Random Thoughts

Morning Science Quote

Disappointment is my daily bread.- Oswald Avery, who died before he could win a Nobel Prize for his decades-long, painstaking work demonstrating that DNA is the carrier of genetic information. (From The Transforming Principle, p. 152) ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jul 10 2009 - 6:05am

A Win With An International Master

Sometimes playing online chess gives me some satisfactions. I only play 5-minute chess, but five minutes (times two, five for each player) are a looong time, during which adrenalin flows free in my veins. Chess is a drug: these 5-minute games are addictive ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jul 10 2009 - 10:37am

Tangential Science: Geeks At Least Have A Taxonomy

Tangential Science: it's not necessarily science, but it's still funny. 1.  Dave Deamer wanted to know if we think there is a genetic basis for nerdiness?   Egads, what if it were so?  Worse, what if a nerd marries another nerd and has a baby ne ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 10 2009 - 12:32pm

Economic Theory – Supply and Demand

In economic theory, the law of supply and demand is considered one of the fundamental principles governing an economy. It is described as the state where as supply increases the price will tend to drop or vice versa, and as demand increases the price will ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Jul 10 2009 - 3:44pm

10th World Blogger To Lead Italy

Beppe Grillo, one of the most successful bloggers in the world (last time I checked his blog was number 11 in the world by traffic) descends in Italy's confusing political arena. ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jul 12 2009 - 11:19am

Chris Mooney Versus P.Z. Myers And The State Of "Unscientific America"

Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum, who blog at Discover, have a new book out called Unscientific America.    We got a copy here but I asked them to send it to Dr. ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 14 2009 - 4:42pm

Midday Science Quote

The whole question of imagination in science is often misunderstood by people in other disciplines. They try to test our imagination in the following way. They say, "Here is a picture of some people in a situation. What do you imagine will happen nex ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jul 14 2009 - 10:57am

112 Mercer Street: housing for a giant

Many of you may know who lived at 112 Mercer Street, from 1936 until his death in 1955. The man and I were our for a lovely walk and some delicious frozen yogurt in Princeton Sunday afternoon (just a short drive from here) and I snapped the following two p ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Jul 14 2009 - 4:04pm

California Or Romania? Where Is Your Money Safer?

In the 1980s, Michael Milken went to jail for selling "junk bonds", which were risky debt.  His crime?  Offering to absorb all of the losses if he could have half the profits.   Some of the bonds he sold yielded 18%.   Like I said, risky.   He ma ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 15 2009 - 7:22pm

Moths jam bat sonar

I imagine  moths jamming bats' sonar  looks like one of the two following scenarios: Calvin and Hobbes ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Jul 17 2009 - 9:37am