Author Archive
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
What fraction of people who have ever lived are alive today?
It is sometimes said that the most of the people who have ever lived are alive today. This is obviously not true (see below), but leads to the more interesting question: what fraction of all the people who have ever lived are alive today, and when will this figure reach its maximum? This is not […]
Comments Off on What fraction of people who have ever lived are alive today? - Posted in Economics,Science,Social by Happy
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
You have two cows…
An oldie but a goodie, with a few new additions. SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows, and you give one to your neighbour. COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk. FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk. NAZISM: You have 2 cows. […]
Comments Off on You have two cows… - Posted in Fun by Happy
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Janus words
Words that can have virtually opposite meanings depending on context. As an example, the original/base meaning of to moot is to discuss or debate, as in moot court. Thus a moot point would be something to be discussed or debated, with arguments for and against, yet to be agreed. As a contranym, a moot point […]
Comments Off on Janus words - Posted in Language by Happy
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Agnotology – culturally induced ignorance or doubt
“Agnotology, formerly agnatology, is a neologism for the study of culturally-induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data. The term was coined by Robert N. Proctor,[1][2] a Stanford University professor specializing in the history of science and technology.[3] Its name derives from the Greek word ἀγνῶσις, agnÅsis, “not knowing”; and […]
Comments Off on Agnotology – culturally induced ignorance or doubt - Posted in Politics,Social by Happy
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
The “Shaky Table” puzzle
A mathematician goes into a restaurant and is seated at a square table, which he notices is unstable. The table has four legs evenly spaced, but although the floor is smooth he can see it is quite uneven. As a result one leg of the table does not quite reach the floor. The waiter offers […]
Comments Off on The “Shaky Table” puzzle - Posted in puzzle by Happy
Saturday, September 6th, 2008
Upgraded to WordPress 2.6 — more news
Turns out the upgrade is far from smooth. They did something to the database to support a better structure for categories and tags. The result is that the conversion and database upgrade deleted the names of all my categories. It also did some rather strange name mangling. That took a bit of database editing and […]
Comments Off on Upgraded to WordPress 2.6 — more news - Posted in Tools by Happy
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Upgraded to WordPress 2.6
The site has just been upgraded to WordPress 2.6. Very smooth, as long as it worked! This is a test post, to test whether the –more– line in Scribefire works yet.
Comments Off on Upgraded to WordPress 2.6 - Posted in General by Happy
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
Why there is something and not nothing
Why is there something and not nothing? I know the answer, because Jesus and Mo told me. http://www.jesusandmo.net/2008/08/01/silly/ Love those guys!
Comments Off on Why there is something and not nothing - Posted in Fun,Philosophy by Happy
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Teaching about religion in schools
The question arises whether religion should be taught in school, whether it should be banned, or whether some middle position is preferred.
Comments Off on Teaching about religion in schools - Posted in Beliefs,Social by Happy
Monday, July 28th, 2008
My cookie strategy
Assuming Firefox…the best strategy I can find is this: 1. Set all cookies to be allowed, but discarded at end of session. Tools | Options | Privacy | Accept cookies from sites | Keep until: I close Firefox. 2. Discard ALL your cookies. Tools | Options | Privacy | Show Cookies | Remove All Cookies […]