Beautiful Universe Astronomy Quiz.
I got 18/20. I blame those two missed points on the fact that I’m a geologist.
Categories
Author: Alex
Categories
Words fail me.
Council bans parents from play areas
Thank you, England, for reminding me that the United States is not necessarily the world leader in the Out Of Their F****** Minds arms race. I’m waiting for a town in the US to pick this one up; we can’t let the Brits stay ahead of us long when it comes to ridiculous fear mongering.
I think what hurts my brain the most about this is the logic that parents can apparently not be trusted to be in a park with their children, but can in fact be trusted to, you know, take those kids home.
She said: “Sadly, in today’s climate, you can’t have adults walking around unchecked in a children’s playground and the adventure playground is not a meeting place for adults.”
In today’s climate? And what climate would that be… total paranoia?
Categories
Know your internet laws.
There will be a quiz.
Internet rules and laws: the top 10, from Godwin to Poe
Poe’s Law is a beloved old friend of mine, as is Godwin’s Law. Double points if you can mix the two. Funny enough, when I run in to Poe’s Law material, I automatically assume that anything that ridiculous must be parody until proven otherwise. This may not be the best position to take, since it means I tend to think people are more sane and have better senses of humor than is actually true. And this has led to some truly jaw-dropping moments of “BZUH?”
Also, I’d been unaware of Danth’s Law until now, but the example used to illustrate it (Lansky pwning Schlafly) still never fails to make me chortle with glee.
Categories
Gotten punched in the arm lately?
I got my seasonal flu jab (as the fiance would say it) yesterday afternoon, and I do indeed feel like I got punched in the arm, even after taking the precaution of getting the shot in my right arm. (Since I’m right handed, I was hoping that would help me work out that “punched in the arm” feeling sooner.) Even if it’s a little annoying, I take the pain as a point of pride. Some of it is because after years of practicing kung fu, you start seeing bruises as a badge of just how hardcore you are. But also, I see it as a badge of honor that says “Hey, I want to make the people who live in my community just a little safer.”
As usual this time of year, I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t want to get a flu shot, because they never get the flu anyway and the flu isn’t that bad. Well, if you’re a twenty-something with a suitably horse-like immune system, you could definitely argue the point. Now, first off I have to say anyone who claims the flu isn’t all that bad has:
a) Never had the actual flu.
b) Never known anyone that’s had the actual flu.
c) Is possibly doing psychoactive drugs.
Some sniffles and a day or two of a low fever isn’t the flu. Neither is an annoying cough that takes a couple weeks to go away but leaves you otherwise feeling dandy. No, the flu is flat-on-you-back can’t-move-a-muscle fever for a week straight with a severe cough and a lot of other unpleasant baggage. I’ve managed to never have the flu thus far, and boy do I feel lucky. My best friend, who teaches first grade, caught H1N1 from one of her little germ factories and it seems to have been one of the most miserable experiences of her life.
But getting the flu shot isn’t about you to begin with. It’s about your granny, your five-year-old niece, and your neighbor who is immune compromised because she’s getting treated for breast cancer. It’s about trying to muster up enough immunity in the “herd” surrounding these people that they won’t catch the flu. If you get the flu, you get a week of misery and another week of not-quite misery where you spend a lot of time laying in bed, being bored and watching daytime television. If these vulnerable people get the flu, it’s worse, it’s longer, and it could very well kill them.
So I got my flu shot for my dad, who is diabetic and over fifty. I also got it for my women’s studies teacher, who is pregnant. And for the grandmothers and cancer survivors and little kids that I don’t know, but who also don’t deserve to get sick because I was intimidated by a little poke in the arm.
Stop being selfish, stop making excuses, and just go get your darn flu shot already.
A couple of links, because as we all know the world needs more Mark Crislip:
Flu Vaccine Efficacy
More Flu Woo For You, Boo Boo
Both of the above entries have been made in to podcasts as well.
And from Joe, also at Science Based Medicine, responding to the inane “18 reasons why you should not vaccinate your children against the flu this season.”: 9 Reasons to Completely Ignore Joseph Mercola
Categories
Two interesting science bits for today.
Presidential election outcome changed voters’ testosterone – people are getting an immature giggle out of this one, since it just begs for jokes about Obama unmanning the opposition. I think it’s more an interesting look at the effects of perceived defeat, rather than a chance to meditate on how Obama is a psychologically castrating force for conservatives.
Discovery of the Largest Orbweaving Spider Species: The Evolution of Gigantism in Nephila – Very cool stuff about spider evolution. io9 has a really neat gallery of pictures of the species.
