Friday, February 20, 2009

Is Genius Born or Can It Be Learned?

Einstein
Is it possible to cultivate genius? Could we somehow structure our educational and social life to produce more Einsteins and Mozarts — or, more urgently these days, another Adam Smith or John Maynard Keynes?

How to produce genius is a very old question, one that has occupied philosophers since antiquity. In the modern era, Immanuel Kant and Darwin's cousin Francis Galton wrote extensively about how genius occurs. Last year, pop-sociologist Malcolm Gladwell addressed the subject in his book Outliers: The Story of Success.

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Via: Time

Thursday, February 19, 2009

8 Popular Pirates Who Were Actually Huge Losers

Jolly Roger
Pop culture positions pirates as daring swashbucklers who fight injustice while seeking fame and fortune. But, characters like Captain Jack Sparrow and Long John Silver don’t really present the truth about piracy. Most pirates lived short, dirty, and unpleasant lives. They rarely–if ever!–captured a ship or uncovered treasure, and most ended life at the end of the hangman’s noose, a great publicity stunt for an unpopular governor or mayor. The following is a list of eight popular pirates who were actually huge losers.

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Via: Ty.rannosaur.us

5 New Alternative Meats

Raccoon meat is cheap if you know of a local trapper
Meat consumption usually means beef, pork, or chicken. Mutton and venison are common also. My favorite Indian restaurant avoids both beef and pork for religious reasons, but sometimes offers goat as an alternative to chicken. In the past few years, rising food prices and concerns about the environment are leading people to try new and different sources of meat. Here are five you may have never thought about.

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Via: Mental Floss

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Leaders Emerge by Talking First and Most Often

Put some random people in a group, give them a task and soon enough a leader will emerge. What is it about that person that makes others grant them the honour of being in charge?

New insight comes from a study published in Personality and Social Psychology, which suggests that leaders emerge through a combination of their own outspoken behaviour, and how this outspoken behaviour is perceived by others.

In two studies Anderson and Kilduff (2009) from the University of California, Berkeley, looked at how dominant individuals in a group were perceived by others in the group. Perceived competence is important because, everything else being equal, it's very difficult to become a leader if everyone in the group thinks that person is a dunce, even if they are extremely dominant. But what Anderson and Kilduff's research showed is that there is a big gap between the actual competence of leaders and the way in which they are perceived by the others.

In the second of two studies Anderson and Kilduff had participants attempting a series of maths problems in competition with another group. The groups were videotaped and the behaviour of their members carefully examined. They found that dominant participants tended to offer more suggestions to the group, and that these individuals were perceived by the group, plus those observing the group, as the most competent.

Crucially, though, the study showed that not only did a leader's dominant behaviour of itself encourage others to see that person as competent, but this was true even though their suggestions to the group were no better, or even worse than others. In reality the leaders did not always make the best contribution to the task, but their voices were usually heard first and most often.

This study suggests leaders emerge through more subtle processes than the word 'dominance' might imply. Rather than brow-beating or bullying others into submission, leaders-in-waiting effectively signal their competence to the group by making greater verbal contributions to discussions. Others then assume that their greater contribution will mean their group will be more likely to succeed.

Outside of the laboratory, of course, money and power has more to do with who leads organisations like corporations or nations. In reality groups of people don't start on egalitarian terms and people don't always 'emerge' from groups of their peers on the basis of who shouts loudest and longest. But this study does tell us something useful about more informal, everyday groups similar to those studied in this research.

Via: PsyBlog

Neatolicious Fun Facts: Beer

4,000-year-old Sumerian tablet
1. Beer is old stuff: Recipe found in 4,000-year-old Sumerian tablet

The first references to beer dates to as early as 6,000 BC. The very first recipe for beer is found on a 4,000-year-old Sumerian tablet containing the Hymn to Ninkasi, a prayer to the goddess of brewing. It tells how to brew beer from barley:

The filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound, You place appropriately on [top of] a large collector vat.
Ninkasi, the filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound, You place appropriately on a [top of] a large collector vat.


If you're curious as to how the world's oldest beer tastes like, the Anchor Brewing Company produced a limited edition beer (under the Ninkasi label) based on the recipe.

LINK

Via: Neatorama

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

A Promising Treatment for Athletes, in the Blood

Dr. Allan K. Mishra, examines a tube containing platelet rich plasma used to mend tendons and ligaments without surgery.
Two of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ biggest stars, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu, used their own blood in an innovative injury treatment before winning the Super Bowl. At least one major league pitcher, about 20 professional soccer players and perhaps hundreds of recreational athletes have also undergone the procedure, commonly called platelet-rich plasma therapy.

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Via: The New York Times

Monday, February 16, 2009

Your Astrological Sign May Not Be What You Think It Is

If you were born between March 21 and April 19, your astrological sign is said to be Aries. But this was only true for a while, back when the system was set up in 600 BC. Today, the Sun is no longer within the constellation of Aries during much of that period. From March 11 to April 18, the Sun is actually in the constellation of Pisces!
It's a great conversation starter: "What's your sign?"

