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Monthly Archives: March 2006
On Tulips
If you’ve ever planted tulip bulbs, you’ve probably noticed that unlike daffodils, tulips tend not to come back stronger year after year. Constance Casey, writing in Slate, explains why. She’s talking about hybrid tulips, of course. I have some species … Continue reading
Posted in Nature
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On Pseudonyms
In the Guardian, Jonathan Freedland, aka Sam Bourne, discusses why writers choose to publish under pen names. Technorati Tags: writing, pseudonyms
A four-caveat post
Okay, here are the caveats I can count: * Study size is small. * Tanning beds, not actual Real Live sunlight. * There’s something weird about administering prescription psychotropics as a “control” in a study. Weirdos. * Dermatologists? Not exactly … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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Truth is . . . truer than fiction ;-)
Is Wikipedia as accurate as the Encyclopaedia Britannica? If you think you know the answer, be sure to read this piece in TCS Daily by Robert McHenry, former Editor in Chief of the latter publication. Technorati Tags: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Posted in Pop Culture
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Growing brains
New research being published by Nature has found that intelligence is correlated to how the brain develops in adolescence. Brain scans of 307 children showed that the cortices of all the children’s brains thickened during childhood before thinning again. The … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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More unintended consequences
I’ve been looking at this New York Times op-ed, “To All the Girls I’ve Rejected,” by the dean of admissions and financial aid at Kenyon College, Jennifer Delahunty Britz, trying to figure out what to excerpt to pass along the … Continue reading
Posted in Pop Culture
2 Comments
Do you feel . . . lucky?
A study of 700 people suggests that those who consider themselves lucky are no more likely to win lottery prizes than those who don’t. But self-described “lucky” people do catch breaks, because they also tend to be extroverted and open, … Continue reading
Posted in Pop Culture
1 Comment
A case for relying more on self-regulation
This strikes me as eminently sensible: construct a “skeleton of formal regulation” to keep the true sociopaths in check, but otherwise rely on peoples’ self-regulation — which springs from our innate tendency to empathize with others — to keep our … Continue reading
Posted in Pop Culture
2 Comments
Considering the “event dress”
You know what they are, now you know what they’re called: Event dresses are usually unveiled at weddings, awards ceremonies, gala balls and important state events. They soar to the heights and plumb the depths. To borrow the words of … Continue reading
Posted in Pop Culture
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The grey squirrel of grammar
Here’s a companion piece to the Eliza Doolittle post I wrote yesterday. “The grey squirrel of grammar” is the pairing of “there is” with a plural subject, e.g. “there’s five plates on the table.” Like the North American squirrels that … Continue reading
Posted in Pop Culture
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