Category: Links Dump

nanoscale views: A (serious) modest proposal "As part of the forthcoming major economic stimulus package, I propose that the Obama administration fully fund the America Competes initiative immediately." (tags: science politics academia economics) ‘Teaching Unprepared Students’ :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education’s Source for News, Views and Jobs "Many experts say that the United… Continue reading links for 2008-11-26

CHART ATTACK!: 11/24/84 | Popdose "When you’re on fire like Lionel Richie in 1984, you can do whatever the hell you want. You can write a song called “Penny Lover,” which is not actually about somebody who loves pennies, or even about someone who loves girls named Penny. And you can sit back and watch… Continue reading links for 2008-11-23

Swans on Tea » How (not) to Cook the Books Fun with Benford’s Law, one of those cool mathematical principles whose name I can never remeber. (tags: science math blogs youtube statistics) Chuck Klosterman reviews Chinese Democracy | The A.V. Club "Reviewing Chinese Democracy is not like reviewing music. It’s more like reviewing a unicorn.… Continue reading links for 2008-11-20

Is getting takeout that much worse for the planet than cooking at home? – By Jacob Leibenluft – Slate Magazine Probably not. (tags: environment science society social-science slate) Michael Nielsen » Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers”, and the 10,000 hour rule "One of the main claims of Outliers is that putting in 10,000 hours of… Continue reading links for 2008-11-19

Kevin Drum – Mother Jones Blog: Conservatives and Unions "Overturning Roe is certainly a conservative priority, but it’s only been on the list for about 30 years. Fighting unions has been on the list for more like 130 years. If it’s not central to the conservative identity in America, I don’t know what is." (tags:… Continue reading links for 2008-11-18

Information Processing: Central limit theorem and securitization: how to build a CDO "[T]he mathematical concepts related to the current financial crisis leave over 95 percent of our population completely baffled. If your Ivy League education didn’t prepare you to understand the following, please ask for your money back." (tags: economics math statistics blogs) Pictures of… Continue reading links for 2008-11-17

How the subprime good guys give home loans to poor people, strengthen communities, and still make a profit. – By Daniel Gross – Slate Magazine "Since 2003, this for-profit firm based in Orange County–home to busted subprime behemoths such as Ameriquest–has issued $220 million worth of mortgages in the Golden State’s subprime killing fields. More… Continue reading links for 2008-11-16

Dw. Dunphy On… Bob Mould | Popdose A series of creative peaks that never translated into sales. Copper Blue remains an amazing album, though. (tags: music review blogs) scottberkun.com » Do we suck at the basics? "The longer I’m on this planet, the more I think the problem with everything is someone’s failure to get… Continue reading links for 2008-11-14

The Supreme Court grapples with the primordial ooze of the Summum case. – By Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine "[T]he current Third Aphorism of Religion Cases: Government establishment of religion is only impermissible when it freaks out Justice Stephen Breyer." (tags: religion politics law silly society culture) Backyard Nukes? | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine… Continue reading links for 2008-11-13

The Case of M. S. El Naschie | The n-Category Café I wouldn’t’ve started a blog if I’d known I could get Elsevier to give me my own journal… (tags: science publishing academia journals stupid) Backreaction: Technetium-99 "what a strange element is technetium in the first place, as without stable isotopes, it marks a gap… Continue reading links for 2008-11-12