But before you ask or answer that question, consider this: your zodiac sign corresponds to the position of the sun relative to constellations as they appeared over 2200 years ago!

The science behind astrology may have its roots in astronomy but don’t confuse these two disciplines. Astronomy can explain the position of the stars in the sky but it’s up to you to determine what, if anything, their alignment signifies.

LINK

Via: Live Science

7 Banned Classics

Photo Via florian.b [Flickr]
Many people are aware that Harry Potter, The Anarchist Cookbook and Steven King books have been banned from schools around the country, but as many civilizations have figured out, censorship is a slippery slope. It is pretty strange to consider Shakespeare has not only been banned from public schools over sexual themes, but that censored editions have been out since the 1700s.
Of the Radcliffe Publishing list of the top 100 books of the past century, almost half have been challenged by schools, many are banned in whole countries. Here’s a few banned titles that just may surprise you:

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Via: Neatorama

Friday, February 13, 2009

5 Reasons to Have Sex Today!

Get laid
What would Valentine’s Day be without an opportunity to mention the three-letter word that gets everyone so riled up? Yes, you guessed it–I’m talking about at a little S-E-X. So, let’s chat, shall we? Beyond being just one-heck-of-good-time, medical studies report that an active sex life contributes to a longer and more fulfilling life. So come on, everybody’s doing it (or at least the lucky ones), and here are five reasons for you to join in:

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Via: Care 2

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Reinventing Darwin: Quotable things he never said

A copy of Charles Darwin's book
Even the guardians of Darwin's flame got it wrong. Charles Darwin, born 200 years ago Thursday, single-handedly shapeshifted our understanding of the natural world.
But his powerful insights into evolution were written in a wordy, Victorian style and did not always emerge in compact, haiku-like nuggets of wisdom.
"His writings can be quite hard going," notes Darwin scholar and Cambridge professor John van Wyhe. "Often you have to read a whole chapter to know what he is talking about."
Which may be why no single sentence is cited more frequently as a distillation of the great man's ideas than this one: "It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change."
It's etched in marble at the California Academy of Sciences and was cited last week by the Cite de Sciences in Paris.
A close runner up: "In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment."
The British Natural History Museum website singled out that gem for a massive celebratory exhibit.

To make matters worse, neither quote is faithful to his ideas about the role of natural selection in evolution.

"These pithy little sayings try to encapsulate Darwin," Wyhe said by phone, amused and annoyed in equal measure.
"Unfortunately all of them are actually rather wrong."
It is not the species that are most responsive to change that are likely to survive, he explained.
"It is the ones that are lucky, or already have the right features that can be passed on to the next generation."

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Via: Physorg.com

Black History Month: 5 Must-See Underrated Movies

Bamboozled
Am I the only one that remembers it’s Black History Month? I we finally have a black president, but does that mean we don’t have black history month anymore? Last I checked, it’s still on the calendar.

If you do want to celebrate black history month, you may enjoy watching a few great films regarding race and our society. I know everyone thinks of Malcolm X, Amistad and The Color Purple when they think of African American films, but here are five great movies that tend to get overlooked.

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Via: Neatorama

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

MP3: Scientific Attempt To Create Most Annoying Song Ever

Vitaly Komar, Alex Melamid and David Soldier
An online poll conducted in the '90s set Vitaly Komar, Alex Melamid and David Soldier on a quest to create the most annoying song ever. After gathering data about people's least favorite music and lyrical subjects, they did the unthinkable: they combined them into a single monstrosity, specifically engineered to sound unpleasant to the maximum percentage of listeners.

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Via: Wired Blog

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

© ISTOCKPHOTO / ALiJA
If your loved one claims to “only have eyes for you” this Valentine’s Day, it might be truer than you think. Research shows that people in a committed relationship who have been thinking about their partner actually avert their eyes from attractive members of the opposite sex without even being aware they are doing it.

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Via: Scientific American

Is Wal-Mart Good or Evil? Charles Platt finds out.

Charles Platt
Sci-fi author and journalist Charles Platt (he’s an editor of our pal Make magazine) decided that he’s going to find out once and for all whether Walmart is evil or good so he applied for a job there!

A week later, I found myself in an elite group of 10 successful applicants convening for two (paid) days of training in the same claustrophobic, windowless room. As we introduced ourselves, I discovered that more than half had already worked at other Wal-Marts. Having relocated to this area, they were eager for more of the same.

Why? Gradually the answer became clear. Imagine that you are young and relatively unskilled, lacking academic qualifications. Which would you prefer: standing behind the register at a local gas station, or doing the same thing in the most aggressively successful retailer in the world, where ruthless expansion is a way of life, creating a constant demand for people to fill low-level managerial positions? A future at Wal-Mart may sound a less-than-stellar prospect, but it's a whole lot better than no future at all.

In addition, despite its huge size, the corporation turned out to have an eerie resemblance to a Silicon Valley startup. There was the same gung-ho spirit, same lack of dogma, same lax dress code, same informality - and same interest in owning a piece of the company. All of my coworkers accepted the offer to buy Wal-Mart stock by setting aside $2 of every paycheck.


