Save the Tree Octopus (from Sasquatch)

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Coleridge poem about Kublai Khan, and an exhaustive analysis of that poem. When Marco Polo (allegedly) visited China, he met Kublai Kahn. Very smart and simple architectural solutions to green building (image). Passive solar design versus thorough insulation. Chinese booklet for dealing with English tourists at the Olympics. Students insist Tree Octopus exists because it says so on an internet page. More on this here and here. The external links on this page lead to various online experiments you can participate in. A group of Google employees have started their own search engine to rival Google. It's very promising, but with obvious flaws. And now I shall shamelessly promote the British quiz Quite Interesting. Ten ways to make user comments stir up less contempt for your fellow man.

Pork knuckles in beer batter

Monday, July 28, 2008

All the rage: stealth advertising. It's popping up everywhere. Evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski elegantly responds (warning: conservapedia) to a creationist questioning his research. More about this here. A hundred years later some are still talking about this boozefest. Alcohol is not the reason why we have forgotten how to read. Have you noticed how the use of soundtracks has changed? The psychology of mirrors. If you didn't already have certain ideas about the American South, here's some food for thought. More brain food here and here, if you can stomach it. An interesting but impractical contact lens. Someone collected some precious (occasional profanity) moments of sleep talk.

I like my DNA with mayo

Sunday, July 27, 2008

This article about suboptimisation provides a clear explanation of the tragedy of the commons and the role of the greater good in evolutionary ethics. The concept also relates to business. Is suboptimisation a factor in the rise of eusociality in insects (pdf)? Another possible way that eusociality might have evolved is the genetic trick used by bdelloid rotifers in their asexual reproduction. More on self-organisation in stigmergy, the beautiful psychology of indirectly elicited collaboration. A wikipedia article on swarm intelligence, with a wealth of further concepts to explore. An animation of the Meselson-Stahl experiment that confirmed semi-conservative DNA replication. The subtle nudges of our subconsciousness. Lucid and fun animation of the interesting Benford's Law (video). Tired of science? Try extreme rock-paper-scissors (image). Less subtle (video) is how this Museum of Natural History attracts the attention of kids. A ruthless j'accuse from Orscon Scott Card aimed at J.K. Rowling. And finally, see how the computer 'thinks' in a game of chess (game).