So says a new survey. Well, “Duh!” But I take issue with the Guardian‘s lede: A truth which has the downside of keeping many true artists poor in garrets and many false ones rich in mansions was universally acknowledged yesterday. The implication, of course, is that there is somehow more artistic merit in an unhappy …
Category: Blog
Bad math at CBC
Introduction to a story on CBC Radio’s 4 p.m. national newscast: The 100-channel universe is becoming more infinite all the time. Um…guys? Something cannot become “more” infinite. It’s either infinite or it isn’t. And if there are currently 100 channels in your universe (mine’s a bit larger than that, but what the hey), then it …
Atwood: reinventing the wheel?
So tell me, how does Margaret Atwood’s long-distance autographing device, the Long Pen, which she’ll be unveiling this weekend, differ from this 19th century invention? (Via Normblog.)
Fore!
Russian astronauts plan to hit a golf ball into orbit from the International Space Station. And there’s a Canadian connection: The plan is part of a commercial deal between the Russian space agency and Element 21 Golf Company, based in Toronto, Canada. NASA has to approve the plan, which some experts fear could create a …
What’s up (scientifically) with hair?
Blondes seem to attract more than their fair share of attention, both positive and negative. From “Blondes have more fun” to a plethora of “blonde jokes,” there’s something about the fair-haired that draws attention. So when Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost wrote a paper, published this week in Evolution and Human Behavior, setting forth an explanation …
Tick-terminating robot
The rise of the robots continues, with news of a tick-catching robot in a denim skirt.
MSM fact-checking strikes (out) again
As a former newspaper reporter and editor I try not to bash the media too much, but… The last paragraph of a just-released UPI item about research on the origin of blondes reads: A study by the World Health Organization found that natural blondes are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are …
Surgery on a beating heart
New Scientist reports: Motion compensation software that synchronises the movement of robotic surgical tools with that of the heart will make it possible to operate without stopping or even slowing the heart down. I do love living in a science-fictional age.
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