Edward Willett

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Searching out shipwrecks

Earlier this month, a company called Odyssey Marine Explorations Inc. announced that it has discovered the sunken wreck of the S.S. Republic, a steamer that went down in a hurricane off Savannah, Georgia, on October 25, 1865, carrying $400,000 in $20 gold coins--worth $120 to $180 million today. There was a time when sending a ship to Davy Jones’s Locker was thought permanent. These days, though, thanks to technological advances, Davy Jones’s Locker doesn’t seem all that well locked. That’s got a lot of would-be treasure hunters and archaeologists alike very excited: by UNESCO’s estimate, there are three million sunken ships scattered around the world’s oceans. Traditionally, treasure hunters and archaeologists have been in ...

Posted by Edward Willett at 16:19, August 26th, 2003 under Blog, Columns, Science Columns | Comment now »

Lie detectors

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a machine that could tell you when someone is lying?  Some people believe that there is.  It's called a "polygraph"--popularly known as a "lie detector"--and it's been in the news lately, both in Washington and in Regina.  Other people, however, will tell you that the polygraph is a fraud, no better at telling who's lying and who isn't than flipping a coin.  Lie detectors are based on the theory that the stress of being caught lying causes changes in bodily functions.  The ancient Chinese understood this.  They'd ask a subject an easy question, such as, "Is your name Li?" Then they'd ask the subject to put a handful of rice, ...

Posted by Edward Willett at 5:35, July 31st, 2001 under Blog, Columns, Science Columns | Comment now »