Tampilkan postingan dengan label 2013 at 09:40PM. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label 2013 at 09:40PM. Tampilkan semua postingan

Jumat, 27 Desember 2013

Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Jumat, 27 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray

Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray


Every day of our lives, there is the potential for us to learn new and wonderful things. Today I learned that there is such an invention as fart spray. I also learned that I can use it to manipulate people!


All right, amoral manipulators of humanity! If you want to lead an angry mob some time in the future, there are supplies you need to pick up. Torches are impractical, but they really add a touch of mayhem to a mob. You'll want two-by-fours and pitchforks, so people can stab and club their aggression out, and a gun for yourself in case the masses turn on you. You'll also want to head to a novelty store and pick out some fart spray.


If you don't believe that some fart spray can help you, take a look at one study, done at Stanford. It's called "Disgust as Embodied Moral Judgment," and it will tell you a little something. Participants were asked to express their moral opinion on four different subjects: cousins marrying, cousins having sex, driving to work instead of walking, and the public showing of a morally dubious film. The researchers believed that students would have a strong moral reaction to the cousin cuddling than to driving or to the film, and they were right. The hidden variable was a nearby, but invisible, trash can. The bag in the can was, in some cases, sprayed with fart spray - ammonium sulfide in water. There were three variations of the experimental methodology. Sometimes the bag was sprayed a little. Sometimes it was sprayed a lot. Sometimes, it was left alone, so there was no discernible stink.


Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray S


The people were asked to estimate a level of immorality for the cousins, the driving, and for the film. The issues were much more immoral for those who smelled fart than for those who had a more pleasant olfactory experience. The researchers double-checked their results by trying another experiment in which participants watched different film clips before filling out their surveys. The experiment was meant to see if people grew more morally severe under the influence of any kind of negative emotion, or if there was a difference between disgust and other emotions. Some people were shown the going-down-the-toilet scene in Trainspotting, some were shown a sad scene from The Champ during which a son watches his father die, and some saw a neutral clip from Planet Earth, the documentary. While the sad participants were more lenient than the documentary-watchers, the people who saw the disgusting clip were more likely to morally condemn behaviors.


Surprisingly, the researchers found that the amount of fart spray didn't have an effect. Light-stink people had the same moral response and heavy-stink people. So, when you're planning your mobbery, use a light touch. Get them indoors, whip up their innate passions, add just a bit of fart spray to the mix, and they'll condemn whoever you want them to condemn, in order to get out of the room.


Via Disgust as Embodied Moral Judgment.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Make people mean (or moral) with fart spray

Kamis, 26 Desember 2013

Why you're usually late (and sometimes early) onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Why you're usually late (and sometimes early) onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Kamis, 26 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why you're usually late (and sometimes early)

Why you're usually late (and sometimes early)


Ever noticed that, when you're hurrying through your daily routine, you always seem late? Ever wonder why, when you go somewhere new and unfamiliar, you're always the first at the door? It's the well-traveled road effect, and it messes with your head.


If you're the person who always arrives late for regular events, there might be an explanation that doesn't involve a major character flaw. When you first try to drive - or walk - a new road, you're on the alert. You're double-checking your directions. You're peering around looking for scenery markers or ambiguous intersections. You are paying close attention, and so every moment of your trip stretches out. It seems to take a long time.


After the third or fourth time making the trip, the time it takes to travel seems to shrink. You're used to the road and perhaps you know its quirks and shortcuts.


Or perhaps you're paying far less attention than you were before. It's called the well-traveled road effect and the phenomenon doesn't confine itself to roads. Whenever you get used to something, the time you estimate you need to complete it shrinks. True, gaining expertise in something will often reduce the amount of time it takes, but there's only so much "skills" can do when, for example, you are stuck going the speed limit along with every other car on the road. Still, the trip will seem shorter. As people relax and stop hanging on every detail, time starts to fly.


This might also explain why time seems to slow when we're stressed or in a hurry. Have you noticed that when you're running behind, every lane change in front of you, every red light, and every stinking pedestrian seems to take forever? It's not an unlucky break. It's the fact that you're paying attention like you used to.


Via Psyblog.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Why you're usually late (and sometimes early)

Selasa, 24 Desember 2013

Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Selasa, 24 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament

Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament S


Assuming you read the headline, I'm probably not going to be able to convince you that this image is an extreme, shadowy close-up of a Christmas bauble. But it can still be hard to believe that these boldly colored, oddly perfect circles and hexagons can really be found in Saturn's northern hemisphere.


