Author Archive
Monday, May 17th, 2010
A Rare Blend of Monster Raving Egomania and Utter Batshit Insanity
It’s rare to read a negative book review from the scientific community written with this kind of candour and certainty. Stephen Wolfram of course is the author of Mathematica and a pretty bright lad. Seems he went astray somewhere, or at least this reviewer thinks so. The book is “A New Kind of Science”. The […]
Comments Off on A Rare Blend of Monster Raving Egomania and Utter Batshit Insanity - Posted in Fun,Language,Science by Happy
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Malamanteaus
Flustrated Misunderestimated Heathengelical Spontanimosity Exorberant Traumajesty Overflowded Ambiviolence Craptcular Fugly Manscaping Misconscrewed Malamanteau These are all malamanteaus. Anyone need that explained? Anyone know any others? For those desperate enough: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Malamanteau#original_text_and_creation_information.
Comments Off on Malamanteaus - Posted in Fun,Language by Happy
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
A huge asteroid is set to collide with the the earth…
Sometimes, I feel just like this… (the little girl, that is.)Sorry, unknown attribution.
Comments Off on A huge asteroid is set to collide with the the earth… - Posted in Fun,Philosophy by Happy
Monday, May 10th, 2010
What’s Greek for Venn diagram?
http://thisisindexed.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/card2564.jpg
Comments Off on What’s Greek for Venn diagram? - Posted in Economics,Fun by Happy
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
A modest puzzle on probabilities
Two witnesses provided evidence in court. Tom is a somewhat reliable witness giving accurate testimony 70% of the time. Harry is less reliable, giving accurate testimony 60% of the time. Both testified to the same effect. What is the chance that their evidence was indeed accurate ? Think carefully now. [Thanks to Mark W for […]
Comments Off on A modest puzzle on probabilities - Posted in Fun,puzzle by Happy
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Shine is a bit of an odd word
Shine as a verb means self-luminous. Emitting its own light (or metaphorically so). The sun shines brightly. The winner’s face shone radiantly. Shine as a noun or adjective means reflective. Reflecting light that falls on it. Put a shine on those boots, lad! The material we have is too shiny. There appears to be no […]
Comments Off on Shine is a bit of an odd word - Posted in Language by Happy
Saturday, May 1st, 2010
The Anglo Disease
Take a country that has become rich through a combination of natural resources, manufacturing and trade. Let it discover that goods can be imported at lower prices from countries with lower labour costs. Consider the finance sector, where instant profits today can be made by capturing cash flows from the future. Watch the finance sector […]
Comments Off on The Anglo Disease - Posted in Economics,Politics by Happy
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
An avatar?
This is a scrabble tile. I might use it as an avatar.
1 Comment » - Posted in General by Happy
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Is an ageing society such a bad thing?
This article argues that an ageing society has a significant upside. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627550.100-the-shock-of-the-old-welcome-to-the-elderly-age.html?full=true The Japanese will soon be the first where 50% of the population are 50 or older. It’s likely that 50% of all the humans who ever reached the age of 65 are alive now. But as we are now finding out an ageing […]
Comments Off on Is an ageing society such a bad thing? - Posted in Economics,Health,Social by Happy
Monday, March 29th, 2010
What personality type are you?
This article is about Keirsey personality types. See http://www.keirsey.com. Keirsey describes four main types. Guardians speak mostly of their duties and responsibilities, of what they cankeep an eye on and take good care of, and they’re careful to obey thelaws, follow the rules, and respect the rights of others. (SJ 40-45%) Idealists speak mostly of […]