August 2011
26 posts
10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers →
scienceblogs.com
(via fuckyeahneuroscience)
“Although the brain-computer metaphor has served cognitive psychology well, research in cognitive neuroscience has revealed many important differences between brains and computers. Appreciating these differences may be crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neural information processing, and ultimately for the creation of artificial intelligence. Below, I review the most important of these differences (and the consequences to cognitive psychology of failing to recognize them).”4x Weak
(via nursejoyismyidol)
Garchomp is 4x weak to ice.
Quagsire is 4x weak to grass.
My boyfriend is 4x weak to bug.
I am 4x weak to peanut butter.
Cliff is 4x weak to the following.
reblog with a picture of your mortal weakness :)
No Surprise for Bisexual Men: Report Indicates They Exist →
nytimes.com
Leave it to the NY Times and J. Michael Bailey to validate the existence of the elusive bisexual male! We all owe a great thanks to the scientific method for pointing out the obvious.
My playful sarcasm aside, it was a decent article you should check out. Make sure to check out the original study too.
Neuropsy: How Tanning Changes the Brain →
neuropsy.co
This was news to me.
(via neuropsy)
“This is an interesting study comparing the activity of the brain when people who like to tan indoors are exposed to UV light and when the tanning beds didn’t expose them to UV.”
Things I need to add
1) A more consistent reblogging format.
2) A comment/reply button.
3) A prettier format for the “Contact Me” button.
Recession Fortune Cookies →
placeitonluckydan.com
A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I thought it was worth sharing. Nothing more uplifting than a recession themed fortune cookie!
My recent purchase from the (semi) local leather store
I went to a leather store this past weekend and this is what I got.
I’m most excited about the hat. It looks awesome on me and its craftsmanship is remarkable. The cuffs are also super cool and go nicely with my collar. Someday I’ll have to learn how to make this stuff for fun and possibly for profit. It’d be a great night job to spice up my life. Science is interesting, but it’s an academic sort of fun, which is only fun in moderation. :D
Two Creative Writing Books
Recently, I’ve come across two creative writing books. I love first and not the second.
The Playful Way to Serious Writing
By: Roberta Allen
I love this book because it’s a lot of doing and not a lot of telling. I’ve encountered so many creative writing books that are all like, “Blah blah blah. I’m gonna talk for 2389238 pages and only give you two measly exercises at the end of each section.”
Allen’s book consists mainly of exercises. There are only small parts where she editorializes, but these are very succinct. The book has a New-Agey style to it. I think it suits the exercises quite nicely, although I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a couple times when Allen talked about “Energy.” I understand what she’s saying but I think it’s the scientist in me that couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
Anyway, this book is totally awesome and has helped me get started writing. Seriously, as a result of doing one of her exercises, I now have 3 character sketches I’ll be fleshing out shortly as well as a potential setting and plot. I’m glad I’ve finally found a book of writing exercises to help me get started!
The Art of Fiction: Notes on the Craft for Young WritersBy: John Gardner
Pretentious and dry are two words that come to mind when I think of this book. I was initially excited about this book since I’m young and want to be a writer. I was hoping to learn about creative writing from someone with experience. Instead, I was thoroughly disappointed. First of all, John Gardner is obnoxiously pretentious. Here’s an excerpt from the preface of his book:
The instruction here is not for every kind of writer—not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the cheaper sort of sci-fi—though it is true that what holds for the most serious kind of fiction will generally hold for junk fiction as well. (Not everyone is capable of writing junk fiction: It re- quires an authentic junk mind. Most creative-writing teachers have had the experience of occasionally helping to produce, by accident, a pornographer. The most elegant techniques in the world, filtered through a junk mind, become elegant junk tech- niques.) What is said here, whatever use it may be to others, is said for the elite; that is, for serious literary artists.
(p. X)
Seriously? I think Gardner’s words speak for himself. I did force myself to read most of the first chapter and skim through a couple of the others. I liked the book a lot better when he was talking about the craft of writing and not philosophizing. His book has an academic tone, which I thought was boring. It read a lot like a science journal article, which are informative but not necessarily fun to read. There were bits and pieces of good advice wedged in each of the chapters (at least the ones I read). However, I can find creative writing books that are just as helpful but way less boring and pretentious than Gardner’s book. Bottom line, skip this one. There are much better out there.