This photo, taken earlier this year, is one of several released by NASA and the Cassini imaging team, making this the tenth year in a row that the Cassini spacecraft has marked the holiday season with stunning new images from Saturn and its moons.


The hexagon represents Saturn's northern jet stream, and we were treated to hi-res footage of this unique bit of space weather earlier this month. Those previous images were awesomely bizarre and alien, whereas this latest image of the potentially centuries-old weather system has a serene, almost painted-on quality.


And it's hardly the only gorgeous image that Cassini has to share — check out this view from the gas giant's southern hemisphere:


Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament S


While the image may appear to be black-and-white, this is actually in color, and the faint bluish tinge indicates that winter is at hand in southern Saturn. The Cassini team explains:



Winter is approaching in the southern hemisphere of Saturn and with this cold season has come the familiar blue hue that was present in the northern winter hemisphere at the start of NASA's Cassini mission. The changing blue hue that we have learned marks winter at Saturn is likely due to reduction of ultraviolet sunlight and the haze it produces, making the atmosphere clearer and increasing the opportunity for Rayleigh scattering (scattering by molecules and smaller particles) and methane absorption: both processes make the atmosphere blue. The small black dot seen to the right and up from image center, within the ring shadows of the A and F rings, is the shadow of the moon, Prometheus.



But my favorite image in the set is probably the shot below of Saturn's two largest moons, Rhea and Titan. The fact that Titan manages to loom large while positioned far behind Rhea is a good hint that it's the larger of the two moons; at 3,200 miles across, its diameter is more than three times wider than that of Rhea.


Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament


For even more incredible images, check out the Cassini Imaging Team's website.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Saturn does its best to imitate a Christmas ornament

Senin, 23 Desember 2013

How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Senin, 23 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder

How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder S


Lots of fantasy RPGs have toyed with the idea of "epic levels," where your characters become extremely powerful and face epically dangerous foes — but this concept has been hard to pull off. Until now. Mythic Adventures for the Pathfinder RPG lets your character take on unbelievably huge challenges.


In Dungeons & Dragons, and games derived from it (including Pathfinder), the standard levels top out at 20th. Anything above that would be considered "epic." And you can see how it would be awesome to play an "epic" level, where your characters can get way more powerful and face epically dangerous foes — or just straight up battle against gods.


But there's an inherent problem with just scaling the attack bonuses and armor classes and damage rolls up and up and up. Eventually the numbers become ridiculous. If your attack bonus is +85, whatever you roll on your trusty D20 seems pointless. There are other problems with different classes not scaling properly and other game design stuff that I won't bore you with. It's sufficient to say that RPGs have always had issues with high-level play.


This all explains why Paizo's approach to Mythic Adventures is so interesting. It is not a book of stuff for characters above 20th level. It actually adds a separate tier of "mythic power" to characters, giving them access to seriously impressive abilities that go far beyond another D8 for your damage roll. And characters of any level can become mythic.


Here's how becoming mythic works: at some point in the campaign, the characters will encounter some method of accessing mythic power. They might draw the attention of a god, find a font of power, or acquire a mythic artifact. At this point they will undergo ascension and receive their first mythic tier. Mythic tiers are like experience levels, but it's a separate system that runs alongside your usual XP/level-up mechanic. Instead of gaining experience points, you complete mythic trials. Complete a given number of trials and you can advance to another mythic tier (there are ten mythic tiers altogether).


So for instance you could be a fairly average 5th level fighter, but complete a lot of mythic trials and have six mythic tiers. A 15th level fighter might only have three mythic tiers if he underwent his mythic ascension later in his career. The tiers are totally independent of your regular character level.


How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder


Players choose a path when their character ascends, each path corresponding to a very broad fantasy archetype (Archmage, Trickster, Champion, etc). At each tier you gain certain abilities, as well as mythic points which you can spend for powerful effects. For instance, all mythic characters can spend mythic power to roll an extra D6 if they've just rolled a D20 (for an attack, skill check or saving throw) and failed. A character who chooses the Archmage path can select an ability that allows her to automatically identify any spell cast within 100 feet and easily identify all the properties of magic items. At higher mythic tiers, an Archmage can create an illusory double and teleport 30 feet away when she is struck by a melee attack, completely negating the attack. Each path has roughly three dozen of these abilities, and they're all fun and suitably epic, far more interesting than simple stat boosts.


