Post: #26

(09-11-2012 07:13 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  A sleeping pill has been accidentally discovered to stimulate brain activity in brain damaged patients, with the result that some patients in permanent coma have awoken and started talking. Some amazing and heartwarming stories in this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/s...dwellbeing

Wow, thats a crazy article.

Post: #27

Science continues to prove that being fat makes you sick:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...163105.htm

Post: #28

Science just killed any hope you ever had of Jurassic Park being real.

Post: #29

Researchers have discovered why you get sleepy during a long boring meeting or a classroom lecture: It's because rising CO2 levels generated by many humans in a closed space may be suppressing your brain.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...162420.htm

Post: #30

You can now make your own drinking water from sea water using this cool physics hack device:
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680613/an-ex...-thirsty#1

Post: #31

Much props to any posts that question the validity of Costner's "Water World."

Post: #32

I've been tracking down the work of KA Ericsson, the man who discovered the 10 000 hour rule.

"We review evidence for superior reproducible performance, generally emerging only after extended periods of deliberate practice that result in subsequent physiological adaptations and complex cognitive mechanisms. We also apply this framework to examine proposed evidence for innate talents. With the exception of fixed genetic factors determining body size and height, we were unable to find evidence for innate constraints to the attainment of elite achievement for healthy individuals."

Translation: It's not what you're born with, it's how many hours you dedicate to play the game.

It's a very liberating idea. You are only limited by your own lack of hours into your chosen skill set.

The classic summing up of his research:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u81..._2007_.pdf

Post: #33

What did everyone think of Prometheus? I just caught it the other day.

Post: #34

(10-27-2012 02:29 PM)houston Wrote:  What did everyone think of Prometheus? I just caught it the other day.

The movie? I couldnt watch it trough. Its as if Hollywood just gave up.

Post: #35

I thought it was alright!! They're already making a sequel where they go to the Paradise. I've always said I wouldn't be surprised if we're some alien's ant farm...

Post: #36

(10-10-2012 10:20 AM)soup Wrote:  Science just killed any hope you ever had of Jurassic Park being real.

That's a bummer.

I hope we can still revive the Woolly Mammoth, though.

Post: #37

Prometheus was absolute crap, and I come to this from the perspective of someone who loved the first two Alien movies and was desperately hoping that Ridley Scott's return would unmire the franchise from the depths it had sunk to. Instead, I snuck into the movie and still thought it was a waste. There was a lot of potential in the setup that was ditched in favor of nonsensical "set pieces" that had no justification or story impact; they existed only because the screenwriter thought it would be fun to explode an animated head on screen.

Back to science.

Quote:It's not what you're born with, it's how many hours you dedicate to play the game.

It's a very liberating idea.

And there's a lot of soft science to support this (see "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" for an entire book on the subject of "fixed talent" vs "growth" mindsets) plus some hard science as well; I recently read a paper by Xue and Xu (http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.2140) which showed that myelinated nerve sheaths propagate signals as if they were waveguides, and unmyelinated sheaths propagated signals more slowly, a physical implementation of the slightly softer theory from Dan Coyle's "The Talent Code" (a must read) which showed that the more one practiced on the edge of ability, the more the relevant nerve pathways became more sheathed in myelin.

Practice literally rewires your nervous system to be more efficient along the most desired paths. And if that's not motivation to get under the bar, learn a new language, and approach women, I'm not sure what would be.

Post: #38

(10-29-2012 03:15 AM)houston Wrote:  I thought it was alright!! They're already making a sequel where they go to the Paradise. I've always said I wouldn't be surprised if we're some alien's ant farm...

@Houstin, dont listen to them .That movie kicked ass! It was so orginal because of their futuristic space suits, awsume vehicles, and cool story. These are the same people that loved "Ocean's Thirteen", "The Artist", and hated "Inception"

Post: #39

Woman gives birth to a mummy baby

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithopedion

Post: #40

(12-10-2012 11:47 AM)soup Wrote:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithopedion

Post: #41

Zombies in nature: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/scienc...3697EA5BBC

Post: #42

(12-11-2012 12:04 PM)Menace Wrote:  Zombies in nature: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/scienc...3697EA5BBC

Dan Dennet talks about this stuff when discussing the complexities of evolution. That parasite got mad game.

Post: #43

Quirky Kepler Space Kit
http://www.quirky.com/blog/post/2012/12/...-space-kit

Now you can send shit to space!

Post: #44

Wait..im suppose to stick an already expensive camera or phone in a product that is also probably gonna be expensive as fuck....and let it off into the atmosphere.

Then pick it up myself.

Aint nobody got time fo dat...or money

Post: #45

How warpdrive would work and it's future implimentation

Post: #46

Post: #47

Damn, walking on the Amazon at night with your friends must be awesome! I have to try it sometime....

Post: #48

This shit makes me want to get a PhD in a STEM field. What publications do you guys read? Besides popsci.

Post: #49

(01-25-2013 02:50 AM)magellan Wrote:  This shit makes me want to get a PhD in a STEM field. What publications do you guys read? Besides popsci.

Is there any value in a PhD? I.e. can anyone comment on the return on investment of one of those things?

Post: #50

(01-25-2013 03:39 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

(01-25-2013 02:50 AM)magellan Wrote:  This shit makes me want to get a PhD in a STEM field. What publications do you guys read? Besides popsci.

Is there any value in a PhD? I.e. can anyone comment on the return on investment of one of those things?

I've done a lot of reading on it since it's something I've been interested in for a long time. PhysicsForums.com is a good resource for learning more. The takeaway is that there are a lot more PhDs being churned out than there are positions at universities. Some end up in industry, some end up in something completely different that employs their quant skills, other unemployed, etc. If you're like me and would want to pursue a PhD for the purpose of doing some ground breaking research, then it really seems like the chances of getting to do that are pretty slim. And the money isn't all that, especially for that level of education.