So those are my two mini-reviews for the evening. They certainly aren’t literary masterpieces but I had writing them. :)
Join or Die by Justine Lai (NSFW) →
colectiva.tv
“In Join Or Die, I paint myself having sex with the Presidents of the United States in chronological order. I am interested in humanizing and demythologizing the Presidents by addressing their public legacies and private lives.”
-Justine Lai
They Call It Research. We Call It Stalking. →
chronicle.com
Great advice on how to not be a creep during interviews. I’ve reproduced my favorite paragraph below:
A colleague of mine recounted an interview in which the candidate corrected him when he said he’d been in his department for about five years. “According to your LinkedIn profile, you arrived in 2004, so that’s almost seven.” Weird. Even more bizarre was a finalist that several of us interviewed not long ago. As each member of the search committee stood to shake the candidate’s hand and make an introduction, the candidate blurted out our names before we had the chance to give them. Throughout our conversation, he dropped random and obscure facts about us, “… not unlike the University of Wisconsin when you were there” and “… which you would know since your mother went to Smith.” He even knew where a couple of us lived. We gave him an A+ for doing his research, but a grade of F for making us feel so creepy. “I feel kind of violated,” said one person after the candidate left. “I just want to go home and take a shower,” I responded.
Psychopath Test Ethics
Personality tests like the one I took to determine my yaoi personality type can be lot’s of fun. However, what if there was a test that was used whether or not to determine that I’m a psychopath and what if this test had implications for my freedom? I heard this story on NPR a couple months ago and I thought it was definitely worth sharing. I kind of get Minority Report vibes from the idea of using a psychological test to predict someone’s behavior with “absolute certainty.”
Anyway, definitely give this a listen and then go write a sci-fi story about it. :)
My personality as a yaoi anime character
So I took a very silly quiz from semeuke.com to see what type of character I’d be in a yaoi. Here’s my result:
You are a Badass Uke!
Other uke admire you, some seme fear you. Despite your sometimes flaming appearance, you can even fool other people into thinking you are seme with your mischievous, manipulative attitude, but when push comes to shove, your true submissive nature emerges. It takes a seme with enough intensity to challenge you and keep you satisfied, and your perfect match, the Don’t Fuck With Me Seme, knows that all that naughty teasing just means you want the punishment.
Most compatible with: Don’t Fuck With Me Seme, Chibi Seme
Least compatible with: Sadistic Seme, Romantic Seme
What seme or uke are you? Take the experience at SemeUke.com, or get seme/uke merch..
Yeah, so I guess I’m a “Badass Uke”, which I think fits me pretty well. I’m definitely into the fashion the anime dude in the picture is sporting and I like the attitude. Although, I don’t think I could be submissive 100% of the time since where’s the fun in that? :P
Jacked up and good to go!
Since I’ve had a lot of free time this week, I decided to make my own custom Tumblr. It was a lot of fun learning CSS and brushing up on HTML. While my page certainly isn’t going to win any kind of a web design award, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.
Anyway folks, I will now be using tumblr regularly for fun and such. Haha, too bad Nick kicked me to the curb so quickly. He would’ve been so proud of how far I’ve come on this website. XD
May 2011
8 posts
Our data, ourselves →
boston.com
An article in the Boston Globe by Leon Neyfakh. It highlights an interesting perspective on data and privacy that has been emerging recently.
How many college professors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None! They force their graduate students to do it for them.
Rapture Playlist →
boston.com
Before it becomes irrelevant, here’s a fun Rapture playlist by the Boston Globe.
Two Quick Thoughts Before Bed
- Why would anyone pay $49 for a tumblr theme?
- I need to get on brushing up on my HTML and CSS, so I can make my own theme.
Queer Theory - Your Online Guide →
queertheory.com
Knowhomo rocks for posting this link! I’ve studied Queer Theory fairly extensively in college, so I was really excited when I saw this link. It’s a great website that contains a treasure trove of information. Definitely give it a look.
Biotechnology as Religion →
sbs.utexas.edu
This is a 2004 article by Leigh Turner in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Because the Rapture has been everyone’s minds recently, I thought this was an appropriate post. This article discusses how biotechnology can function as a “surrogate religion.” A great point that Turner makes is, “Like religions, [biotechnology] offers a comforting message of salvation. Instead of imagining a day of rapture when the dead rise from their graves to begin eternal life, biotech enthusiasts imagine the era when medical technologies provide a renewable, largely imperishable body.”
This commentary definitely got me thinking.
The Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Science
An article in the Financial times by Clive Cookson. It contains basic information every educated person should know about science and mathematics. Of course, it only scratches the surface but I think it’s a great start. :)