Mythic characters also get access to mythic feats and spells, as well as mythic magic items. The bulk of these are basically buffed up versions of their non-mythic counterparts – this is my one disappointment with this book. I wish some of the feats and spells were more interesting than, "This is a regular spell but 10 percent better!"


What does a mythic character do? Fight mythic monsters, of course. This might be my favorite part of the book, an entire mythic bestiary. It's heavily focused on classic, iconic monsters like vampires, mummies, and dragons (each chromatic dragon gets a mythic version, and in case you're wondering, a mythic elder wyrm red dragon is worth 1.6 million experience points). You'll also find monsters drawn from Greek mythology: mythic minotaurs, medusas, a hydras.


The book makes a point of describing mythic adventures and the types of trials you might face, with a heavy reliance on Joseph Campbell's monomyth/hero's journey. There's plenty of advice on making your mythic adventures really feel like incredible, world-shaking events, not just regular RPG adventures with extra hit points. They even include an adventure with an erupting volcano, long-abandoned island, and – minor spoiler alert – mythic dinosaurs.


Mythic Adventures has a companion volume, the softcover Mythic Realms. This places mythic adventures specifically within Pathfinder's particular campaign world, Golarion, and gives you places where characters can achieve ascension along with a host of mythic bad guys. These range from hideous undead creatures to bizarre alien titans that fell to Golarion in ages past. I'm particularly fond of a jungle region that is overrun by kaiju (and they actually refer to them as kaiju). I can't think of anything more mythic than an adventuring party battling Godzilla.


What's intriguing is that mythic tiers can easily be temporary, so you don't have to devote an entire campaign to this material if you only want to dip your toe in mythic waters. The god takes the power away, the artifact crumbles to dust, and the awe-inspiring power fades from the characters as suddenly as it came. But a few remnants of that power stick around, and the heroes' exploits will live on in epic sagas — even as they return to the simple, boring lives of typical samurai/gunslingers and fighter/witch/druids.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com How Mythic Adventures Massively Raises the Stakes for Pathfinder

Kamis, 19 Desember 2013

Rate the hottest dragon in pop culture onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Rate the hottest dragon in pop culture onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Kamis, 19 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rate the hottest dragon in pop culture

Rate the hottest dragon in pop culture S


You know you think about it. Don't even pretend you don't look at dragons in that way sometimes. Over at Vulture, pop culture aficionado Jordan Hoffman has ranked the greatest dragons from hottest to . . . least badass.


His hottest dragon vote goes to Godzilla's three-headed, flying space kaiju nemesis Ghidorah, which is absolutely as it should be. For least badass, we get Eliot, from Pete's Dragon. Which, again, fair enough.


No word on Smaug, but I believe the internet's vote has already been cast by the hordes of scribbling fanfic writers who may have some opinions on dragons who are the CGI alter ego of Benedict Cumberbatch.


Read the whole list at Vulture.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Rate the hottest dragon in pop culture

Rabu, 18 Desember 2013

Robot-denying telemarketing robot may not actually be a robot onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Robot-denying telemarketing robot may not actually be a robot onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Rabu, 18 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Robot-denying telemarketing robot may not actually be a robot

Robot-denying telemarketing robot may not actually be a robot S


Remember that super-realistic telemarketing chatbot who denies she's a robot? Turns out "Samantha West" may not a robot after all — but the real story is just as bizarre.


As Time is now reporting, the telemarketing robot is actually a computer program used by telemarketers outside the United States. According to John Rasman of U.S.-based Premier Health, the system allows English speaking telemarketers with thick non-American accents to sort through leads to find real prospective buyers before passing them off to agents back in the United States. "We're just contacting people in a way they're not familiar with," said Rasman. The human agents who trigger Samantha West's responses act as brokers for health insurance companies inside the U.S.


So, when Samantha West calls, there's another person on the other end of the line who actively participates in the exchange. Rasman told Time that human telemarketers — heavy accents and all — communicate using a machine that spouts off pre-recorded utterances. He insisted that humans are involved in the mix, and that the canned responses don't change that fact that no "robot" is involved.


