-
“Does the Bird’s Launch Speed Depend on the Angle?
If the bird is indeed shot from an elastic cord, then technically the bird should go faster when shot horizontally than when it is shot straight up. Why? Physics.” -
“The good news is that it seems the effects of methane gas can be limited through action by industry. But the economics of drilling, mediated by the actions of regulators, will determine just how “clean” natural gas ultimately proves to be.”
-
“David Edgerton is a historian of technology who has made it his mission to shake us out of conventional thinking about the state-of-the-art machinery which – we fondly imagine – runs our modern world. Much of it is less modern than we like to believe, so Edgerton’s forthcoming book is called The Shock of the Old. In it he makes the case for the rickshaw, the condom, the horse and the sewing machine being as central to where we are, and where we’re going, as the microchip. Where technology is concerned, Edgerton argues, “We live in a world of old and new that doesn’t conform to cliches” – particularly the cliche he calls, venomously, “passe futurism”.”
-
“HowTheLightGetsIn, the philosophy and music festival at Hay on Wye, is back – bigger and better. This year’s festival will have over 350 events, plus a spectacular array of live performances, comedy nights and film screenings. Leading thinkers in every field will mix with cutting edge musicians to excite the imagination and renew the spirit. Check out our full programme and mid-week events.
The theme of this year’s festival is New Gods: Icons and Ideas in a Changed World and in our powerful talks and fiery debates we’ll be examining the big ideas that are set to shape the world in the coming years and decades. “ -
“In the latest twist of a three-year legal case involving copyright and electronic course materials, the lawyers for two prestigious university presses and an academic publisher earlier this month proposed an injunction that, if approved by a judge, would make Georgia State University comply with strict guidelines for copying and distributing copyrighted texts.
Professors and librarians, they say, cannot be counted on to follow the letter of the law — at least, not as the plaintiffs see it.
The injunction would forbid Georgia State professors from making certain amounts of copyrighted material available to students without paying licensing fees to publishers. That would include poems longer than 250 words and essays longer than 2,500 words. Professors would be allowed to scan no more than 1,000 words out of a book (or 10 percent, whichever is less). If any professor ran afoul of those rules, the university could be held liable.”
-
“There’s no consensus – there’s not even a plurality of opinion. Not among fandom at large and not among those dinosaurs the “traditional fanzine fans.”
Look how many different things were nominated in the fan categories this year – 119 fanzines, 225 fan writers. The leading fan writer (whoever that is) appeared only on 22% of the ballots. It was possible to reach the finals in Best Fanzine or Best Fan Artist with support of just 13% of the voters, and in Best Fan Writer with only 9%. Four-fifths of the voters might easily be asking if everyone else really neglected their favorites, but filling in the blank with names [Aidan] Moher never mentioned [in complainint about the nominees]”