The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource.
Science (il)Literacy
How long does it take for the Earth to go around the Sun: one day, one month, or one year? On a science literacy survey of 1574 adults, 54% answered this question correctly. But don’t worry—this number jumped to a whopping 66% when it included only those who considered themselves part of an attentive public, […]
Posted by Ben on December 7, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/science-illiteracy/
Rundown, In Brief
Prisons are America’s “primary supplier of mental-health services.”1 Make a face. Change it. Craft your new identity. Morphases.2 Dolphins and humans are fairly similar, brain-wise.3 Struwwelpeter/Shockheaded Peter, online.4 Tired of original speech? Cliche Finder to the rescue.5 “I think that it could be done.”6 Send me your brains. Sterling Courier Systems, please.7 They have a […]
Posted by Ben on December 4, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/rundown-in-brief/
Wizards
Of 13,000 people tested for the ability to detect deception, “we found 31, who we call wizards, who are usually able to tell whether the person is lying, whether the lie is about an opinion, how someone is feeling or about a theft,” [psychology professor Maureen O’Sullivan] said. (AP: “Wizards can spot the signs of […]
Posted by Ben on December 1, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/wizards/
Caution: Sounder of Boar Ahead
BERLIN (Reuters) – A pack of wild boar wandered onto a German motorway, causing a five-car pileup and leaving one motorist injured and eight of the animals dead, police said on Saturday. The cars on the Dresden-Berlin motorway hit the boar at high speed. One car flipped, injuring the 33-year-old woman driver. (Reuters: “Pack of […]
Posted by Ben on December 1, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/caution-sounder-of-boar-ahead/
The Memory of Running
The Memory of Runningby Ron McLarty …is decent, and readable, but too calculating for my tastes. (Put another way, the film rights to the book were optioned to Warner Bros. for 7 figures, and it shows.) This is a book you’re supposed to like. The plot is strange, but not too strange. Some characters are […]
Posted by Ben on November 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/book-reviews/
Bring it all down
Why do you write? What is your main objective? Derrick [Jensen]: My main objective is to bring down civilization. Actually that’s not quite true. My main objective is to live in a world with more wild salmon every year than the year before, more migratory songbirds, more natural forest communities, more fish in the ocean, […]
Posted by Ben on November 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/bring-it-all-down/
Alaska, I never knew ye
Alaska’s Virtual Library & Digital Archive is a wonderful resource that, if nothing else, is certainly bound to turn up all sorts of interesting images. Helpful, possibly, if you should happen to need historical images of Alaska. The archive has lots and lots and lots of images, with a database that’s searchable by region, area, […]
Posted by Ben on November 26, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/alaska-i-never-knew-ye/
A Few Things
Money Map. Yes, so we’re all sick and tired of red-/blue-/purple- state maps, but the Money Map (courtesy of the Fundrace Project) is interesting for the fact that it bases its colors on actual money given to the parties. Also, it’s massively customizable: you can see divisions by state, zip code, or county; and you […]
Posted by Ben on November 24, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/a-few-things/
Fun With Paper
Yes, it’s not so surprising that Yamaha has fold-your-own paper models of, e.g., the SR400 (a motorcycle); more surprising is that they also have “paper crafts” of rare animals of the world (the Steller’s sea eagle, for instance) and of Japan (like the Hondo stoat). Another place to go for paper crafts is The Flying […]
Posted by Ben on November 22, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/fun-with-paper/