How the military is using the Xbox, the iPod and iPhone at war:
new piece of military kit can take years to specify, test and acquire using a traditional procurement process, only to arrive already outdated. So, where possible, it is quicker and cheaper to buy commercial off-the-shelf items. These range from industry-standard components, like processor chips incorporated into military equipment, to products that consumers would recognise. Sometimes these are made more rugged, like Panasonic Toughbook computers, or converted for other uses, like Xbox 360 video-game controllers adapted to operate small robotic…
1 min read
The social strategy of “popular kids” and “mean girls”:
tricia Hawley, a researcher at the University of Kansas, has studied popular kids, and she's found that for each mean thing a Mean Girl does, the girl also does two really nice things. In other words, those so-called Mean Girls are actually twice as nice as they are mean. And while the geeks aren't as mean as the popular kids, they usually aren't as nice, either... ...But what really makes teens popular isn't just a pure ratio…
1 min read
Can crowdsourcing be used for evil?
w enforcement officials in Texas have installed a network of CCTV cameras to monitor key areas along that state's 1900-kilometre-long border with Mexico. To help screen the footage, a website lets anyone log in to watch a live feed from a border camera and report suspicious activity. A similar system called Internet Eyes, which pays online viewers to spot shoplifters from in-store camera feeds, is set to launch in the UK in 2010. An Iranian website is offering rewards for…
1 min read
A Brilliant Stock Market Scam:
from some stock market advisor you received in the mail for six weeks in a row correct predictions on a certain stock index and were asked to pay for the seventh such prediction, would you? ...consider the following con game. Some would-be advisor puts a logo on some fancy stationery and sends out 32,000 letters to potential investors in a stock index. The letters tell of his company's elaborate computer model, his financial expertise, and inside contacts. In 16,000…
2 minutes
Can you get off heroin by switching to crack?
rry Stahl (author of the darkly funny "Permanent Midnight") recounts his attempt to get off heroin by switching to crack: The Moth Audience Favorites is available here. Another favorite Moth performance of mine: when Adam Gopnik learned the meaning of "LOL". Join over 320,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts: New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful How To Get People To Like You:…
1 min read
Do pretty waitresses really get bigger tips?:
test this theory, the researcher recruited more than 400 restaurant waitresses to complete an online survey, asking them to rate their physical attractiveness, sexiness, age, bra size, hair color, waist size, weight, and average tip percentage. The findings (or how to increase your tips if you’re a waitress): 1.) Blondes reported receiving larger percentage tips than did waitresses with other hair colors, as expected. However, the blond waitresses in this study did not perceive themselves to be more attractive…
1 min read
Is giving really better than receiving?
s. Via predictablyirrational.com: Whatever your gift philosophy, you may be thinking that you would be happier if you could just spend the money on yourself – but according to a three-part study by Elizabeth Dunn, Lara Aknin, and Michael Norton, givers can get more happiness than people who spend the money on themselves. Liz, Lara and Mike approached the study from the perspective that happiness is less dependent on stable circumstances (income) and more on the day-to-day activities in which…
1 min read
Does having children make you more like your parents?
search says yes. Via sciencedaily.com "I'll never be like my parents." Many youngsters must have said this at least once in their lives. The truth emerges as soon as you have your own children: you increasingly become more like your own parents. Dutch researcher Freek Bucx analysed data from more than a thousand young adults, their parents and partners. And... The results suggest that the birth of a child makes young adults think more like their parents about issues of…
1 min read
