Category Links

Math for Middle-School Girls

HT to for pointing me at Math Doesn’t Suck, by Danica McKellar. It’s a math book aimed at middle- and high school girls. The main message seem to be a) math doesn’t suck, and isn’t as hard as you think it is, and b) if you’re smart, don’t hide it. Both worthwhile messages.

I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know whether it lives up to its hype, but if it leads to more women realizing that they can do math, then that’s all good.

Oh, and may I just point out, as a guy, that smart is teh sexy?

Argento on Lohan

Once again, Mike Argento nails it:

You can’t turn around without the TV news bloviating endlessly about the troubles of Lindsay Lohan. On Wednesday, the “Today” show had a panel of experts discussing whatever it was she is accused of doing.
[…]

I have no idea who Lindsay Lohan is and I really don’t care. What makes me sad is that she apparently is the new Paris Hilton, the latest poster child for our civilization circling the drain.

Meanwhile, while Lindsay Lohan was dominating the news, the Department of Defense announced the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Bobby Twitty, 20, of Bedias, Texas.

We know everything we ever thought we needed to know about Lindsay Lohan.

Lance Cpl. Twitty? Not so much.

Linky Love

2+2 = 5 (HT PZ)

The original Laugh-Out-Loud Cats

Mike Wong, the Cheerful Atheist, lists 12 Benefits of Atheism. Like him, I haven’t received my black helicopter yet, but I’m sure it’s in the mail.

Fabric Brain Art

The Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art.

Fabric brain

On one hand, people like this obviously have too much time on their hands. On the other hand, damn, that’s cool!

(HT Neurodudes,
Fresh Brainz.)

Some ID Research Projects

TR Gregory at Genomicron has a list of ten research projects for ID proponents, all having to do with non-coding DNA. An excellent list, and any ID researcher should jump on it, if only to demonstrate that ID is science.

(HT Freshbrainz)

Debbie Schlussel Tests Poe’s Law

Pop quiz: read the following and try to figure out whether it’s serious, or a parody of right-wing conservatives:

Yale researchers found that male Congressmen with daughters are more likely to vote for “reproductive rights”–the sanitized phrase for abortion: […]

The conclusion they want you to get from this is that pro-life Congressmen are insensitive to women and don’t have contact with any.

But I’d draw a different conclusion: Congressmen who are liberal are more likely to have slutty daughters. And therefore, they are more likely to support abortion for selfish, personal reasons.

Answer: it’s from Debbie Schlussel. I think she’s serious, though obviously it’s really hard to tell.

(HT FSTDT)

Well, That Didn’t Take Long…

Falwell In Hell

Porn in Afghanistan

According to
the Scotsman,
people in Afghanistan have developed quite a taste for teh pr0n:

The heaviest fighting in five years has slowed reconstruction to a crawl in the deserts and oases of Kandahar, where the strict Taleban movement began in 1994, but pornography, opium and illegal alcohol are flourishing, officials say.
…

“Pornography is a problem,” admits new provincial police chief General Asmatullah Alizai. “According to our Islamic rules and beliefs, people cannot accept this kind of thing. I don’t want people to see this kind of film.”

Can you say “forbidden fruit, boys and girls? I knew you could.

Also, from the comments:

If they are going to be issued with a bevy of virgins
in their next life, I see nothing wrong with them veiwing a few training manuals. You wouldn’t want to look stupid on the big night if it was you.

(HT Plan 8 from Doubter Space.)

Let’s Hire A Grizzly as a Babysitter, While We’re at It

Brad Blog reports that someone managed to make a key that opens Diebold voting machines… by copying it off of an image on Diebold’s web site.

Can you imagine what would happen if an individual, rather than a company, had screwed up this way? If you answered “that person would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom”, pat yourself on the back. Unfortunately, we can’t give medals to corporations, but this comes close:

NORTH CANTON, Ohio– Diebold, Incorporated, one of the nation’s largest security integrators with expertise in the government, commercial, financial and retail markets, has solidified its homeland security presence. The company recently earned certification from the General Services Administration (GSA) to deliver security integration services that meet the requirements of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).

I tried to come up with a better subject line. Really, I did. But all I could come up with was “It’s like letting Bush & Co. run the country” or “Like letting Halliburton handle the post-Katrina reconstruction”.

Irrational Scientists

Overcoming Bias has a good article about scientists holding unscientific beliefs outside the lab. The gist of it is, if a scientist throws out science when he leaves work, does he really understand what it’s for and how it works?

Why? Well, suppose that an apprentice shepherd is laboriously trained to count sheep, as they pass in and out of a fold. Thus the shepherd knows when all the sheep have left, and when all the sheep have returned. Then you give the shepherd a few apples, and say: “How many apples?” But the shepherd stares at you blankly, because they weren’t trained to count apples – just sheep. You would probably suspect that the shepherd didn’t understand counting very well.

(HT Pharyngula.)