Denver Nicks of Time writes:



But the peculiar thing about Samantha West isn't just that she is automated. It's that she's so smartly automated that she's trained to respond to queries about whether or not she is a robot by telling you she's a human. I asked [industry expert Chris] Haerich if there is a regulation against robots lying to you.


"I don't…know…that…," she said. "That's one I've never been asked before. I've never been asked that question. Ever."



Hmm, seems like a pretty grey area to me. Technically speaking, the system — a kind of robocall — is still automated in the sense that no human is actually communicating directly with the person receiving the call, even if they are pre-recorded responses. What's more, Samantha West is explicitly denying that she's not human. At the same time, however, human telemarketers are required to stick to scripted responses. Is this any different?


Moreover, the automated responses could be seen as a kind of assistive device — the same kind that could be used for people who lack the capacity for speech. We wouldn't call them robots, would we?


I'd love to get your opinions on this. Please share in comments!


More at Time.


Top image: Nejron Photo/Shutterstock.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Robot-denying telemarketing robot may not actually be a robot

Selasa, 17 Desember 2013

Ian McKellan crashes a Hobbit screening, fans go wild onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Ian McKellan crashes a Hobbit screening, fans go wild onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Selasa, 17 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Ian McKellan crashes a Hobbit screening, fans go wild

Whatever you think of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, something tells me you would have enjoyed it more had Gandalf stopped by. That's what happened to fans who saw the midnight opening of the movie in New York City's AMC Theater in Lincoln Square.


Breaking news: IAN MCKELLAN STILL TOTALLY AWESOME.


[Via Nerd Bastards]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Ian McKellan crashes a Hobbit screening, fans go wild

Senin, 16 Desember 2013

Make a silver crystal Christmas tree onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Make a silver crystal Christmas tree onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Senin, 16 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Make a silver crystal Christmas tree

Make a silver crystal Christmas tree S


Now that we're closing in on Christmas, it might be time to do some arts and crafts. Leave the popcorn stringing to other people and pull out copper wire and some nice silver nitrate, so you can make a sparkling silver crystal Christmas tree.


Make a silver crystal Christmas tree S


Silver nitrate is a fairly simple molecule. One silver atom is attached to a grouping of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. This grouping forms a kind of ninja-throwing-star shape. A solution of silver nitrate is usually clear and fairly stable — until you put copper inside it. Copper is a grabby atom, and will yank other atoms, like oxygen, away from molecules. As soon as copper gets close to silver nitrate, it goes to work, grabbing that throwing star of nitrogen and oxygen off the silver atom. The silver, left alone and forlorn, clings to its kin, forming crystals on the surface of the copper. Meanwhile, the newly-formed copper nitrate (yes, copper took its new spouse's last name), swims around in the solution. Because copper nitrate is blue, it stains the water.


How does this spread holiday joy? If you get copper wire and form it into a "tree" shape, then leave it in the silver nitrate solution (which you can get from the more hardcore craft supply stores), it slowly gets covered in silver crystals. After a couple of days you'll "grow" a sparkling Christmas tree. One warning — the solution is turning blue because it is filling with copper atoms, eating away at the wire. If the wire is too thin, the whole thing will collapse, leaving you with a pile of silver rubble. Be sure to get thicker wire to keep your tree upstanding.


Image: Alchemist HP.


[Via Chemlounge]


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Make a silver crystal Christmas tree

Jumat, 13 Desember 2013

Should we just rename Uranus already? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Should we just rename Uranus already? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Jumat, 13 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Should we just rename Uranus already?

Should we just rename Uranus already? S


Two-hundred-and-thirty-two years ago a mistake was made. The question is, do we have to keep living with it forever, or is it finally time to rename Uranus?


Even as I write this, I am bracing myself so that I can be stoic in the face of the inevitable barrage of comments that amount to, "I named my anus Flossie!" That's the problem. There is no way to write an article without the Uranus/your anus subtext. Even when no one mentions it, you know it's there.


It didn't have to be. When William Herschel discovered the planet in 1781, he wanted to name it The Georgian Planet, after King George, his patron. Unfortunately the convention for naming planets after the Roman gods was, even then, cemented in place. Herschel was shouted down by the astronomical community. What's frustrating, now, is that astronomical community was international. There had to be a few English-speakers who knew the problem, and if even one had had the moral courage to stand up and speak out about it, so many things would have been simpler today. But no, they decided on a name that has caused centuries of annoyance.


Should we just rename Uranus already?


