“Using Science Fiction to Teach Computer Security”
Science fiction, computers, and security, all in one post? And it’s not something I’ve written?! 😀 (Seriously, it sounds like a pretty good idea.)
Archive of posts filed under the Interests category.
Topics on my particular interests.
“Tanning Can Cause Cancer, but Not Tanning Could Cause a Lot Worse”
Vitamin D, produced in human skin when it’s bombarded by the ultraviolet rays of the sun, may be the most powerful anticancer agent ever known, and lack of it during a mother’s pregnancy and breastfeeding (and keeping babies shielded from ultraviolet sunlight) could be the cause of most autism: Many researchers now fear that the …
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“Truck nuts swing onto US freedom of speech agenda”
Um… this is a matter of excessive authoritarian zeal, personal opinion, or dollar signs (imagine all the people driving through their town that they could ticket for having these). Whichever it is, these people should be publicly slapped down for abusing the law. Leaving aside the obvious First Amendment issue, consider this: if testicles are …
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“Boffins develop method of driving computers insane”
Well, turnabout is fair play. Computers have been driving us crazy for decades already. 😉 And does this mean that we’re ready to create the HAL-9000? 😉 (Really interesting ideas about brain research using neural nets, though I have my doubts that it will be very useful for most things until we understand the brain …
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“Sorry, time travelers, you’re still just fiction”
Oh, come on, guys. You’re obviously not real science fiction fans, if you think that this really proves that both time travel and intergalactic travel are impossible. I can name half a dozen possible ways other than faster-than-light travel for one or both of those: wormholes, temporal rifts, cold sleep, dimensional portals, tachyon communications, and …
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“Mild brain shocks may improve learning and cognition”
Electric shocks help people learn. Well, duh! If I were a neuron getting shocked all the time, I’d certainly be looking for the fastest way to turn it off too! 😉 Seriously, it’s an interesting read for science geeks. And one of several bits of science suggesting that a real “thinking cap” might not be …
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“Gigantic New SuperOrganism with ‘Social Intelligence’ is Devouring the Titanic”
Today the Titanic, tomorrow, the world! Muhuhahahahaha! 😉 (Interesting article though, if you’re into science-geekery.)
“Reprogrammable Chips Could Enable Instant Gadget Upgrades”
In a science fiction story I once read — I can’t for the life of me recall which one — a spaceship’s electronics were overloaded and massively damaged by some kind of energy weapon. The ship got away, but it was crippled. Fortunately, the crew managed to repair enough of systems to limp to an …
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“The magnet conundrum”
The first-level explanation for magnets. NSWF in a couple places (for the quoted song lyric that starts it off). I didn’t find the explanation terribly satisfying… it does explain it, but like the hypothetical child in the article, I still want to say “but whyyyy?“. (I know, even Richard Feynman couldn’t explain it to a …
“Why Parents Should Just Relax and Bond with Their Kids”
Interesting research, which suggests that parents don’t (and can’t) do much to influence the kind of adult their children will become, and should concentrate more on “just enjoying life together.” It wouldn’t surprise me to see more research in this direction in the future.