stargaming's Feed

Diamonds on Demand | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine

stargaming — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:34:00 -0400

Lab-grown gemstones are now practically indistinguishable from mined diamonds. Scientists and engineers see a world of possibilities; jewelers are less enthusiastic Tagged by stargaming under ecology,

Astronomers get best view yet of infant stars at feeding time | Eureka! Science News

stargaming — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:14:00 -0400

Astronomers have used ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer to conduct the first high resolution survey that combines spectroscopy and interferometry on intermediate-mass infant stars. Tagged by stargaming under universe,

Google's Super Satellite Captures First Image | Wired Science from Wired.com

stargaming — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:40:00 -0400

This bird's-eye view of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania was the first image ever seen by the GeoEye-1, the world's highest-resolution commercial satellite sponsored by Google, when it opened its camera door earlier this week. Tagged by stargaming under google,

MattMaroon.com » Blog Archive » When Is A Small Sample Really A Small Sample?

stargaming — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:05:00 -0400

This is a very common fallacy in statistical analysis, and one reason its tough to trust most social sciences' studies. They find a large dataset, throw a few hundred variables together, and see what ends up as significant to a 5% alpha level. By definition, 5% of the variables will be significant even if there is absolutely no relation, so it is easy to find relationships that are significant, simplify the model, and then claim to have found some truth. Tagged by stargaming under math,

TG Daily - 'Unbreakable' quantum cryptography hacked without detection using lasers

stargaming — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:53:00 -0400

A Norwegian University of Science student has discovered a vulnerability in what was previously thought to be unbreakable quantum encryption. He is using a form of high intensity laser light to intercept the encrypted data stream covertly. Tagged by stargaming under crypto, security,

5 Great Science Books to Expand Your Mind - ReadWriteWeb

stargaming — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:04:00 -0400

The recently discovered science of complex systems is about common patterns that span diverse disciplines from physics to biology, from ecology to economics. This recent science of patterns is directly relevant to what we are doing around the Web. In this post we will discuss 5 different books that will get you fired up about modern science. Tagged by stargaming under science, books,

Not Exactly Rocket Science : Carbon nanotechnology in an 17th century Damascus sword

stargaming — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:06:00 -0400

In medieval times, the Muslims cut through the invaders using a very special type of sword, which quickly gained a mythical reputation among the Europeans. These 'Damascus blades' were extraordinarily strong, but still flexible enough to bend from hilt to tip. And they were reputedly so sharp that they could cleave a silk scarf floating to the ground, just as readily as a knight's body. Tagged by stargaming under chemistry,

Scientific debate is changing | User-generated science | The Economist

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:02:00 -0400

Now change is afoot. Earlier this month the latest version of Research Blogging launched, a website which acts as a hub for scientists to discuss peer-reviewed science. Such discussions, the internet-era equivalent of the journal club, have hitherto been strewn across the web, making them hard to find, navigate and follow. The new portal provides users with tools to label blog posts about particular pieces of research, which are then aggregated, indexed and made available online. Tagged by stargaming under science, web,

Secrets of the Framework Creators

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0400

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to take your Python programming to a higher level. We are not going to do this by throwing Scary Computer Science Stuff at you. There is no discussion of algorithms, runtime complexity, or data structures. We are simply going to make you aware of some advanced features of the Python programming language. Tagged by stargaming under python,

'Pre-crime' detector shows promise - Short Sharp Science - New Scientist

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:50:00 -0400

Last year, New Scientist revealed that the US Department of Homeland Security is developing a system designed to detect "hostile thoughts" in people walking through border posts, airports and public places. The DHS says recent tests prove it works. Tagged by stargaming under psychology, security,

Hacker News | 10 Books that will Substitute A Computer Science Degree debate?

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:47:00 -0400

Degrees are not just about the literal content. They are three/four/five/ years of intense experience in a play pen where highly skilled people correct your every move and thoughts guiding you toward a greater understanding. Tagged by stargaming under science, education, books,

Detecting earthquakes with laptops | Shake it all about | The Economist

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:44:00 -0400

A group of researchers led by Jesse Lawrence of Stanford University are putting the accelerometer chip to an intriguing new use: detecting earthquakes. They plan to create a network of volunteer laptops that can map out future quakes in far greater detail than traditional seismometers manage. Tagged by stargaming under geography, science,

Quake-Catcher Network Home Page

stargaming — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:43:00 -0400

Welcome to the Quake-Catcher Network. The Quake-Catcher Network is a collaborative initiative for developing the worlds largest, low-cost strong-motion seismic network by utilizing sensors in and attached to internet-connected computers. Tagged by stargaming under geography, science,

MIT solves 100-year-old engineering problem | Eureka! Science News

stargaming — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:51:00 -0400

As a car accelerates up and down a hill then slows to follow a hairpin turn, the airflow around it cannot keep up and detaches from the vehicle. This aerodynamic separation creates additional drag that slows the car and forces the engine to work harder. Tagged by stargaming under physics,

The Futurologian Congress

stargaming — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:20:00 -0400

In The Futurological Congress, Stanislaw Lem's protagonist finds himself discussing futurology with a scientist and discovers it has been superceded by futurology — the science of predicting the future by making up words and guessing what they might mean. Tagged by stargaming under humour, linguistics,

Senate Boosts Funding for Laser Weapons

stargaming — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:27:00 -0400

The Senate has embraced last year's Defense Science Board conclusion that directed-energy weapons -- such as high-, medium- and low-power lasers -- hold great potential and should be developed as soon as possible. Tagged by stargaming under military,

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Hadron Collider forced to halt

stargaming — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:13:00 -0400

Plans to begin smashing particles at the Large Hadron Collider LHC may be delayed after a magnet failure forced engineers to halt work. Tagged by stargaming under lhc,

Could inner zombie be controlling your brain? - Science- msnbc.com

stargaming — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:16:00 -0400

If you had to sum up the past 40 years of research on the mind, you could do worse than to call it the Rise of the Zombies. Tagged by stargaming under psychology,

Edge: THE FOURTH QUADRANT: A MAP OF THE LIMITS OF STATISTICS By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

stargaming — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:04:00 -0400

The current subprime crisis has been doing wonders for the reception of any ideas about probability-driven claims in science, particularly in social science, economics, and "econometrics" (quantitative economics). Tagged by stargaming under math, science, market,

Vital Signs - Study Finds People Eat More After Mental Workouts - NYTimes.com

stargaming — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:54:00 -0400

Could thinking make you fat? Maybe. A small Canadian study has found that people eat more after an intellectual exercise than they do after just sitting quietly for the same amount of time. Tagged by stargaming under biology, science,