Now, I know that English isn't the only language out there, and that English-speakers would be asking other scientists to adjust all their textbooks to suit our own desires. I don't want to be a cultural chauvinist, but "Uranus," just seems too awful to take. I'd like to think that if a planet bore a name that translates, in another language, to "goat humper," or "that thing I sneezed out this morning," English-speakers would work with them to find a resolution. We struck Pluto from the record books entirely. Are we really going to let this travesty blight the lives of future generations? (In the interest of fairness, I would also consider renaming the body part. What do you think of "flossie"?)


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Should we just rename Uranus already?

Rabu, 11 Desember 2013

What if humans dated like animals? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: What if humans dated like animals? onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Rabu, 11 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com What if humans dated like animals?


Your sex life is boring and every animal on Earth is laughing about it

Hey, you. You like sex, don't you? Of course you do. Weird sex? Kinky sex? Sure. You're probably all over that shit. But we bet your love… Read…





This is a video of a dolphin masturbating with a decapitated fish

Did I stutter? This one does exactly what is says on the tin, folks. Hit the jump for the clip, if you dare, then we'll discuss what we can… Read…





10 Most Bizarre Animal Mating Behaviors

As a group, animals are disgusting. It's really a shame we're one of them. But while we only display mating behavior on specially requested … Read…





This mammal is dying to have sex. Literally.

Some animals, like certain insects, spiders, and plants, die immediately after mating. But what about mammals? A new paper shows that the males of… Read…



onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com What if humans dated like animals?

Selasa, 10 Desember 2013

These new legs will help Robonaut climb outside the space station onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: These new legs will help Robonaut climb outside the space station onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Selasa, 10 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com These new legs will help Robonaut climb outside the space station

These new legs will help Robonaut climb outside the space station


Robonaut 2 — the robot voted most likely to be NASA's first astromech droid — has just been fitted with its first pair of prototype legs. Once perfected, the appendages will provide it with the mobility needed to help with tasks both inside and outside the space station.


A legless version of R2 has been undergoing experimental trials on the ISS since February 2011, but the bot is attached to a support post, so its mobility is strictly limited.


The new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will give R2 the mobility required to perform regular and repetitive tasks both inside and outside the ISS, freeing up the crew for more critical work, like scientific research.


NASA writes,



"NASA has explored with robots for more than a decade, from the stalwart rovers on Mars to R2 on the station," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "Our investment in robotic technology development is helping us to bolster productivity by applying robotics technology and devices to fortify and enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety in space."


Once the legs are attached to the R2 torso, the robot will have a fully extended leg span of 9 feet, giving it great flexibility for movement around the space station. Each leg has seven joints and a device on what would be the feet called an end effector, which allow the robot to take advantage of handrails and sockets inside and outside the station. A vision system for the end effectors also will be used to verify and eventually automate each limb's approach and grasp.


NASA engineers have built the legs and R2 will be receiving them early next year. The new legs are designed for work both inside and outside the station, but upgrades to R2's upper body will be necessary before it can begin work outside the space station.



More here and here.


Image via NASA.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com These new legs will help Robonaut climb outside the space station

Jumat, 06 Desember 2013

This is why advertising works -- even when you think it doesn't onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: This is why advertising works -- even when you think it doesn't onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Jumat, 06 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This is why advertising works -- even when you think it doesn't

This is why advertising works -- even when you think it doesn't S


Are you unphased by ads? Annoyed by them? Do you simply "edit them out"? It doesn't matter what the answer is, because they probably work anyway. Advertising doesn't have to be good, it has to rely on the "mere-exposure effect."


Does something have to be good for you to like it? No. It just has to be around for a while. Eventually, you'll come to have positive feelings for it. Don't believe me? Try tracking your response to the next change in fashion. At first it will look like a creative way for people to destroy their looks, but soon you'll see variations that you like, or patterns that you like. You'll learn to create an aesthetic. People don't just get used to anything - they can learn to like it.


The fact that people will eventually begin to find reasons to like anything, as long as they're exposed to it long enough, is called the "mere-exposure effect." It was first tested in the 1960s by psychologist Robert Zajonc. He tried two different experiments - one on animals and one on humans. The animal experiment was fairly simple. He separated a bunch of fertile eggs into two groups. To one group he played one musical tone, and to the other he played another. When the eggs hatched, the chicks in each group gathered around the tone they were most used to.