I figure most people are already familiar with the entire “Balloon Boy” incident that happened in Colorado six days ago. But just in case, a quick recap:
A Colorado family, apparently famous for having been on the reality TV show “Wife Swap” claimed that their six-year-old son, Falcon Heene, had somehow climbed in to an experimental weather balloon that they had tethered in the backyard, and the balloon subsequently lifted off. For the next several hours, authorities in Colorado went bonkers trying to figure out how to get the presumably terrified six-year-old out of the balloon without causing him to plummet to his death. During the time the balloon was aloft, Denver International Airport had to be temporarily shut down because the balloon wandered in to its air space. Eventually, the balloon came to the ground due to partial deflation, and it was discovered the boy was not inside; some claimed that they’d seen “part of the balloon” fall off and it was feared the boy had fallen to his death. Eventually the boy was discovered safe at home, and his father claimed that he’d been hiding in the attic over the garage the whole time.
On its face, the story seemed bizarre, but not completely unbelievable. I admit that when I first heard it, I had three major questions, however.
1) How did a six-year-old kid manage to quietly hide in the attic for that long a period without being detected by the police, or by his parents who would presumably know that he could be up there?
2) Six-year-old kids aren’t exactly light; was that balloon actually big enough to carry him up?
3) Am I only feeling this suspicious because people keep bringing up that Heene and his family were on a reality TV show and that makes him sound kind of skeevey?
Apparently, those were the two questions to ask. It was a hoax, and the police are planning to press charges. Apparently the police had one of the same doubts I did, because they asked if the balloon was big enough; after what Heene initially told them, they thought it might be. It turns out he lied about that as well.
I’m glad the police responded like they did. It wasn’t really possible to know at the time that it was a hoax; with the safety of the child possibly at risk, I think they acted they way they needed to. The story may have sounded far-fetched, but without solid evidence that it was a hoax at the time, I think they had to assume that they were being told the truth. It’s rare, but this (general) sort of thing has happened before. I’m also glad that it was identified as a hoax as quickly as it was. But there are other issues this whole incident brings up.
It certainly has bought Heene and his family fame, though not necessarily the kind he was looking for. Apparently, this hoax was his attempt to land another reality TV gig, this one where he’s a “Psyence Detective.” Yes, I’m being serious. One thing that just bothered me about the coverage (other than the constant mentions of “Wife Swap”) was this sort of thing:
“When the Heene family aren’t chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm,” the show’s Web site said.
The coverage mentioned Heene’s “scientific” interests a lot. Frankly, if he’s advertising “experiments” aimed at finding extra terrestrials – particularly ones that he’s convinced exist because he hit his head on the floor of a fast food restaurant and lost consciousness – this doesn’t make him any sort of scientist or even science enthusiast, in my opinion. It makes him a crank. Considering that Heene is a believer in the 2012 Doomsday nonsense, I really don’t feel the slightest twinge about calling him a crank.
This brings up so many issues about what’s being put on TV, and the utterly stupid, reckless things that people will do in order to participate in reality TV. I don’t think I need to write a screed about that sort of TV programming. What I’m hoping is the fact that Heene got caught, and caught quickly, and is facing criminal charges will make other people think twice before they try to pull a similar hoax.
I will say that I’m very, very glad that it looks like Heene’s TV show dreams have been sunk. Reality TV already has plenty of cranks that misinform their viewers without him and his “psyence” detecting.
A Planet Where It “Rains” Rocks
Perhaps because they were cooked off, COROT-7b’s atmosphere has none of the volatile elements or compounds that make up Earth’s atmosphere, such as water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. “The only atmosphere this object has is produced from vapor arising from hot molten silicates in a lava lake or lava ocean,” Fegley says.
It cannot possibly get awesomer (I was going to say “cooler” but that seems somehow inappropriate) than this. Glee!
Categories
Fear and Panic, Panic and Fear
Scientists try to calm ‘2012’ hysteria
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All
It all boils down to people being afraid of something that they needn’t be afraid of, and other people getting fat off of it. The 2012 panic isn’t as bad as the anti-vaccination movement; it’s not going to kill adults and children like anti-vaxers already have. But I’d say it’s cut from the same cloth.
I think scientists are always going to be in the unfortunate position of trying to pick up the pieces after charlatans and the simply misinformed have done their Godzilla-like lumbering around. Scientists, after all, are hobbled by the inability to Just Make Shit Up.
Categories
Tying the knot
Melissa Harris-Lacewell reflects on marriage.
I really respect MHL, and this article made me respect her even more. I was strongly on the side of marriage equality before I was ever in a committed relationship. I canvassed for Referendum i in Colorado, and was incredibly upset when it failed and the gay marriage ban amendment passed.
This issue’s taken on a new light for me since I’ve gotten engaged, though. For the most part, I’m happy, and I feel like one of the commenters on the article as well – after more than four years of cohabitation, I honestly feel like we’re married already. A party and a fancy cake are more just a celebration of that commitment, at least in my opinion. But since I’ve been engaged, there are two aspects that are still bothering me about the process.
The first is the last name change issue. That’s a discussion for another time.
