not under the control of subjects who ’speak in tongues’ This is your brain. This is your brain on glossolalia. Any questions? Thanks, Armchair Anarchist (tags: cognition psychology research language religion glossolalia) [...]