It's understandable that chicks might crowd near a stimulus they were exposed to when they were developing, but humans don't have an excuse. Zajonc got a group of volunteers and showed them Chinese characters - after making sure they couldn't read the script. After they had been exposed to the characters for a while, they were told that the characters were descriptive words. Zajonc then added the familiar characters to a group of new characters, and asked the students to judge whether the words were describing good things or bad things. Overall, the volunteers believed the characters they were familiar with were good descriptors - like "warm" or "beautiful," - while unfamiliar characters were, in the volunteers' minds, probably reserved for things like "smelly," or "talkative during movies."


Familiarity doesn't breed contempt. Just the opposite. Stick with an object, or person, long enough and you'll find something you'll like about it.


Via Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com This is why advertising works -- even when you think it doesn't

Kamis, 05 Desember 2013

Win free tickets to the io9 planetarium show at AMNH on 12/11! onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: Win free tickets to the io9 planetarium show at AMNH on 12/11! onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Kamis, 05 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Win free tickets to the io9 planetarium show at AMNH on 12/11!

If you're in the New York City area and love outer space, then you won't want to miss a chance to score free tickets to io9's special invitational screening of Dark Universe, the new Hayden Planetarium show about dark matter at the American Museum of Natural History. Here's how to win!


The show will be next Wednesday, 12/11, and begins at 6:30 with cocktails, followed by a special screening of Dark Universe at 7:15. The best part? We'll begin by talking to AMNH astrophysicist Mordecai-Mark Mac Low, a curator on the show, and the legendary Carter Emmart, who created the visualizations for the show (as well as the other amazing visuals at the planetarium). They'll be in conversation with me, your host Annalee Newitz, and with you, during the audience Q/A. Ask whatever you want about dark matter OMG!


TL;DR — HOW DO I WIN?!


We're going to give away 30 free tickets on Twitter today at 8 AM PST (that's 11 AM for you New Yorkers). At 8 AM sharp, we'll ask a question on Twitter, and the first 30 people to answer will win. You must be following io9 on Twitter to win, because we will DM winners with details on how to get the tickets.


Please don't enter unless you really think you can make it to AMNH in New York next Wednesday evening. Thanks, my astronaut friends!


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com Win free tickets to the io9 planetarium show at AMNH on 12/11!

Rabu, 04 Desember 2013

The inept mind-control experiment that led to 20 years of CIA funding onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com

Written By 12; About: The inept mind-control experiment that led to 20 years of CIA funding onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com on Rabu, 04 Desember 2013

onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The inept mind-control experiment that led to 20 years of CIA funding

The inept mind-control experiment that led to 20 years of CIA funding


Ewen Cameron was the doctor in charge of the infamous CIA mind-control project MKULTRA, which drugged and tortured unwitting subjects. How does a guy get a job dosing people with LSD for a CIA brainwashing experiment? Turns out it's a pretty weird story.


Cameron, a psychiatrist working at a hospital in Montreal, started his career in intelligence by doing something ridiculously incompetent.


Imagine that you are a psychiatric patient. One day, you are driven away from the psychiatric hospital by your psychiatrist. He takes you to an empty gymnasium. In the very middle of the floor, there is a piece of paper. What do you do? If your answer is, "I would probably go over to the paper and pick it up to examine it," congratulations! You just got your psychiatrist a job at the CIA.


Cameron was interested in something called "psychic driving." Originally thought of as a way to "brainwash" schizophrenic patients out of their harmful behaviors and beliefs, it became a practice for Doctor Cameron to use on all his patients, no matter how minor their malady.


He would wait until the patients were asleep, or strap them to a couch, drug them heavily, and make them listen to tapes that played the same message over and over. Sometimes the messages said things like, "you have confidence in yourself," but eventually Cameron stopped trying to make people feel better and started trying to make them do whatever he wanted. Prior to the gymnasium excursion, people were played the message, "When you see a piece of paper, you want to pick it up." When many people, in the gym, did pick up that single piece of paper, he considered his experiments successful.


Apparently the CIA agreed with him. Twenty years of surreptitious LSD, sensory deprivation, and torture later, the CIA found that such methods were not as useful as Cameron believed them to be.


[Via Mad Science Museum.]


Top Image: Loty


onlinecollegedegreee.blogspot.com The inept mind-control experiment that led to 20 years of CIA funding