But the other is the issue of marriage equality. My fiance and I have the right to make of this marriage what we will, and we’ve got the legal support for it because we’re heterosexual. I have some very dear, close friends who are not in the same boat as us, and have been in a committed relationship far longer without the ability to get the same legal support. It bothers me that I get a privilege they don’t, and all because I like sleeping with boys instead of girls. A lot of the arguments “defending” marriage have made me even more uncomfortable about it, because of all the religious and sexist baggage that comes with the institution. (And let me tell you, as an atheist, I am utterly charmed by people who hammer marriage as a religious institution – guess I shouldn’t be getting married at all.)
This was why MHL’s point at the end really hit me. People seem to want marriage to not change. Frankly, I hope it does. It’s already different from how it was in the 50s. It’s still not common, but most people don’t have to do a double take any more if a woman hyphenates her last name or decides not to change it at all. While many people bemoan the divorce rate, I take it as a good sign that people have the ability to end relationships that go bad. So I hope that as we fight for marriage equality, it will change the institution as it is. I want to see marriage become a place where no one looks sideways at guys that want to be stay at home dads, or (perish the thought) men who decide to take their wife’s last name rather than the other way around. I want people to finally get the difference between civil marriage and church marriage and stop asking horribly insulting questions like “Why do atheists get married?” (Answers: love, family, and health insurance. Oh, and you’re an asshole.)
Sometimes, I feel like I should refuse to participate in this institution as long as my friends are denied it. Because it does feel horrible being able to get married and knowing that I have friends who can’t because the country’s apparently still run by a bunch of neanderthals that can’t understand reasons more complicated than “making babies.” But in a way, reading MHL’s article has made me feel a little differently. No, my one little wedding isn’t going to change marriage the way so many national changes have. But maybe I can be on more little snowflake to help get the avalanche rumbling.
Categories
Cell phone + driving = BAD
Dr. Novella writes about a study by Ira Hyman et al.
This was the most interesting bit of what Dr. Novella had to say:
What this all might mean is that there is something about talking on a cell phone that is particularly demanding of our attention – more so than listening to music or talking with someone who is physically present. These results also support the hypothesis that talking with a passenger is not as dangerous because the extra pair of eyes increases the chance that someone will notice a sudden obstacle or unexpected traffic pattern.
Anecdotally, I would certainly agree. I notice things just fine walking down the street when I’m listening to my iPod or walking to the bus station with Mike. If I’m having to return a phone call while I’m walking, I wouldn’t even notice a full marching band unless they were making enough noise to keep me from hearing the person on the other end of the phone. I once dropped my USB drive and walked off, and a really nice guy had to chase me half a block to give it back to me because I was talking on my phone and didn’t notice someone shouting to get my attention.
I’ve pretty much thought hands-free laws were crap from the beginning. It doesn’t help if you’ve only got one hand on the wheel when it comes to maneuvering, but frankly I’d bet that most people only keep one hand on the wheel unless they’re turning anyway. (On a side note, I don’t know how people who drive manuals can manage to talk on a cell phone like that anyway, unless they’re on the highway and don’t have to shift.) It really is the distraction that causes accidents and kills.
In my opinion, even freakier: people who text and drive. Actually, I’ll own up. The only car accident I’ve been in since becoming a driver was my own fault, and caused by me attempting to text and drive. (This was seven or eight years ago when it happened.) I rear ended someone at about five miles an hour on the highway when we were in complete gridlock. At that point, I realized how I literally had not seen it coming, and since then I refuse to even touch my cell phone when I’m in the driver’s seat. If someone calls me, I toss it to my passenger and make them check it. (Another reason not to drive with me?)
So we know it’s dangerous to be on a cell phone and drive, particularly now whether it’s hands free or not. I don’t know if there’s really anything you could do about it. Sure, you can make laws, but enforcing them is another matter. The biggest problem is that if it were just people deciding they’d rather take the risk than be separated from their precious cell phone for the duration of a drive, fine. But they’re on the road with everyone else, including people who probably aren’t happy accepting that risk since they’re the ones that will get rear-ended by the jackass that won’t just hang up and drive.
When I put it like that… well. Driving while on a cell phone: the new driving while intoxicated.
One thing I’d like to see more on scientifically is why talking on a cell phone is more distracting than talking to someone else while walking. I don’t know if I buy that it’s just the other pair of eyes that makes the difference, since I’d think both people would be distracted by the conversation. If we assume that one conversation is as distracting as the other, then you’d expect that people in pairs would still pay attention better, but I don’t know if it would be as much better as it was.
Only 25% of the cell phone users had noticed the clown and many turned around at that point to see what they had missed. In essence, 75% of the cell phone users experienced inattentional blindness to the unicycling clown. In contrast, over half of the people in the other conditions reported seeing the clown (51% of single individuals, 61% of music player users, and 71% of people in pairs).
(Note: the clown thing was testing for inattention blindness by putting a clown on a unicycle very visibly along the path and seeing who noticed him.) The gap here is 25% as compared to 71% – that’s a difference of 46%. That’s pretty impressive. Maybe cell phones are more distracting because you’re missing out on most of the nonverbal side of the conversation?
Also, I wonder why people listening to music did better than people just walking along. That seems odd, but very interesting.