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Via: NY Post

Monday, February 9, 2009

AIG Implodes: The Two Cows Version

The Two Cows Version
Still confused about how AIG lost its shirt by going into the securities lending business big time? We understand. It's terribly complex and full of words that make your eyes glaze over.

So we decided to break it down into the simplest terms Wall Street transactions can be explained: the two cows story.

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Via: ClusterStock

The Great College Hoax

Mindy Babbitt entered Davenport University in her mid-20s to study accounting. Unable to cover the costs with her previous earnings as a cosmetologist, she took out a $35,000 student loan at 9% interest, figuring her postgraduate income would cover the cost.



Instead, the entry-level job her bachelor’s degree got her barely covered living expenses. Babbitt deferred loan repayments and was then laid off for a time. Now 41 and living in Plainwell, Mich., she is earning $41,000 a year, or about $10,000 more than the average high school graduate makes. But since she graduated, Babbitt’s student loan balance has more than doubled, to $87,000, and she despairs she’ll never pay it off.



LINK



Via: Forbes

The Great College Hoax

Higher education can be a financial disaster. Especially with the return on degrees down and student loan sharks on the prowl.
Mindy Babbitt entered Davenport University in her mid-20s to study accounting. Unable to cover the costs with her previous earnings as a cosmetologist, she took out a $35,000 student loan at 9% interest, figuring her postgraduate income would cover the cost.

Instead, the entry-level job her bachelor’s degree got her barely covered living expenses. Babbitt deferred loan repayments and was then laid off for a time. Now 41 and living in Plainwell, Mich., she is earning $41,000 a year, or about $10,000 more than the average high school graduate makes. But since she graduated, Babbitt’s student loan balance has more than doubled, to $87,000, and she despairs she’ll never pay it off.

LINK

Via: Forbes

Top 10 Fascinating Skydiving Myths

Skydivers pull a rip cord
Skydiving is the single most exciting sport there is. Nothing even comes close to the exhilaration you feel when floating on a cushion of air, and flying your canopy safely to the ground. It’s also very misunderstood, and filled with many common fallacies and misconceptions that keep most people from trying this beautiful sport. It’s heavily regulated by national organizations and in comparison to past decades and studying statistics, it’s surprisingly safe! To participate in it regularly, you’re required to obtain sufficient training and a license. It can be a long, expensive process to get your license, but once you do, the feeling of accomplishment is like no other. I highly suggest you try it at least once in your life.

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Via: The List Universe

Friday, February 6, 2009

Seeing Red: Tweak Your Brain With Colors


For an all-natural brain boost, skip the pills and hit the colors.

In the latest and most authoritative study on color's cognitive effects, test subjects given attention-demanding tasks did best when primed with the color red. Asked to be creative, they responded best to blue.

"Color enhances performance," said study co-author Juliet Zhu, a University of British Columbia psychologist.

LINK

Via: Wired

Fired exec: 'Starbucks saved my life'

Michael Gates Gill
After 26 years at J. Walter Thompson, a leading advertising agency, the then 63-year-old Gill was invited to an early breakfast and was told that he was getting the boot. He made too much money. Someone younger would work for less, he was told.

"I remember walking outside and bursting into tears," he says over a steaming cup of coffee at his current place of employment, a Starbucks in Bronxville, New York. "I was stunned. I knew that that part of my life was over."

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Via:CNN International

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Ancient Snake Was As Long As a Bus

43 foot snake
"It's the biggest snake the world has ever known," said Jason Head, a paleontologist at the University of Toronto Mississauga and part of an international team who discovered and identified the snake bones. He added, "The snake's body was so wide that if it were moving down the hall and decided to come into my office to eat me, it would literally have to squeeze through the door."

Titanoboa cerrejonensis, were discovered in the Cerrejon Coal Mine in northern Colombia. From the fossilized vertebrae, the researchers conservatively estimate the snake weighed about 2,500 pounds (1,140 kg) and measured nearly 43 feet (13 meters) from nose to tail tip.

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Via: Live Science

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Creatively Speaking: Shai Reshef

University of the People
A new university is opening its doors this April, and guess what? It’s going to be 100% tuition-free!
University of the People, the brainchild of an Israeli entrepreneur named Shai Reshef, will be a virtual school, the world’s first tuition-free, Internet-based academic institution. The idea is pretty remarkable in its simplicity: provide universal access to college—even in the poorest parts of the world.
“Education, just like democracy, should be a right, not a privilege,” says Reshef.

Via: Mental Floss

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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Wicked Sliding House by dRMM Architects

Sliding House
With a sleek and minimalist approach to adaptable living, here’s a sophisticated house that likes to “travel”. Located in a rural site in Suffolk, England, and dubbed the Sliding House, it has mobile walls and a roof that glides along rails to cover and uncover the static parts of the 28 meters long dwelling. Work of London-based architects from dRMM, the ingenious design alters views, lighting conditions and the sense of enclosure inside. Though it’s not the home of our dreams, it’s an amazing exercise of design with a stunning outcome. Our only concern is about the cost. Looks expensive, doesn’t it?

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