This guy did some experiments and posits that a single driver can dampen traffic waves. I’ve tried this very thing, but never bothered to see how well it was working behind me. This kind of driving requires letting go of some fundamental notions of fairness, but the hypothesis is that everyone ends up moving faster and feeling less stressed as a result.
I love this idea. I also love that, being OSS from Mozilla, it has a good chance of making it on to every platform (Palm Pre, Apple laptop, random internet-connected displays) that I use.
The idea is that intangible value is an immensely important route to increasing wealth without increasing resource usage. Sutherland aims to give an entertaining talk, however, and not a serious one. Thus, his examples are highly amusing but none of the world-changing ones we need more of are mentioned.
This is like TextMate (my no-frills code editor of choice) but with some really interesting new features. The "mini-map" is something that I’ve wanted for years. Windows-only, surprisingly.
Beta of a startup I came across. They are attempting to aggregate and organize online discussion on any topic into productive, lasting knowledge. One of the mechanics they’re using is to shape everything into questions and answers that can be collaborated on.
This article makes me think that my precious Google Wave invites should have gone to coworkers, not friends: http://bit.ly/14Ss0N [nagutron]
In true Instructables style, this is how Eric and Christy keep their baby secure and entertained at the office: some rope, pvc, stretchy fabric, and a disco ball.
I didn’t realize brain simulations were so far along. This talk, with great visualizations, details how close researchers are to modeling cortical columns in the human brain. The universe, Markram says, has evolved to the point where a tiny bit of it is withing striking distance of reflecting back on itself. The talk is high level and many of the metaphors are fairly unsatisfying, however.
Agreed. I have an HSA and it a) makes me more selective about my health care spending b) makes me feel more secure in case something really bad happens and c) builds a small amount of wealth in a retirement account that I wouldn’t otherwise have.
I recently watched a short TED Talk on the physiological effects of ambient sound, and how unaware we can be of these effects. One interesting tidbit is that bird song is supposedly very relaxing and helps people focus. The evolutionary story around that is that bird song is an aural cue that there are no predators around. Presumably, this is true for other animals than humans, so the effect might be traced long into our history.
In any case, I decided to try this for myself, and my subjective experience of the last few days is that it works. I feel more focused, more “in my body.” You can try it for yourself real quick with this Youtube playlist of birdsongs. I’m actually using high-quality recordings from Naturespace. These have a 3-dimensional quality to them, and are tuned to different headphones, but they cost a couple bucks. They also sell iPhone apps.
I recommend listening at low volume for 10-15 minutes to judge the effect for yourself.
I like Barack and all, but seriously? Super awkward. The first (uninformed) image that comes to mind is of a bunch of Swedes being impressed that a black man made it to the Presidency.
Here’s a really basic slide deck on interaction design. It’s clearly presented, though, so worth a mention. The couple slides on button decorations is great.
Imagine you are hearing voices. Naturally, you find it quite disturbing to be having conversations with someone or something that no one else seems to be able to hear. Is someone beaming them into your mind from afar? Or are you actually going crazy? Assume that your voices want to convince you that they’re actually coming from within your own mind. Design an experiment that will allow you make a determination one way or another.
My answer in a few days. Add yours in the comments, wherever this post is being syndicated.
One of my earliest noodlings in Photoshop, circa 1996
For a few hours, the children forget their experiences of fleeing homes and witnessing violence, said the president of Kibati camp. The clowns also went beyond IDP camps near Goma to reach isolated camps in Kitchanga and Masisi, performing in front of a total of 48,000 people.
Here’s a video I found of them performing elsewhere:
A cool talk. I hadn’t realized how much could be inferred from the relative amounts of various elements in stellar spectra, nor did I realize that spectral doppler effects could be used to detect planets.
Suggested Google Wave lingo: "Wave Collapse" – A point of contention is discussed and resolved, then you delete it and keep the consensus. [nagutron]
